Introduction
Ivatan is especially characterized by its words, which mostly have the letter ''v'', as in , , and . While related to the Northern Philippine group of languages, Ivatan, having been isolated, is most close to the two other members of the Bashiic sub-group of languages, Yami (Tao) and Itbayat, neither of which is indigenous to Luzon. Ibatan dialect, spoken on the nearby Babuyan group of islands, is so similar to Ivatan that it is not entirely clear whether it should be classified as a dialect of Ivatan or a separate language, though each does receive its own code in ISO taxonomy. Ivatan has two dialects; Basco Ivatan, more commonly known as Ivasay, spoken on the main island of Batan, and Southern Ivatan or Isamurung, spoken on the southern half of Batan and on the most southern island, Sabtang.Variations in language
In the capital of Basco and the surrounding northern half of Batan, the area encompassed by Ivasayen, ''t'' is prominent, whereas in the Isamurongen zone to the south (Mahatao, Ivana, Uyugan and Sabtang) that phoneme becomes a ''ch''. Examples of the more visible variations of the Ivasayen and Isamurongen words and pronunciations are: * ('to look') in Basco is in the southern towns * ('later') in Basco is in the southern towns * ('patola') in Basco is in the southern towns * ('rain') in Basco is in the southern towns Itbayaten is sometimes also considered a dialect. 2% of the total vocabulary does not occur in Ivatan dialects. Examples of different Ivasayen, Isamurongen and Itbayaten words that have the same English translation: * ('to kiss') in Basco and the southern towns is in Itbayat. * ('none') in Basco and the southern towns is in Itbayat. * ('pig') in Basco and the southern towns is in Itbayat. * ('nest') in Basco is in the southern towns and in Itbayat. * ('tail') in Basco is in the southern towns and also in Itbayat. Ivatan and Filipino words are sometimes combined, as in the Ivatan word . It is derived from (Filipino) and (Ivatan), literally 'someone who knows', which were then compounded to form the word . This is the result of the influence of non-Ivatans who tend to speak the language and were then eventually adopted. Examples of metathesis in Ivatan include for ('stairs') and for ('going up'). Ivatan slang includes examples such as , coined from – literally 'we’ll meet again later', and , coined from , literally 'where are you going'. These are results of shortening Ivatan phrases or sentences into one or two words, depending on usage. Common Ivatan expressions have various origins such as: * orPhonology
/u/ can also be lowered to . Vowels and only occur in loanwords from Spanish, Ilocano, andGrammar
Pronouns
The following set of pronouns is found in the Ivatan language.Cultural terms of the Ivatan people
Phrases
Ivatan words
Etymology
Coined words are two words combined to form one new word.Similarities with other Philippine languages
Similarities with the Tao language
Accommodation
Approval and disapproval
Colors
Days of the week
Direction
Cardinal numbers
Writing system
Ivatan is written using the Latin alphabet. As Ivatan is primarily a spoken language and seldom used in written form, there is currently no consistent way of writing the language and different conventions may be used by different writers. An orthography devised for use in public schools by the Department of Education uses the full 26-letter Latin alphabet, with three extra letters, ''ch'', ''ñ'', and ''ng''. The schwa sound, or uh, is normally represented by the letter ''e'' as in , 'di-yos-ma-ma-huhs', and 'pa-luhk'.References
External links