Ilocano - Language Profiles Project

Ilocano

Welcome to Ilocano!

GALLERY
OVERVIEW
DATASETS

Ilocano Gallery

Photo Credits:
Pangasinan language icon created by Kaye Ocampo
Ilocano language map created by Liam McFadden

Ilocano Overview

Expand your understanding of the Ilocano language and people by exploring the following modules.

Basics
Language
Context
Samples
Culture
Credits

- Basics

Language names, family, geography, speakers, ethnicities, and status

Ilokano/Ilocano 

[ʔi.lo.ká:.no]  

  • Other used names: Iloko, Iluko 
  • Iloco comes from the old Ilocano prefix i-, meaning “from”, and the root is debated between lukong, “flat lands”, or luek/look, “bay”. The suffix –ano comes from Spanish to indicate a noun’s origin. 
    • Austronesian
      • Philippine
        • Northern Luzon
  • Spoken in the northern regions of the island of Luzon in the Philippines.  
  • Historically spoken in the inland, mountainous region of northern Luzon. (Rubino, 1997) 
  • Provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abrea, Benguet, Tarlac. (Rubino, 1997) 
  • A few Ilocano-speaking communities exist in the southern Philippines on the islands of Mindoro and Mindanao. (Rubino, 1997) 
  • The Ilocano people make up the majority of the overseas Filipino population, notably in the U.S. states of Hawai’i and California. (Rubino, 1997) 

  • 9 million (Rubino, 1997) 
  • Third most widely spoken native language in the Philippines. 
  • Although Ilocano is widely spoken, media and education in the Philippines is primarily conducted in Tagalog and English, meaning many well-educated Ilocanos may speak English and Tagalog to a greater degree than Ilocano. In fact, among the most educated, English may be the language that is best-known. 
    • The traditional language of the Ilocano people. 
    • Spoken as a lingua franca of the Philippine Cordilleran language speakers of northern Luzon (Rubino, 1997) 
  • Ilocano is spoken as a lingua franca for most peoples of Northern Luzon, meaning it is used as a means of standard communication within the region where many different languages are spoken. (Rubino, 1997) 
  • Some regional media is published in Ilocano. 
  • Tagalog and English remain the official languages and languages of instruction in the Philippines with Ilocano being taught in local primary schools as part of the Philippine MLB-MLE education system. (Republic of the Philippines, Department of Education, 2016) 
  • Ilocano can be classified as Level 2 (the language is used for local and regional mass media and governmental services) 

- Language

Writing system, linguistic typology, notable linguists

  • Before Spanish colonization, many languages of the Philippines used an abugida (alphasyllabary) that stems from the Vedic scripts from India. The script used by the Ilocanos is one of multiple variants alongside the Tagalog and Pangasinense scripts and shared the same name, Baybayin. Unlike the other two, the Ilocano script was the first to designate coda consonants, whereas the others relied on context to supply coda consonants.  

Ilocano Dictionary and Grammar, Rubino (2000) , taken from the Ilocano Doctrina Cristiana, 1621

  • Today, Ilocano uses the Latin alphabet with either the older Spanish orthography or the newer standardized orthography used in publications like the Bannawag. Many Ilocanos reject the “tagalization” (the changing of the Ilocano orthography to match the orthography of Tagalog) of their orthography and prefer to maintain the older one. (Reynaldo Andres, Philippine News Agency, 2018) 

Consonant Class 

Labial 

Dental 

Alveolar 

Palatal 

Velar 

Glottal 

Stops 

p      b 

t        d 

 

 

k     g 

ʔ 

Nasals (voiced) 

        m 

         n 

 

 

ŋ 

 

Fricatives (voiceless) 

 

 

s 

 

 

h 

Affricates (voiceless) 

 

 

ʧ          ʤ 

 

 

 

Laterals (voiced) 

 

 

            l 

 

 

 

Taps, Trills (voiced) 

 

 

            r 

 

 

 

Glides (voiced) 

 

 

 

          j 

      w 

 

 

Front 

Central 

Back 

   

High 

i 

 

ɯ            u 

   

Mid 

ɛ 

 

               o 

   

Low 

 

a 

 

   
  • Note that /o/ and /u/ are do not contrast historically but are now distinguishable to speakers due to many Spanish loanwords. 
  • In Northern Ilocano (The dialect spoken in the Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur), ‘e’ is always pronounced as [ɛ]. However, in Southern Ilocano (The dialect of Ilocano spoken outside of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur), ‘e’ is pronounced as [ɛ] in Spanish loanwords and as [ɯ] in native words. 
  • Obstruents /t/, /d/, and /s/ palatalize before surface /j/ or before /i/ followed by another vowel which is equivalent to /j/ 
  • All Ilocano consonants may be geminated except for the glottal stop or fricatives. 
  • All syllables must have a consonantal onset in Ilocano, and if a word appears to begin with a vowel orthographically, there is a glottal stop 
  • Stress is contrastive in Ilocano with placement able to mark a difference in meaning. 
  • Every syllable in Ilocano is composed of a consonantal onset and vowel with an optional coda. 
  • Complex onsets are possible in Ilocano but are uncommon. 
  • Some analyses will say that complex onsets are not allowed in Ilocano and that they are diphthongs. 
  • However, this profile assumes the analysis by Yamamoto (2017) that argues against diphthongs in favor of complex onsets. 
  • [See Ilocano Syllable Structure dataset] 
  • If stress occurs on an open antepenultimate or penultimate syllable, the vowel will be long. 
  • If the stressed syllable is the final syllable, the vowel will not be lengthened. 
  • The infix -in- metathesizes to ni- before l or r 

(Rubino, 1997)

(Yamamoto, 2017) 

  • Ilocano uses a predicate initial word-order, VSO. 
  • Ilocano is an agglutinative language seen by its heavily affixing morphology with many productive prefixes, suffixes, and infixes which denote many categories such as aspect, pivot, number, volition, transitivity, reciprocity, and lexical category. 
  • Ilocano has no copular verbs. 
  • Ilocano noun phrases tend to use dependent marking while verbs tend to use head marking. 
  • Noun phrases mark number (singular-plural) and case (core-oblique) with articles 
  • Pronouns inflect for person, number (singular-plural), and case (ergative-absolutive-oblique) 
  • Ilocano employs a series of enclitic pronouns that express both agent and patient. 

