Itneg languages

Not to be confused with Isnag or Isneg, a Northern Cordilleran language.

Itneg is a South-Central Cordilleran dialect continuum found in the island of Luzon, Philippines. This language and Ilocano are spoken by the Itneg people (sometimes also referred to as the "Tingguian people") in Abra.

Itneg
Native to	Philippines
Region	Luzon
Ethnicity	Igorot (Itneg)
Native speakers	17,000 (2003)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Northern Luzon Meso-Cordilleran Central Cordilleran Kalinga–Itneg Itneg
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Regional language in the Philippines
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: itb – Binongan Itneg iti – Inlaod Itneg itt – Maeng Itneg tis – Masadiit Itneg ity – Moyadan Itneg
Glottolog	itne1252
Areas where the various Itneg dialects (including Kalinga Itneg) are spoken according to Ethnologue

Several ethnic-Itneg dialects are taxonomically part of the neighboring Kalinga language.

Locations and dialects

Ethnologue reports the following locations for each of the five Itneg languages.

• Binongan Itneg: Licuan-Baay, Abra. 7,500 speakers.
• Inlaod Itneg: a few villages in Peñarrubia, Lagangilang, Danglas, and Langiden municipalities, Abra. 9,000 speakers.
• Maeng Itneg: Luba, Tubo, and Villaviciosa municipalities, Abra. 18,000 speakers.
• Masadiit Itneg: Sallapadan, Bucloc, and Boliney municipalities, Abra; also in the western border strip of Kalinga Province. 7,500 speakers. Dialects are Masadiit Boliney and Masadiit Sallapadan.
• Moyadan Itneg: Abra. 12,000 speakers.

However, Ronald Himes (1997)^[2] recognizes two dialects for Itneg, namely Binongan (eastern) and Inlaod (western).

Phonology

Itneg languages almost sound the same with Ilocano, Pangasinan, and other Igorot languages.

Vowels

Itneg speakers use 5 vowel sounds: /a/, /i/, /u/, /ɛ ~ e/, /o/.

Consonants

Itneg features doubled consonants, so the language may sound guttural to Tagalog, Ilokano, and even Pangasinan speakers. The uniqueness of this circumstance is often expressed by saying Itneg speakers have "a hard tongue".

Itneg is also one of the Philippine languages which is excluded from [ɾ]-[d] allophony.