Ilocano

Ilocano is an Austronesian language and as such is related to Indonesian, Malay, Fijian, Maori (of New Zealand), Hawaiian, Malagasy (of Madagascar), Samoan, Tahitian, Chamorro (of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), Tetum (of East Timor), and Paiwan (of Taiwan). The language is spoken by about 10 million people in the Philippines, mainly in the northwest of Luzon island, and also in Mindanao. There are significant numbers of Ilocano speakers in the USA, Middle East, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Canada and Europe as well.

Map of Ilocano language speakers.
Enlarge
Map of Ilocano language speakers.

Basic stats

First language : 7.7 million

Second language : 2.3 million

Main Countries: Philippines

Alternate names: Iloko

ISO 639-3 Code: ilo


Language Sample

Amin nga tao nga sibibiag ket naiyanak a siwawayawaya ken addaan iti agpapada nga dayaw ken kalintegan. Naikkanda ti panagikalintegan ken konsensya a nasken ti panagtitinnulong iti meysa ken meysa iti espiritu nga nainkak-absatan.

(Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1)


Some proverbs in Ilocano:

Ti bassít a káyo nalaká a lintegén, ngem no dakkél narigáten
A young tree is easy to straighten, but when it's big it is difficult

No trabáho, gulpién, no kanén, in-inúten
If it's work, do it fast. If it's food, eat it little by little

Ti kukuá masapúlan ngem ti pintas saán
Wealth can be acquired but beauty cannot

Product Availability

The following products are currently available in Ilocano:

  • For Consumers

(Coming soon)

Sources

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