Itneg is a
South-Central Cordilleran dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
found in the island of
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
,
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 ...
. This language and
Ilocano are spoken by the
Itneg people
The Itneg ( exonym "Tinguian" or "Tingguian") are an Austronesian ethnic group from the upland province of Abra in northwestern Luzon, in the Philippines.
Overview
The Itneg live in the mountainous area of Abra in northwestern Luzon who de ...
(sometimes also referred to as the "Tingguian people") in
Abra.
Several ethnic-Itneg dialects are
taxonomically
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...
part of the neighboring
Kalinga language.
Locations and 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 comprehensi ...
'' reports the following locations for each of the five Itneg languages.
*Binongan Itneg:
Licuan-Baay,
Abra. 7,500 speakers.
*Inlaod Itneg: a few villages in
Peñarrubia,
Lagangilang,
Danglas, and
Langiden municipalities,
Abra. 9,000 speakers.
*Maeng Itneg:
Luba,
Tubo, and
Villaviciosa municipalities,
Abra. 18,000 speakers.
*Masadiit Itneg:
Sallapadan,
Bucloc, and
Boliney municipalities,
Abra; also in the western border strip of
Kalinga Province. 7,500 speakers. Dialects are Masadiit Boliney and Masadiit Sallapadan.
*Moyadan Itneg:
Abra. 12,000 speakers.
However, Ronald Himes (1997)
recognizes two dialects for Itneg, namely Binongan (eastern) and Inlaod (western).
References
Languages of Abra (province)
South–Central Cordilleran languages
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