Dialect101.com

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Home Ilonggo

Welcome to Dialect101's learn to speak the Ilonggo/Hiligaynon Dialect.



Hiligaynon (sometimes also known as "Ilonggo") is an Austronesian language spoken in Western Visayas in the Philippines. Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. It is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, such as Capiz, Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, and many parts of Mindanao like Koronadal City, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and many parts of North Cotabato (It is spoken as a second language by Karay-a in Antique, Aklanon and Malaynon in Aklan, Cebuano in Siquijor[citation needed], and Capiznon in Capiz.). There are approximately 7,000,000 people in and outside the Philippines who are native speakers of Hiligaynon, and an additional 4,000,000 who are capable of speaking it with a substantial degree of proficiency.

It is a member of the Visayan language family.

The language is referred to as "Ilonggo" in Iloilo and in Negros Occidental. More precisely, "Ilonggo" is an ethnolinguistic group referring to the inhabitants of Iloilo and the culture associated with native Hiligaynon speakers. The boundaries of what is called Ilonggo and that called Hiligaynon are unclear. The disagreement of where what name is correct extends to Philippine language specialists and native laymen.