 

  • Ilocano verbs inflect for aspect using reduplication  
  • Like other Philippine languages, Ilocano verbs are marked with an affix to highlight the most important argument, called the pivot which is of the following types of thematic roles: agent, patient, comitative, directional, benefactive, thematic, and instrumental 
  • Carl Rubino 
    • A computational linguist and typologist based in the United States focusing on Philippine languages. 
    • “A Reference Grammar of Ilocano”, 1997 as a doctoral dissertation at the University of California Santa Barbara 
    • The first grammar focused on presenting Ilocano grammar under modern frameworks accessible to those not formally trained in linguistics. 
    • Departs from applying a European framework to Ilocano grammar. 
  • Aurelio Agacoili 
    • Professor and PhD in Philippine Languages: Anthropology, History, and Literature 
    • Program coordinator of the Ilokano Language and Literature Program 
  • Leonard Bloomfield 
    • Grammar published in 1942 
    • The first linguist to write a grammar of Ilocano for the purpose of linguistic analysis rather than education.  
    • Focused on a nominative vs. Attributive system analysis of Ilocano grammatical case, and distinguished verbs into passive and non-passive. 
    • Applied an Indo-European framework to Ilocano grammar. 
  • Maurice Vanoverbergh 
    • Grammar published in 1955. 
    • A Belgian Catholic missionary who wrote a grammar on Ilocano that continued the tradition of applying an Indo-European framework to Ilocano grammar.  
    • His work provided the most extensive analysis of Ilocano morphology at the time. 
  • Ilokano Language and Literature Program, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UHM Ilokano Program). 
    • Founded in 1972 
    • The only program in the world to offer degrees in Ilocano. 
    • Program coordinated by Dr. Aurelio Agcaoili 
  • Ilocano is closely related to other languages of Northern Luzon such as the Bontoc languages and to Balangao with which it shares some mutual intelligibility. As a Cordilleran language, it is also related to other Cordilleran languages such as the Alta languages, Ibanag, Dumagat languages, Ilongot, etc. 
  • Although not related, Ilocano has many loanwords from Spanish that were incorporated during the Spanish colonial era.  
  • English, being a language of instruction in many schools in the Philippines, has had a large effect on the Ilocano language such that new words in Ilocano are borrowed from English, especially during the era of American occupation.  
  • Similar to other Philippine languages such as Pangasinan, it is a common (and often encouraged) misconception that Ilocano is a dialect of Tagalog. 
    • Ilocano is a language in its own right, and it is not a dialect of Tagalog.
  • Ilocano only has two dialects which only mainly on their pronunciation of the letter e. They are the Amianan (Northern, Ilocos Norte and Sur) dialect and the Abagatan (Southern, outside of Ilocos Norte and Sur) dialect. The northern dialect employs 5 vowels while the southern employs 6 where the southern distinguishes between two pronunciations of e where one pronunciation is only used in Spanish loanwords.  
  • Some elements of the lexicon do differ between the dialects, but the key distinction is in the pronunciation stated above. 

- Context

Historical and current context of the language

  • The arrival of the Austronesian peoples in the archipelago
    • The Austronesian people migrated to the Philippines between 10,000 to 7,000 years ago out of Taiwan. 
    • The Ilocano people settled along the northwestern coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippine archipelago. 
  • Ilocano pre-colonial agriculture and geography
    • By the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s, the Ilocanos had built a primarily agriculture and trade-driven society. 
    • Rice and cotton were the primary agricultural products, and were grown despite soil, climate, and land availability challenges. 
    • The Ilocano traded heavily with the Chinese, Japanese, the Tagalogs of Manila, and other Southeast Asian islands.
  • Ilocano pre-colonial society
    • The Ilocano people lived in groupings of many families called purok with chosen leaders called agturay. 
    • Ilocano belief systems revolved around the reverence of ancestors and natural spirits called apo alongside a pantheon of gods. 
    • Oral storytelling was used to transfer a sense of Ilocano culture and societal structure through the generations. 
      • The myth of Angalo described a giant named Angalo who created the island of Luzon, the sea, sky, and heavenly bodies 
      • Angalo’s three daughters represented the ancestors of the Ilocano, Igorot, and Aeta people who inhabited Northern Luzon, and the myth helped to instil an idea of societal importance for the pre-colonial Ilocanos. 

