Isnag (also called ''Isneg'') is a language spoken by around 40,000

Isnag people The Isnag people (also referred to as the Isneg and Apayao) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to Apayao Province in the Philippines' Cordillera Administrative Region. Their native language is Isneg language, Isneg (also called Isnag), a ...

Apayao Province Apayao, officially the Province of Apayao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Apayao; fil, Lalawigan ng Apayao), is a landlocked province in the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Kabugao serves as its capital. The provincial capitol ...

in the

Cordillera Administrative Region The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR; ilo, Rehion/Deppaar Administratibo ti Kordiliera; fil, Rehiyong Pampangasiwaan ng Cordillera), also known as the Cordillera Region and Cordillera (), is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

in the northern

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Around 85% of Isnag are capable of reading the Isnag language. Many Isnag speakers also speak Ilocano.

Dialects

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...

'' lists the following dialects of Isnag. *Bayag *Dibagat-Kabugao *Calanasan *Karagawan (Daragawan) *Talifugu-Ripang (Tawini) Alternate names for Isnag include Apayao, Dibagat-Kabugao-Isneg, Isneg, and Maragat (''Ethnologue''). Isnag is spoken in the northern two thirds of

, Cagayan Province ( Claveria and Santa Praxedes municipalities), Abra, and

Ilocos Norte Province Ilocos Norte, officially the Province of Ilocos Norte ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Norte; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Norte), is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. Its capital is Laoag City, located in the northwest corner of ...

, and scattered areas along the Apayao western border (''Ethnologue''). The closely related Adasen (Addasen, Addasen Tinguian, Itneg Adasen) language, which consists of western and eastern dialects, is spoken in northeastern Abra and into western

. There are 4,000 speakers (''Ethnologue'').

Sounds

Isnag is also one of the Philippine languages which is excluded from - allophone.

Language sample

*Isnag: **Approximate

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation: Friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. – 1 John 4:7 *Isnag: **Approximate English Translation: Praise God, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Peter 1:3

Historical sound changes

The

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesi ...

schwa ə has merged to /a/ such as > ('roof') similar to

Kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan or Pampangan is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary ...

, in Tagalog and in

Visayan Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group ...

References

External links

Listen to a sample of Adasen from Global Recordings Network
{{Austronesian languages Cagayan Valley languages Languages of Apayao Languages of Abra (province)