The Ibanag (also Ybanag and Ybanak or Ibanak) are an
ethnolinguistic minority numbering a little more than half a million people, who inhabit the provinces of
Cagayan
Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, coverin ...
,
Isabela, and
Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...
. They are one of the largest ethnolinguistic minorities in the
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 ...
.
Etymology
The
endonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
"Ibanag" comes from the prefix ''I-'' which means "people of", and ''bannag'', meaning river. This toponym-based name is similar to the unrelated etymology for the
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people ( tl, Mga Tagalog; Baybayin: ᜋᜅ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) are the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering at around 30 million. An Austronesian people, the Tagalog have a well developed society due to their ...
, which is derived from ''taga-'' ("person from") and ''ilog'' ("river")
Language
The Ibanag language (also Ybanag) is spoken by about 500,000 speakers in two of the northeasternmost provinces of the Philippines, Isabela, and Cagayan. It is closely related to
Gaddang,
Itawis, Agta,
Atta,
Yogad
Yogad is an Austronesian language spoken primarily in Echague, Isabela and other nearby towns in the province in northern Philippines. The 1990 census claimed there were around 16,000 speakers.
Classification
Anthropologist H. Otley Beyer des ...
,
Isneg, and
Malaweg.
It is spoken especially in
Tuguegarao City
Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao ( ibg, Siyudad nat Tugegaraw; itv, Siyudad yo Tugegaraw; ilo, Siudad ti Tuguegarao; fil, Lungsod ng Tuguegarao ), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Cagayan, Phi ...
,
Solana,
Cabagan
Cabagan, officially the Municipality of Cabagan ( ibg, Ili nat Cabagan; ilo, Ili ti Cabagan; tl, Bayan ng Cabagan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 5 ...
, San Pablo, Tumauini, Sta. Maria, Sto. Tomas,
Ilagan,
Gamu
Gamu, officially the Municipality of Gamu ( ilo, Ili ti Gamu; tl, Bayan ng Gamu), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 30,655 people.
While not a commercially ...
,
Naguilian, and
Reina Mercedes,
San Mariano, Isabela. There are also several speakers of the Ibanag language in
Abulug,
Aparri
Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people.
It sits at the mouth ...
,
Camalaniugan,
Lal-lo, and
Tuao
Tuao, officially the Municipality of Tuao ( ibg, Ili nat Tuao; ilo, Ili ti Tuao; tl, Bayan ng Tuao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,970 people.
Etymol ...
. Most of the speakers can speak Ilocano, the
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of
Northern 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 ...
, as well.
Displacement
Ibanags speak the same language under the same name. However, due to several factors including the use of
Filipino as the national lingua franca and Ilocano as a regional one, the use of
Ibanag language
The Ibanag language (also ''Ybanag'' or ''Ibanak'') is an Austronesian language spoken by up to 500,000 speakers, most particularly by the Ibanag people, in the Philippines, in the northeastern provinces of Isabela and Cagayan, especially in T ...
has now diminished but remains strong with Ibanags living overseas. Thus while there may still be Ibanags around, the language is slowly being displaced. In addition to this, many if not most Ibanags speak
Ilocano, which has over the years, supplanted Ibanag as the more dominant language in the region.
References
External links
Bansa.org Ibanag Dictionary
{{Authority control
Ethnic groups in Luzon