Artwork by Christopher Peralta (Wikimedia Commons) – Angalo Creating the Cordillera Mountains and the Ilocos Region

(Mateo, 2004)

  • The Arrival of the Spanish
    • The Spanish, under Captain Juan de Salcedo annex Northern Luzon in 1572. 
    • The Spanish restructure Ilocano society, and the rest of the Philippines by forcibly relocating them to feudal villages called encomiendas. 
    • Direct governance of the Philippines is granted to the Governor-General under the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Mexico City in 1594. 
    • Catholic missionaries are established throughout the Philippines to “christianize” the inhabitants.  
  • The Encomienda System and “Christianization”
    • The formation of encomiendas was a tactic used by both the Spanish and the Catholic Church to convert the inhabitants of the Philippines. 
    • Mass conversion proved difficult due to popular hostility by the Ilocano people toward the Spanish for the forcible reorganization of their society into encomiendas.  
    • Since the missionaries stressed the importance of learning the local languages to accomplish their goal, many manuscripts on language instruction are published in this time of which Augustinian friar Francisco Lopez’s “Arte de la Lengua Ilocana” (1627) is most notable. 
  • The Basi Revolt, 1807 
    • The Ilocano people were deeply angered by the strict control over basi wine by the Spanish, as it was an attempt to limit and control the production and access to a historical Ilocano cultural staple by a foreign power. 
    • The revolt began in the town of Piddig, Ilocos in 1807 lead by Pedro Mateo, and it propagated throughout Ilocos.
    • The revolutionaries were assassinated on their march to Vigan, Ilocos by Spanish forces which resulted in hundreds of deaths. 
    • The failure of the revolt served as a catalyst for building anger against the Spanish. 
  • The Spanish broke Ilocos into the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur in 1818 to segment the Ilocano people. 
  • The Philippine Revolution, 1896-1898 
    • The revolution began in central Luzon and spread quickly with areas being liberated from the Spanish on a town-by-town basis.
    • The Treaty of Paris of 1892 ends the Spanish-American War as well as Spanish rule in the Philippines 
  • The First Republic (1899-1901) 
    • Aftermath of the Philippine Revolution 
    • Emilio Aguinaldo declares Philippine independence on June 12, 1897. 
      • June 12 is still celebrated today as the national holiday of the Philippines
    • The Malolo Constitution of 1899 marks the end of revolutionary government in the Philippines and the beginning of the First Republic. 
    • Neither Spain nor the United States acknowledge the independence of the Philippines. 
  • Beginning of the Philippine-American War 
    • Fighting between Filipinos and Americans in the Battle of Manila begins the Philippine-American War in 1899. 
    • The First Republic Ends in 1901 with the American victory in the Philippine-American War. 
  • American rule over the Philippines begins in 1901 
    • Jones Law promises Philippine independence at the discretion of the Americans after the installment of stable government. 
    • Many Ilocanos begin to migrate to Hawai’i and California where they commonly worked as labourers. 
    • The Hanapēpē Massacre occurs in 1924 where an internal conflict emerges among Filipino workers when two Ilocano youth allegedly cross a picket line. When the Police arrive to control the conflict, the Filipino workers unite, and the resulting clash leaves 16 Filipinos and 4 officers dead. 
  • The Philippine Commonwealth is established in 1935. 
    • The Tydings-McDuffie Act establishes the commonwealth and promises full Philippine independence after ten years. 
  • The Japanese invade the Philippines in 1941. 
    • Ilocos is liberated in 1945 by the combined efforts of the American and Philippine Commonwealth forces, including the Ilocano and Pangasinan guerillas. 
  • End of the Colonial Era
    • The Philippine Commonwealth ends in 1945 and the Philippines becomes a fully recognized and independent Republic. 
  • Ilocano’s Place in the Modern Philippines and Abroad 
    • President Ferdinand Marcos expands the Ilocos region by moving Pangasinan province from Region III to Region I and adds the Cordilleran Abra, Mountain, and Benguet provinces in 1973. 
    • Marcos also implements a migration policy that allows for Ilocano immigration into Pangasinan and the Cordillera which expands Ilocano influence throughout Northern Luzon in 1973. 
    • The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 implements a Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education System that promotes the use of local languages as a medium of education for kindergarten to third grade.  
      • This act provides for the use of Ilocano as a means of instruction for young Ilocanos in their homeland. 
      • A current debate over the discontinuation of the MTB-MLE system poses a threat to Ilocano’s linguistic vitality (See “Major Current Events Affecting the Ilocano Language Community”)
  • The Filipino Language
    • Article XIII, section 3 of the Philippine constitution states:

“The National Assembly shall take steps toward the development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages. Until otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as official languages.”

    • This article established the basis for the Filipino language, and in 1936, a year after the constitution was ratified, the Institute of National Language was created with the primary purpose to select among the languages of the Philippines, the one that would be “most suitable” to be developed into the national language. 
    • Tagalog was selected as the basis for the new national language.
    • Within the subsequent years, the language was standardized into Filipino, prompting anger from many, especially Cebuano communities who saw it as a means to assert Tagalog as the dominant language.
      • Filipino is mutually intelligible with Tagalog.
      • It is considered as a dialect of Tagalog.
    • Filipino formally became one of the official languages of the Philippines in 1946 at the same time as Philippine independence from the United States.
    • The 1987 Constitution designated Filipino as the national language of the Philippines alongside English.
      • Spanish is no longer a recognized official language in the Philippines. 
    • The Institute of National Language is reorganized into the Institute of Philippine Languages in 1987.
    • The Institute of Philippine Languages is reorganized into the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) (Filipino Language Commission) in 1991. 
      • An executive commission that reports directly to the President of the Philippines on matters relating to the preservation of Filipino and the Philippine languages.
  • Effect on Ilocano 
    • Alongside the promotion of Filipino, a belief that the Philippine languages that they are all merely dialects of Tagalog became prevalent.
    • Ilocano, in this respect, is often referred to as a dialect which has direct implications on its perceived importance and efforts to promote it.

