[13][14]Iloco is also spoken outside of Luzon, including in Mindoro, Palawan, Mindanao, and internationally in Canada, Hawaii and California in the United States, owing to the extensive Ilocano diaspora in the 19th and 20th centuries.

[20] In early history, the Ilocano people referred to themselves as "Samtoy," a term derived from the Iloco phrase sao mi ditoy, meaning "our language."

[21] The term "Ilocano" originates from the native word "Ilúko" and has undergone linguistic evolution influenced by both indigenous and Spanish elements.

It is derived from the Ilocano prefix i-, meaning "of" or "from," combined with luék, luëk, or loóc, which denote "sea" or "bay."

[22] An alternative linguistic interpretation connects the term to the Ilocano words lúku or lúkung, which refer to flatlands, valleys, or low-lying areas.

This theory, proposed by archaeologist Peter Bellwood, posits that the Philippines was populated by Austronesian-speaking people who migrated from Taiwan around 3,000 BCE.

[24][25] Ilocano constitutes its own branch within the Philippine Cordilleran subfamily, which is part of the larger Northern Luzon languages.

The SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao has the highest concentration of Iloco speakers, with 248,033, the majority of whom reside in Sultan Kudarat (97,983).

[16] In September 2012, the province of La Union became the first in the Philippines to pass an ordinance recognizing Ilocano (Iloko) as an official provincial language, alongside Filipino and English.

[18][5] The modern Ilokano alphabet consists of 29 letters:[29] Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, LLll, Mm, Nn, Ññ, NGng, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz Pre-colonial Ilocano people of all classes wrote in a syllabic system known as Baybayin prior to European arrival.

The Ilocano version, however, was the first to designate coda consonants with a diacritic mark – a cross or virama – shown in the Doctrina Cristiana of 1621, one of the earliest surviving Ilokano publications.

aldao aldaw day Notes Historically, with the implementation by the Spanish of the Bilingual Education System of 1897, Ilocano, together with the other seven major languages (those that have at least a million speakers), was allowed to be used as a medium of instruction until the second grade.

16, s. 2012 stipulated that the mother tongue-based multilingual system was to be implemented for Kindergarten to Grade 3 Effective School Year 2012–2013.

It encompasses a profound backdrop of mythology, folklore, and superstition, all rooted in a tradition of oral history shaped by cultural evolution.

Key narratives include creation myths featuring figures such as Aran, Angalo, and Namarsua, the Creator, alongside tales of benevolent and malevolent spirits that are integral to the Ilocano worldview.

Shaped by centuries of interaction with diverse influences, Ilocano literature encompasses a wide array of literary forms, including epic poetry, folk tales, proverbs, riddles, religious documents, and songs.

Central themes include resilience, familial loyalty, honor, and a deep connection to both the natural and spiritual realms.

Ancient Ilocano poets articulated their expressions through folk and war songs, as well as the dállot, an improvised long poem delivered in a melodic manner.

While it has assimilated foreign elements over time, it continues to embody essential values such as courage, loyalty, and the importance of familial and ancestral bonds.

Ilocano culture is further celebrated through life rituals, festivities, and oral traditions, expressed in songs (kankanta), dances (salsala), poems (dandániw), proverbs (pagsasao), and literary duels (bucanegan).

These rich literary forms not only preserve Ilocano identity but also demonstrate its adaptability within the evolving Filipino cultural landscape.

In 1621, Lopez published the Doctrina Cristiana, the first book printed in Iloco, marking a significant milestone in the documentation of Ilocano literature.

A study of Iloco poetry can also be found in the Gramatica Ilokana, published in 1895, which is based on Lopez's earlier work, Arte de la Lengua Iloca, published in 1627 but likely written before 1606.In the 18th century, missionaries played a crucial role in promoting literacy and religious education among the Ilocano population through the publication of both religious and secular texts, including Sumario de las Indulgencias de la Santa Correa by Fr.

The 19th century witnessed the rise of Leona Florentino, who has been recognized as the "National Poetess of the Philippines," although her sentimental poetry received criticism from modern readers for lacking depth and structure.

Carlos Bulosan emerged as another prominent figure, with his novel America is in the Heart celebrated as a significant work in the Filipino-American literary canon.

Other distinguished writers from this period include F. Sionil Jose, known for his epic sagas set in Pangasinan, and Isabelo de los Reyes, who played a pivotal role in preserving and publishing Ilocano literary works, including the earliest known text of Biag ni Lam-ang.

Example: uso 'use'; oso 'bear' Unlike u and o, i and e are not allophones, but i in final stressed syllables in words ending in consonants can be [ɛ], like ubíng [ʊ.ˈbɛŋ] ('child').

In the orthography, vowels in sequence such as uo and ai, do not coalesce into a diphthong, rather, they are pronounced with an intervening glottal stop, for example, buok 'hair' /bʊ.ʔok/ and dait 'sew' /da.ʔit/.

The phoneme /h/ is a borrowed sound (except in the negative variant haan) and rarely occurs in coda position.

Ilocano uses a highly complex list of affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes and enclitics) and reduplications to indicate a wide array of grammatical categories.