
The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of
Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the
Bicol Peninsula
Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...
in the island of
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, ...
, the neighboring island province of
Catanduanes
Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes, is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across Maqueda Ch ...
and the island of
Burias in
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate ...
.
Internal classification
Ethnologue

''
Ethnologue'' groups the languages of Bikol as follows:
*Coastal Bikol (Northern)
**
Isarog Agta language
**
Mount Iraya Agta language
**
Central Bikol language
***
Canaman dialect (standard)
***
Naga City dialect
***Partido dialect
***Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon (TLS) dialect
***Daet dialect
**
Southern Catanduanes Bikol language
*Inland Bikol (Southern)
**
Mount Iriga Agta language
**
Albay Bikol languages
***Buhinon language
***Libon language
***West Miraya language
***East Miraya language
**
Rinconada Bikol language
***Highland/Sinabukid dialect
****Agta variant
****Iriga variant (standard)
***Lakeside/Sinaranəw dialect
****Baao variant
****Bato variant
****Bula–Pili variant
****Nabua–Balatan variant
*
Northern Catanduanes Bikol (Pandan Bikol)
McFarland (1974)
Curtis McFarland gives the following classification for the Bikol languages.
Lobel (2000)
While McFarland (1974) splits Bikol into 11 dialects, Lobel (2000) splits Bikol into 12 different dialects (including Partido Bikol, which McFarland does not differentiate) and 4 main branches.
* Northern Coastal Bikol
#
Central Standard – spoken primarily in
Naga City, Cam. Sur,
Tabaco &
Legazpi, Albay and
Sorsogon City
Sorsogon City, officially the City of Sorsogon (Southern Sorsogon language, Waray Sorsogon: ''Syudad san Sorsogon''; bcl, Siyudad nin Sorsogon; fil, Lungsod ng Sorsogon), is a 3rd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component ...
, Sorsogon. Also recognized (and sometimes understood) in
Daet
Daet (), officially the Municipality of Daet ( bcl, Banwaan kan Daet; tl, Bayan ng Daet), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,700 peo ...
, Camarines Norte and many other areas of Camarines Sur,
San Pascual, Masbate on
Burias Island, first and second districts of Albay, southwestern coast of Catanduanes, and northeastern Sorsogon.
## Daet area variant
## Naga City area variant
## Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon area variant
## Southwestern and northern town of
San Andres and
Caramoran
Caramoran, officially the Municipality of Caramoran, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Catanduanes, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 32,114 people.
The main sources of livelihood of the town are gro ...
, Catanduanes.
#
Partido – spoken in the Camarines Sur municipalities of
Ocampo,
Goa,
Tigaon,
Lagonoy
Lagonoy, officially the Municipality of Lagonoy ( bcl, Banwaan kan Lagonoy; tl, Bayan ng Lagonoy), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 56,714 people.
E ...
,
Sagñay
Sagñay, , officially the Municipality of Sagñay ( bcl, Banwaan kan Sagñay; tl, Bayan ng Sagñay), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,841 peo ...
, and
San Jose. This dialect has a mellow intonation and is heavily influenced by Rinconada Bikol.
#
Southern Catanduanes – spoken in the southern half of Catanduanes.
##
Virac area variant
##
Bato area variant
##
Baras area variant
##
San Miguel variant (transitional to North Catanduanes)
* Southern Coastal and
Inland Bikol
#
Rinconada Bikol – spoken primarily in
Iriga City,
Baao,
Bula,
Balatan,
Baao and
Nabua, Camarines Sur. Also in some parts of Ocampo, Buhi and Pili in Camarines Sur and in parts of Polangui, Albay.
## Lakeside Rinconada dialect (lacks /
É™/ vowel)
## Highland Rinconada dialect (with /
É™/ vowel)
# Buhinon – spoken in
Buhi, Camarines Sur. Contains features from both the Bikol of Polangui, Albay and the Iriga variant of Rinconada Bikol.
# Libon – spoken in
Libon, Albay.
# West Miraya – spoken in
Ligao City,
Polangui,
Oas, and
Pio Duran, Albay.
# East Miraya – spoken in
Guinobatan,
Camalig,
Daraga &
Jovellar, Albay and
Donsol &
Pilar, Sorsogon.
## Central (
Guinobatan)
## Far East (
Camalig,
Daraga)
## Southeast (
Jovellar, Albay
Jovellar, officially the Municipality of Jovellar ( bcl, Banwaan kan Jovellar; tl, Bayan ng Jovellar), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,795 people.