Ilocano is not a dialect of Tagalog or Filipino, it is a language in its own right, and it is NOT mutually intelligible with either.

- Samples

Samples of phrases and texts in the language

Ilocano 

English

Naimbag a bigatmo!  

Good morning! 

Ania ti naganmo? 

What is your name? 

Ti naganko Marlene. 

My name is Marlene.

Taga-anoka? 

Where are you from? 

Taga-ditoyak. 

I am from here. 

Pilipino-ak. 

I am Filipino.

Agtrabtrabahoka?  

Are you working? 

Agilokanotayo!  

Let’s speak Ilocano!

Dayu-dayu, bari-bari  

A phrase used to excuse oneself when entering or passing a space where spirits or elementals may reside. 

Alas tres y media  

3:30 *Note that times are given using a variation of the Spanish system.  

Ading  

Younger sibling 

Manang 

Older sister 

Manong  

Older brother 

Nanang 

Mother 

Tatang 

Father 

Halu-halo 

A shaved ice desert with evaporated/coconut milk and various ingredients 

Listen to “Pamulinawen”, a famous Ilocano folk song.

Pamulinawen, pusoc, indengamman 

Toy umas-asog, ag-rayo ita sadiam 

Panunutemman, dica pagintutulngan 

Toy agayat, ag-rucnoy ita dinnam 

Essem ti diac calipatan 

Ta nasudi unay a nagan 

Ta uray sadin ti yan 

Disso sadino man 

Aw-awagac a di agsarday 

Ta naganmo a casam-itan 

No malagipcan 

Pusoc ti mabang-aran. 

(Note: These lyrics use the classic Ilocano orthography. e.g., ‘pusoc’ = ‘pusok’, my heart/love. Many in the Ilocano literary world prefer the use of the classic orthography over the newer, Tagalog-based orthography.)

Translation

Pamulinawen, my love, please hearken to 

Me who am sighing, cling to your graciousness 

Kindly consider (my yearning), ignore me not 

I who love you, who humble myself before your affability. 

This, my obsession, I cannot forget 

And your very illustrious name 

Wheresoever I am 

Whatsoever the place 

I earnestly yearn 

For your sweetest name 

The moment I remember thee 

My heart is comforted. 

(Alterado & Jaramilla, 2021)

  • Context
    • Pamulinawen is arguably the most famous Ilocano folk song. Recited either in poem or song form, many Ilocano speakers know it as an index of their culture.
    • The song tells the story of “Pamulinawen”, a stone-hearted women who spurrs the affections of the narrator.
    • “Pamulinawen” is also the name of a tree with notoriously hard and sturdy wood that is used for stair balastrades and carving.
    • The literal translation of “Pamulinawen” is alabaster.

- Culture

Culture, food, literature, and more

  • Catholicism 
    • A vast majority of Ilocanos identify as Roman Catholic, and it remains a central facet of modern Ilocano life and culture.
    • Vigan Cathedral – Metropolitan Cathedral of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle – (Roman Catholic), Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines 
      • One of the most famous cathedrals in the Philippines.
      • UNESCO world heritage site 
      • Opened in 1800 

  • Bambanti Festival 
    • https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/23027-photos-isabela-bambanti-festival/ 
    • ‘Bambanti’ is the Ilocano word for scarecrow. 
    • A weeklong festival in Isabela, Philippines that celebrates the province’s culture and to promote its agricultural heritage. 
    • A common feature of the festival that makes it so well-known are the giant scarecrows. 
    • The festival is relatively modern, having been created in 1997. 
    • In 2019, the festival won the Guiness Word Record for most people dressed as scarecrows.

  • Pamulinawen Festival 
    • Celebrated in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippines 
    • Celebrated from February 1 to February 10 
    • Coincides with the Catholic Feast of Saint William who is the patron saint of Laoag. 
    • Marks the conversion of Ilocanos to Christianity.

 

  • Classical Ilocano wedding ceremonies 
    • Celebrated over two days and a night 
    • The groom’s family traditionally makes all the food. – Ponsia – reception before the ceremony 
    • Ceremony at the church 
    • Reception afterward at the bride’s home where there is dancing, and money is often pinned to the groom and bride’s clothing. 
    • This tradition is often not celebrated today 
  • Traditional moving – ‘Tagnawa’
    • Not only did they move the furniature and posessions, the neighbours would get together and move the entire house!
    • Houses were traditionally bamboo, placed on stilts, houses could physically be moved to a new lot. 
  • Dinakdakan
    • A dish normally comprised of pig head parts, chilli, red onion, ginger, calamansi juice. 
    • This dish is notably similar to the Kampagan dish “Sisig” but is normally served with either a sauce made of pig brain or more commonly with mayonnaise. 

  • Pinakbet
    • A dish made of mixed vegetables flavoured with bagoong, which is a paste or sauce made of fermented anchovies, krill, or shrimp 
    • Bitter melon is usually always incorporated into this dish. 
    • Some instances of Pinakbet contain pork, but it is usually primarily a vegetable dish. 
    • Every town will have different varieties. 

