Onhan is a

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Western Bisayan language spoken, along with the Romblomanon and Asi languages, in the province of

Romblon Romblon (, , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provi ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The language is also known as ''Inunhan'' and ''Loocnon''. * The Onhan language has three variants – those spoken in the municipalities of Santa Maria and Alcantara use instead of . Example: is , and other speakers change or to as in or to . Specifically, Onhan is spoken on the following islands within Romblon: * Tablas: the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of San Andres, Santa Maria,

Alcantara Alcantara, Alcântara ( Portuguese), Alcántara (Spanish), Alcàntara, Alcàntera, El-Qantarah and (El) Kantara are all transliterations of the Arabic word ''al-qantara'' (القنطرة), meaning "the bridge". Alcantara may refer to: People * ...

, Ferrol, Looc, and Santa Fe and some upland sitios in Odiongan,. *

Carabao Carabaos () are a genetically distinct population of swamp-type water buffaloes ('' Bubalus bubalis kerabau'') from the Philippines.FAO 2013''Philippine Carabao/Philippines''In: Domestic Animal Diversity Information System. Food and Agriculture ...

: the sole municipality of San Jose. As a variant of the

Kinaray-a language The Karay-a language (, or ; ) is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique. It is one of the Bisayan languages, along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon. ...

, some speakers are found on the island of

Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital and largest town is Kalibo. The province is situated in the northwest portion of Panay, Panay Islan ...

province as well as parts of the island of

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Il ...

, specifically in the following municipalities: Malay, Nabas and Buruanga. In the provinces of

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

and

Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro (), officially the Province of Occidental Mindoro ( or ''Lalawigan ng Occidental Mindoro''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. I ...

, migrant Onhan speakers from Tablas Island brought the language to the following municipalities: San Jose, Magsaysay,

Bulalacao Bulalacao, officially the Municipality of Bulalacao (, Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Bulalacao''), is a municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,366 people. It is formerl ...

Mansalay Mansalay, officially the Municipality of Mansalay (), is a municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 59,114 people. This town is notable for its indigenous Mangyan popu ...

, Roxas, and some parts of

Bongabong Bongabong, officially the Municipality of Bongabong (), is a municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 76,973 people. The town is home to Kuta Bongabong (Fuerza de Bong ...

. As such, it is very much related to

Kinaray-a The Karay-a language (, or ; ) is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique. It is one of the Bisayan languages, along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon. ...

and Kuyonon.

Grammar

Pronouns

Numbers

Literature

The

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

was translated into Bisaya-Inunhan by Eldon Leano Talamisan and published in 1999. ''The Harrow'' (), an official publication of

Romblon State University Romblon State University is a public higher education institution in Romblon, Philippines. It has eight satellite campuses and its main campus is located in Odiongan, Romblon. History 1914: Tracing its roots back in November 1914, during the di ...

, publishes Inunhan poems, stories and other genres of literature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onhan Language Languages of Romblon Visayan languages