The ...
,
Donsol,
Pilar)
* Northern Catanduanes
#
Pandan Bikol – spoken by about 80,000 people or the northern half of Catanduanes.
##
Bagamanoc
Bagamanoc, officially the Municipality of Bagamanoc, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Catanduanes, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 11,086 people.
History
At what is known as Bagatabao, but more ...
area variant
##
Caramoran
Caramoran, officially the Municipality of Caramoran, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Catanduanes, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 32,114 people.
The main sources of livelihood of the town are gro ...
area variant (transitional to South Catanduanes)
##
Gigmoto area variant (transitional to South Catanduanes)
##
Pandan area variant
##
Panganiban area variant
##
Viga area variant
*
Bisakol
Bisakol (portmanteau of ''Bisaya'' and ''Bikol'') is an informal term for the three Bisayan languages spoken in the Bicol Region. Men and women are differentiated by the following terms, ''Bisakolero'' and ''Bisakolera''.
These languages include ...
#
Northern Sorsogon – spoken in
Sorsogon City
Sorsogon City, officially the City of Sorsogon (Southern Sorsogon language, Waray Sorsogon: ''Syudad san Sorsogon''; bcl, Siyudad nin Sorsogon; fil, Lungsod ng Sorsogon), is a 3rd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component ...
,
Castilla
Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to:
Places Spain
*Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha
*Kingdom of ...
,
Casiguran and
Juban.
##
Castilla
Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to:
Places Spain
*Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha
*Kingdom of ...
area variant (mixed with Bikol-Legazpi)
##
Casiguran–
Juban area variant
#
Southern Sorsogon (also known as Gubat language) – spoken in
Gubat
Gubat, officially the Municipality of Gubat ( Gubatnon: ''Bungto san Gubat''; war, Bungto han Gubat, tl, Bayan ng Gubat), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
;
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
,
Bulusan
Mount Bulusan, also known as Bulusan Volcano, is a stratovolcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Located in the province of Sorsogon in the Bicol Region, it is southeast of Mayon Volcano and approximately southeast of the Philippin ...
,
Santa Magdalena,
Matnog,
Irosin, and
Bulan.
#
Masbateño – spoken in
Masbate City
Masbate City, officially the City of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Syudad san Masbate''; fil, Lungsod ng Masbate), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Masbate, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population ...
,
Mobo
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
,
Uson
Uson, officially the Municipality of Uson, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Masbate, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 57,166 people.
It is about southeast of Masbate City, connected by a pave ...
,
Dimasalang,
Palanas,
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate ...
,
Aroroy on the island of Masbate, all of
Ticao Island
Ticao Island is an island with a total land area of . It is one of the three major islands of Masbate province in the Philippines. It is separated from the Bicol Peninsula by the Ticao Pass
Ticao Pass is the strait that separates Ticao Island ...
, and
Claveria on the southern half of Burias Island.
## Standard Masbateño
##
Ticao Island
Ticao Island is an island with a total land area of . It is one of the three major islands of Masbate province in the Philippines. It is separated from the Bicol Peninsula by the Ticao Pass
Ticao Pass is the strait that separates Ticao Island ...
variant
Some dialects of Southern Bikol have the
close central unrounded vowel
The close central unrounded vowel, or high central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , namely the lower-case letter ''i'' with a ho ...
as a reflex of
Proto-Austronesian
Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify ...
. However, Proto-Austronesian is realized as in
Libon. Two Bikol dialects have unique additional consonants, namely Southern Catanduanes, which has an
interdental lateral
Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
Healthcare
*Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction
* Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle
* Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap
Phonetics
*Lateral co ...
consonant (also transcribed as ),
and Buhi-non, which has the
voiced velar fricative
The voiced velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound that is used in various spoken languages. It is not found in Modern English but existed in Old English. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ...
.
See also
*
Vocabulario de la lengua Bicol
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Translate Bikol an online English–Bikol and Bisakol languages translator.
*
A Bikol language database is available through the
Kaipuleohone Kaipuleohone is a digital ethnographic archive that houses audio and visual files, photographs, as well as hundreds of textual material such as notes, dictionaries, and transcriptions relating to small and endangered languages. The archive is stored ...
archive.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bikol Languages
Central Philippine languages
Languages of the Philippines
Bicolano