  • Burong (literally means fermented)
    • Sometimes made with fermented fish (this could be shrimp, crab or mango depending on the location) with rice in it, must be stored for seven days until the fermentation is done.
    • It is then sir-fried with tomatoes and ginger. It is used as a dip for cooked vegetables.
  • Etag (In Baguio)
    • Etag means pork preserved with salt. 
    • Pork preserved in a jar of salt and stored underground or is hung up.
    • Washed and then served.
    • Good for about a year.
  • Tapuoy
    • Preserved rice with homemade yeast. 
    • Cold rice (leftover rice) is shaved for its yeast which is then sealed in a jar up to a year.  
    • It becomes a wine (mild alcohol content) 
    • Sweetened with sugar.
    • If you eat it soon, you can make a wine-like soup. 
    • In Baguio or Mountain Province, it is often served at weddings. 
  • Basi 
    • Sugarcane wine 
  • Bagnet
    • A popular dish made of deep-fried pork belly ‘liempo’ that is often served at parties.  
    • Bagnet is a regional variety of chicharron.  
    • It is often served with vinegar as a dip. 

  • Pedro Bucaneg 
    • 1592-1630 
    • Called the “father of Ilocano literature” 
    • Born blind, he was found floating down a river in a basket and was taken in by Augustinian friars who educated him in Spanish, Latin, Ilocano, and Isneg.  
    • His earliest work was done by translating Catholic material into local languages.  
    • Because of his skill as a composer, he was beloved by locals and was important to the Spanish in the mass conversion of Ilocanos to Christianity.  
    • He translated the ‘Doctrina Cristiana’ into Ilocano and it was one of the first books published in the Philippines and was a tool for mass conversion. 
    • He is also credited with helping to publish ‘Arte de la Lengue Iloca’ which was the first Ilocano grammar book. 
    • He is credited as authoring part of the Ilocano epic “Biag ni Lam-ang” which was the first Philippine epic to be published in writing. However, the veracity of this claim is disputed. 
  • Jessica Soho 
    • Born in Agoo, La Union, Philippines 
    • Credited as being the most famous Filipino broadcaster 
    • Host of the popular Kapuso Mo program on the GMA network. 
    • First Filipino to win the British Fleet Street Award in Journalism 
    • She and her program I-Witness won the first Peabody award in the Philippines for the documentaries, “Kidneys for Sale” and “Kamao” 
    • First Filipino to win the New York Film Festival for her coverage of a hostage crisis in the Cagayan Valley, Philippines. 
  • Teófilo Yldefonso 
    • The first Filipino and Southeast Asian to earn an Olympic medal and the first Filipino to earn multiple.  
    • He fought against the Japanese in the Second World War and later died in Japanese captivity in Tarlac, Philippines.  
  • Joseda Llanes Escoda  
    • A famous Filipino suffragette and the founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. 
    • Depicted on the 1,000-peso note as a reminder of her actions to supply medication and food to Filipino and American internees in Japanese camps.  
    • She was captured and executed and is now remembered as one of the most famous Filipino war heroes. 
  • Francisco Sionil José 
    • A very famous English-language Filipino writer, F. Sionil José is best known for his novels and short stories depicting class struggle and colonialism in the Philippines.  
    • He was named a National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in 2001.  
    • His most famous works are the 5-novel Rosales Saga that traced the history of two fictional Filipino families, one poor, one affluent through the Spanish and American imperial eras. 
  • Isabelo de los Reyes 
    • Born in Vigan, Ilocos region, Isabelo de los Reyes was an activist and journalist who published the first the first publication “El Ilocano” that focused on a Philippine language other than Tagalog: Ilocano.  
    • Because of his activism for Philippine independence, he was imprisoned multiple times by both the Spanish and Americans.  
    • He is also known for his founding of the Union Obrera Democratica (UOD), the first labour union in the Philippines.  
    • He also founded the Philippine Independent Church (PIC) which broke from the Catholic Church to become the oldest Filipino-run independent Christian church. 
  • Bannawag
    • Translating to “dawn” in English, Bannawag is a weekly magazine published entirely in Ilocano 
    • It is credited as being the basis of contemporary Ilocano literature and is one of the only outlets for Ilocano writers to be published in Ilocano. 
  • GUMIL Filipinas 
    • “Gunglo dagiti Mannurat nga Ilokano iti Filipinas” or the Ilocano Writers Association of the Philippines. 
    • An organization that brings together regional Ilocano writers and poets.  
    • The aims of the organization are to provide support for established and emerging Ilocano writers and to promote the Ilocano language and culture through literature.  
    • GUMIL has chapters in the Philippines, Hawai’i, California, and Greece. 
  • Debate over Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education in the Philippines 
    • The MTB-MLE education program was initiated for Philippine primary schools in 2013 to educate and connect Filipino children to their heritage.
    • A recent push to abolish the system has been growing among lawmakers in the Philippines. 
    • Proponents for the program cite the increase in literature and educational materials published in local languages, the promotion of diversity in the education system, the advantages of multilingualism, the reconnection to local history and culture, the increase in accessibility to education for students who grew up speaking their native languages, and the promotion of indigenous and children’s rights in line with international law. 
    • Proponents argue that the abolition of the MTB-MLE program would lead to accelerating decline in the use of local languages over the increased use of Tagalog and English. 
    • https://www.rappler.com/voices/ispeak/opinion-reasons-mother-tongues-schools-should-be-saved/ 

- Credits and References

References, image credits, and how to cite this profile

Alterado, D., & Jaramilla, A. (2021). Pamulinawen: A hermeneutics of  ilokano cultural self-understanding. Philosophia: International Journal of Philosophy, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.46992/pijp.22.2.a.9 

Chen, V., & McDonnell, B. (2018). Western Austronesian Voice. Annual Review of Linguistics, 5, 173–195. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-011731 

Rubino, C. R. G. (1997). A Reference Grammar of Ilocano (Publication No. 9823418) [Doctoral Dissertation, University of California Santa Barbara]. Dissertation Abstracts International, Ann Arbor, MI. 

Rubino, Carrl R Galvez. (2000). Ilocano dictionary and grammar: Ilocano-english, English-ilocano. University of Hawai’i Press. 

Yamamoto, K. (2017). A phonological sketch of Ilocano. Kyoto University Linguistic Research, 36, 21–49. https://doi.org/10.14989/230686 

Pangasinan language icon created by Kaye Ocampo

Pangasinan language word cloud created by Kaye Ocampo

Pangasinan saying icon created by Lucy Meanwell

Pangasinan language map created by Liam McFadden

“Saltfarm” by Homboy, licensed under under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Colorum Uprisings: “3672Trenchera, Tayug, Pangasinan 45” by Judgefloro, licensed under the Creative CommonsCC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

Bangus festival: “Bangus Festival Gilon Gilon ed Baley” by Jdcedit is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

The Hundred Islands: “Pangasinan Hundred Islands” by Robert Anton Pimentel Aparente
is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Kaleskes and Pigar Pigar: “Pigar-Pigar on the right and Kaleskes on the left” by Jdcedit is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Tupig: by Judgefloro is in the public domain

The Baybayin Writing System: Pino, Rodney et al. “A Baybayin word recognition system.” PeerJ. Computer science vol. 7 e596. 16 Jun. 2021, doi:10.7717/peerj-cs.596

The content of this profile was created by Liam McFadden. To cite: 

McFadden, Liam. 2024. Ilocano. In Ozburn, Avery (ed.), The Language Profiles Project. Available online at https://languageprofiles.ca/home/ilocano/. 

We would also like to acknowledge and thank Marlene Martin, an Ilocano speaker who provided us recordings for the datasets, as well as many vital insights into Ilocano culture.

The map was created by Liam McFadden.

Ilocano datasets

Find Ilocano datasets for use in Linguistics courses

Notice for Screen Reader Users: We invite and encourage you to use the downloadable datasets for an optimal experience. Please find download links at the top of each dataset section.

    • Enclitic Pronouns and Polysynthesis (Morphosyntax)
    • Syllable Structure (Phonology)
    • Glide Formation (Phonology)
    • Vowel Length (Phonetics, Phonology)
    • Ligature in Relative Clauses (Morphosyntax)
    • Contrastive Stress (Phonology)
    • Topicalization (Morphosyntax)
    • Verb Argument Morphosyntax (Morphosyntax)

You can download the editable dataset documents by looking in the corresponding subsection.

Ilocano Enclitic Pronouns and Polysynthesis

download.docx

Ak Series Pronouns 

Pronoun 

Enclitic 

Gloss 

siak 

=ak 

I 

sika 

=ka 

you 

isu(na) 

∅ 

he, she 

data, sita 

=ta 

you and I 

dakami 

=kami 

we (exclusive) 

datayo 

=tayo 

we (inclusive) 

dakayo 

=kayo 

you pl. or formal 

isuda 

=da 

they or you (very formal) 

1) 

Nagsangitkami 

Nag-sangit=kami 

ACT.PFV-cry=3-SG.EXC 

‘We cried (excluding you)’ 

2) 

Nagsangitak 

Nag-sangit=ak 

ACT.PFV-cry=1-SG 

‘I cried’ 

3) 

Manangka 

Manang=ka 

Older sister=2-SG 

‘You are an older sister’ 

 

Ko Series Pronouns  

Pronoun 

Enclitic 

Gloss 

siak 

=k(o) 

my 

sika 

=m(o) 

your 

isu(na) 

=na 

his, her 

data, sita 

=ta 

our (dual) 

dakami 

=mi 

our (exclusive) 

datayo 

=tayo 

our (inclusive) 

dakayo 

=yo 

your pl. or formal 

isuda 

=da 

their or your (very formal) 

*Note: Vowels in parentheses are excluded if the stem ends in a vowel. 

1) 

Manangko 

Manang=ko 

Older sister=1-SG.POSS 

‘My older sister’ 

2) 

Pusam 

Pusa=m 

Cat=2-SG.POSS 

‘Your cat’ 

3) 

Inumenta ti danum. 

Inum-en=ta                              ti         danum 

Drink-PAT.POT=2.DUAL.AG ART     water 

‘You and I will drink the water’ 

Portmanteau Enclitic Pronouns 

1) 

Nakitanakami 

Na-kita=nakami 

ACT.PFV-see=3.SG+3.PL.EXC 

‘He/she saw us (excluding you)’ 

2) 

Nakitadakayo 

Na-kita=dakayo 

ACT.PFV-see=3.PL+2.SG (formal)/PL.INC 

‘They saw you’ 

3) 

Nakitaka 

Na-kita=ka 

ACT.PFV-see=1.SG+2.SG 

‘I saw you (pl.)’ 

4) 

Riingennak 

Riing-en=nak 

Wake-PAT.IMP=2.SG+1.SG 

‘Wake me up’ 

  • Polysynthesis is the phenomenon where entire sentences can be expressed as a single word, in this case through a heavily inflected verb. 
  • All Ilocano verbs have an affix that identifies a central ‘pivot’ argument with a corresponding thematic role. 
  • ART = article, PFV = perfective aspect, IMPFV = imperfective aspect, POT = potential aspect, ACT = actor, PAT = patient 
  • Pronouns in Ilocano are often combined and attached to the end of verbs as enclitic pronouns 
  • Ak series pronouns are used as copula pronouns or as the pronoun for the ‘pivot’ argument 
  • Ko series pronouns are used as possessives or as the pronoun for the ‘non-pivot’ argument. 
  • When both arguments take the form of pronouns, they are often fused together as portmanteaus and then used as an enclitic. 
  • Note that the affix on the verb will select for the ‘pivot’ argument and will affect the order in which the portmaneau is formed. 

Source: Elicitation with Marlene Martin done by Liam McFadden

Ilocano Syllable Structure 

download.docx

Monosyllabic words 

  • There are very few monosyllabic words in Ilocano, and a majority belong to closed classes such as pronoun enclitics or verbal roots. 
Ilocano IPA Gloss  Audio
man [mán] Particle with meaning of ‘please’ 

 

ka [ká] 2SG 

lua [lwá] ‘tear’ 

nuang [nwáŋ] ‘water buffalo’ 

 

Disyllabic Words 

  • Most Ilocano roots are disyllabic. 
Ilocano IPA Gloss  Audio
lasi [la.sí] ‘dandruff’ 

sita [sí:.ta] ‘you and I’ 

damag [dá:.mag] ‘news’ 

kikiam [kik.jám] ‘pork sausage’ 

kuarto [kwár.to] ‘room’  

 

Three-syllable Words 

Ilocano IPA Gloss  Audio
agtutor [ʔag.tú:.tor] ‘to be patient’ 

padaya [pa.da.yá] ‘party’ 

pitangkok [pi.taŋ.kók] ‘back part of skull’ 

agsay-a [ʔag.say.ʔá] ‘to clear one’s throat’ 

atsara [ʔat.tʃá:.ra] ‘pickle’ 

tumaud [tu.má:.ʔod] ‘to originate’ 

Syllable Trees 

[ʔag.tú:.tor] 

[nwáŋ] 

[la.sí] 

 

  • Ilocano has the following syllable types: CV, CCV, CVC, CCVC 
  • Ilocano syllables must have an onset which is usually simple but complex onsets can occur. 
  • Some analyses will say that complex onsets are not allowed in Ilocano and that they are diphthongs. 
  • However, this dataset assumes the analysis by Yamamoto (2017) that argues against diphthongs in favor of complex onsets. 
  • All syllables must have a consonantal onset in Ilocano, and if a word appears to begin with a vowel orthographically, there is a glottal stop 
  • All consonants except for the glottal stop may appear in C1 of a complex onset, but only /j/ and /w/ may appear in C2 
  • Ilocano syllables have optional codas. 
  • A vowel is lengthened if it occurs in an open, non-final, stressed syllable 

Phonology: syllables, syllable structure, diphthongs 

Source: Elicitation with Marlene Martin done by Liam McFadden; Kyosuke Yamamoto (2017) 

Ilocano Glide Formation 

 download.docx

Underlying 

Surface 

Gloss 

ʔi-pa-u.neg 

ʔi.paw.neg 

‘to put something inside’ 

ʔi-pa-i.gid 

ʔi.paj.gid 

‘to put aside’ 

ma-u.lud 

maw.lud 

‘to be pulled’ 

na-i.let 

naj.let 

‘tight’ 

na-i.lem 

naj.lem 

‘jealous’ 

Underlying 

Surface 

Gloss 

ba.ba.wi-en 

ba.baw.jen 

‘to regret’ 

a.da.ju.wi-an 

ʔa.daj.wan 

‘to go far away from’ 

pa-sa.ŋu-an 

pa.saŋ.wan 

‘to put something in front of someone’ 

sa.ŋu-en 

saŋ.wen 

‘to confront’ 

 

  • Applies to prefix-stem or stem-suffix boundaries. 
  • A stem-initial or stem-final [+high] vowel becomes a glide when it is adjacent to a [-high] vowel of an affix. 
  • A feature controlled by a mora in the underlying form becomes non-moraic by syllabification.  
  • As an example, the suffixes –en (patient pivot suffix) and –an (directional/locative pivot suffix) need to incorporate the new glide to be a valid syllable with an onset. 

 

Phonology: environment, glides, insertion, syllabification 

Source: Liam McFadden; Kyosuke Yamamoto (2017) 

Ilocano Vowel Length 

download.docx

  • If stress occurs on an open antepenultimate or penultimate syllable, the vowel will be long (long vowels are marked with “:”) 
  • If the stressed syllable is the final syllable, the vowel will not be lengthened. 

Ilocano 

IPA 

Glosss 

Audio 

ások 

[ʔá:.sok] 

my dog 

asók 

[ʔa.súk] 

smoke 

dágus 

[dá:.gus] 

immediately; right away 

dagús 

[da.gús] 

temporary lodging place 

síka 

[sí:.ka] 

dysentery 

siká 

[si.ká] 

you (sg. fam.) 

padáya 

[pa.dá:.ya] 

go east 

padayá 

[pa.da.yá] 

party 

lúnod 

[lú:.nod] 

sink; disappear 

lunód 

[lu.nód] 

curse 

síta

[sí:.ta] 

cite; quote

sitá 

[si.tá] 

you and I

 

Phonology: stress, vowel length 

Source: Elicitation with Marlene Martin done by Liam McFadden 

Ilocano Ligature in Relative Clauses 

download.docx

1) 

Ti pansitnga inyawid ti lalaki 

Ti                pansit=nga           in-ja:wid                     ti                       lalaki 

ART.SG      noodle=LIG          PFV-bring home      ART.SG            man 

‘The noodles that the man brought home’ 

2) 

Ti pansitnga ginatang ni Maria 

Ti                pansit=nga            g-in-atang      ni                         Maria 

ART.SG      noodles.LIG           PFV-buy          ART.SG.PRS       Maria 

‘The noodles that Maria bought’ 

3) 

Diay lalakinga nakitak 

Diay         lalaki=nga nakita=k 

ART.SG    man=LIG saw=1SG 

‘The man that I saw’ 

4) 

Abogada diay         babainga           nalaing 

Abogada diay         babai=nga        nalaing 

Lawyer ART.SG      woman=LIG    intelligent 

‘The woman that is intelligent is a lawyer / The intelligent woman is a lawyer’ 

5) 

Natayag diay      lalakinga       nakitak 

Natayag diay     lalaki=nga     nakitak 

Tall ART.SG        man=LIG       saw=1SG 

‘The man that I saw is tall’ 

 

  • Relative clauses in Ilocano follow the noun head that they modify. 
  • The relative clause is separated from the from the head by a word connector called a ligature that has no stand-alone meaning and merely serves to mark a relationship between a head and a modifying phrase. 

 

Morphosyntax: clause structure, ligatures 

Source: Elicitation with Marlene Martin done by Liam McFadden 

Ilocano Contrastive Stress 

download.docx

ások 

[ʔá:.sok] 

my dog 

 

asók 

[ʔa.súk] 

smoke 

dágus 

[dá:.gus] 

immediately; right away 

dagús 

[da.gús] 

temporary lodging place 

síka 

[sí:.ka] 

dysentery 

siká 

[si.ká] 

you (sg. fam.) 

padáya 

[pa.dá:.ya] 

go east 

padayá 

[pa.da.yá] 

party 

síta 

[sí:.ta] 

cite; quote 

sitá 

[si.tá] 

you and I 

 

lúnod 

[lú:.nod] 

sink; disappear 

lunód 

[lu.nód] 

curse 

  • Stress is contrastive in Ilocano where a change in the placement of stress can change the meaning of a word. 

Phonology: environment, stress 

Source: Elicitation with Marlene Martin done by Liam McFadden 

Ilocano Topicalization 

download.docx

1) 

Non-topicalized: 

Nagluto ni Jose 

Nag-luto           ni                Jose 

ACT.PFV-cook  PN.ART     Jose 

‘Jose cooked’ 

Topicalized with a pause: 

Ni Jose, … nagluton

Ni             Jose, … nag-luto=n 

PN.ART   Jose, … ACT.PFV-cook=’already’ 

‘Jose, … He cooked already’ 

2) 

Non-topicalized: 

Imminom ni Jose 

imm-inom           ni               Jose 

ACT.PFV-drink    PN.ART    Jose 

‘Jose drank’ 

Topicalized with a pause: 

Ni Jose, … imminomen 

Ni             Jose, … imm-inom=en

PN.ART   Jose, … ACT.PFV-drink=’already’

‘Jose, … He drank already’ 

3) 

Non-topicalized: 

Nagluto ni Jose 

Nag-luto             ni               Jose 

ACT.PFV-cook   PN.ART     Jose 

‘Jose cooked’ 

Topicalized with ‘ket’: 

Ni Jose ket nagluto 

Ni              Jose      ket          nag-luto 

PN.ART    Jose      INV          ACT.PFV-cook 

‘Jose (by the way), cooked’ 

4) 

Non-topicalized: 

Imminom ni Jose 

imm-inom           ni               Jose 

ACT.PFV-drink    PN.ART    Jose 

‘Jose drank’ 

Topicalized with ‘ket’: 

Ni Jose ket imminom 

Ni             Jose        ket    imm-inom 

PN.ART   Jose        INV   ACT.PFV-drink 

‘Jose (by the way), drank’ 

 

  • Although Ilocano primarily uses a VSO word order where predicates come before predicate arguments, predicate arguments can come before the predicates if they introduce new or interesting information. 
  • Ilocano employs topicalization either by fronting the predicate argument followed by a pause or by using the inversion particle ‘ket’. 
  • It is common to add the particle -(e)n, ‘already’ when a phrase is topicalized with a pause.

 

Syntax: topicalization, word order  

Source: Elicitation with Marlene Martin done by Liam McFadden 

Ilocano Verb Argument Morphosyntax 

download.docx

1)

Nagluto ni Jose 

Nag-luto            ni            Jose 

ACT.PFV-cook PN.ART Jose 

‘Jose cooked’ 

2) 

Imminom           ni              Jose 

imm-inom          ni              Jose 

ACT.PFV-drink     PN.ART   Jose 

‘Jose drank’ 

3) 

Inluto ni Jose ti karne 

In-luto                        ni              Jose       ti              karne 

PAT.PFV-cook           PN.ART   Jose       ART         meat 

‘Jose cooked the meat’ 

4) 

Sagsagadan ni Jose 

Sagsagad-an                    ni             Jose 

Sweep.floor-DIR.CONT   PN.ART  Jose 

‘Jose is sweeping the floor’ 

5) 

Inlutuan ni Jose ni Maria 

In-lutu-an               ni                Jose   ni              Maria 

PFV-cook-BEN      PN.ART     Jose    PN.ART   Maria 

‘Jose cooked for Maria’ 

  • Ilocano employs a VSO word order in most cases. 
  • All Ilocano verbs have an affix that identifies a central ‘pivot’ argument with a corresponding thematic role. 
  • ART = article, PN.ART = personal noun article, PFV = perfective aspect, IMPFV = imperfective aspect, ACT = actor, PAT = patient, DIR = direction, BEN = benefactive 
  • Note that the root luto ‘cook’ changes to ‘lutu’ in 5 since /o/ is realized as [u] in word-medial and stressed positions). 

 

Morphosyntax: arguments, affixation 

Source: Elicitation with an Ilocano speaker done by Liam McFadden 

Verified by MonsterInsights