BATANES

Itbayat Ivatan and Ivatan (sometimes referred to as "Ibatan") are two closely related languages spoken
by different communities within the Batanes Islands in the Philippines. While they share similarities due
to their common Austronesian origin and geographic proximity, they are distinct languages with some
differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Here's a brief overview of the differences
between Itbayat Ivatan and Ivatan:

Geographic Distribution:

Itbayat Ivatan: Itbayat Ivatan is primarily spoken on Itbayat Island, the northernmost and largest of the
Batanes Islands.

Ivatan: Ivatan is spoken on the other islands of the Batanes group, including Batan, Sabtang, and the
smaller islets.

Vocabulary:

While there are many similarities in vocabulary between the two languages, there are also differences in
some words and terms. This is partly due to the geographical isolation of the islands, which can lead to
variations in language use.
Ivatan has two dialects; Basco Ivatan, more commonly known as Ivasay, spoken on the main island
of Batan, and Southern Ivatan or Isamurung, spoken on the southern half of Batan and on the most
southern island, Sabtang.
In the capital of Basco and the surrounding northern half of Batan, the area encompassed by
Ivasayen, t is prominent, whereas in the Isamurongen zone to the south (Mahatao, Ivana, Uyugan
and Sabtang) that phoneme becomes a ch.
Examples of the more visible variations of the Ivasayen and Isamurongen words and pronunciations
are:

 tiban ('to look') in Basco is chiban in the southern towns

 antiyaw ('later') in Basco is anchiyaw in the southern towns
 kabatiti ('patola') in Basco is kabachichi in the southern towns
 timoy ('rain') in Basco is chimoy in the southern towns
Itbayaten is sometimes also considered a dialect. 2% of the total vocabulary does not occur in Ivatan
dialects. Examples of different Ivasayen, Isamurongen and Itbayaten words that have the same
English translation:

 adkan ('to kiss') in Basco and the southern towns is umahan in Itbayat.
 arava ('none') in Basco and the southern towns is aralih in Itbayat.
 bago ('pig') in Basco and the southern towns is kuyis in Itbayat.
 otioyan ('nest') in Basco is ochoyan in the southern towns and hangtay in Itbayat.
 ipes ('tail') in Basco is vochivot in the southern towns and also ipes in Itbayat.
Ivatan and Filipino words are sometimes combined, as in the Ivatan word mapatak. It is derived
from marunong (Filipino) and chapatak (Ivatan), literally 'someone who knows', which were then
compounded to form the word mapatak. This is the result of the influence of non-Ivatans who tend to
speak the language and were then eventually adopted.
Examples of metathesis in Ivatan include iskarayla for iskalayra ('stairs')
and tumaraya for tumayara ('going up').
Ivatan slang includes examples such as tanchew, coined from mirwa ta anchiyaw – literally 'we’ll
meet again later', and nganmu, coined from jinu ngayan mu, literally 'where are you going'. These
are results of shortening Ivatan phrases or sentences into one or two words, depending on usage.
Grammar and Syntax:

Both languages share a basic grammatical structure that is typical of Austronesian languages, including
verb-subject-object (VSO) word order.

Kumain ako ng kanin. (I ate rice.)

Umulan kahapon ng malakas. (It rained heavily yesterday.)

Naglaro ang mga bata sa park. (The children played in the park.)

Tumulong ang mga estudyante sa proyekto. (The students helped with the project.)

Nagtanim sila ng mga halaman sa harap ng bahay. (They planted plants in front of the house.)

Phonology
Vowels of Ivatan[3]

Front Central Back

Close i ɯ u

Open a

/u/ can also be lowered to Vowels [e] and [o] only occur in loanwords from Spanish, Ilocano,
and Tagalog.

Consonants of Ivatan[3]

Glotta
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
l
 Nasal m n ɲ ŋ

voiceless p t tʃ k
Plosive/
Affricat ʔ
e
voiced b d dʒ ɡ

Fricative v s ɣ h

Approximant l j w

Tap ɾ

/h/ can also be heard as a velar fricative . Ivatan is one of the Philippine languages that do not
exhibit [ɾ]-[d] allophony.

Grammar
Pronouns
The following set of pronouns is found in the Ivatan language.

Nominative Nominative Genitive Genitive Locativ

free bound free bound e

1st person singular yaken 'ako niaken ko diaken

2nd person singular 'imo 'ka nimo mo dimo

3rd person singular sia sia nia na dia

1st person plural

yaten ta niaten ta diaten
inclusive

1st person plural

yamen kami niamen namen diamen
exclusive
2nd person plural 'inio kamo ninio nio dinio

3rd person plural sira/sa sira/sa nira da dira

Cultural terms of the Ivatan people

 uve, uvi, sudi – yam; staple crop
 sudi – taro
 wakay – sweet potato
 bulyas – onions
 baka – cow
 kaddin – goat
 kayvayvanan – friendship; cooperative work by a community which starts at the blow of a
shell horn called a vodiadong
 payohoan – helping one another; work club of teenagers who alternate their shifts
 faluwa; chinarem; tataya – three boats used for fishing
 kabbata – legends
 laji – lyric folk songs
 kalusan – working songs
 sisyavak – humorous anecdotes and tales
 kabbuni – riddles
 pananahan – proverbs
 vachi – song leader
 mais – corn
 paray – rice plant
 dukay – lesser yam
 rakarakanen – vegetables
 hagsa – an extinct wild deer
 vulaw a bagu – wild boar
 tatus – coconut crabs
 lakasan – tops of wooden trunks used for storing cloth and other valuables which serve
as benches
 dulang – low dining table
 bangku – low bench
 rahaung, camarin – a storeroom for larger farm equipment such as plows, harrows,
sleds, cards, and the ox-drawn pole used for clearing off sweet potatoes and other vines
from fields being prepared for re-cultivation
 vuyavuy – Phoenix loureiroi, a small palm growing usually on Batanes coastal hills
 talugung – a kind of conical hat woven from strips made from the stalk of a local plant
called nini
 pasikin – small bamboo or rattan baskets worn on the back
 lukoy – bolo knife
 suhut – sheath of a bolo knife
 suut, vakul – a head-and-back covering woven from the stripped leaves of banana or
the vuyavuy
 alat – baskets
 batulinaw – a necklace made of hollow globules (1½ cm. in diameter) interspersed with
smaller pieces of gold in floral patterns and held together by a string made of fiber
 tamburin – an all-gold necklace whose beads are smaller and more ornate than
the batulinaw, and lockets
 seseng, pamaaw, chingkakawayan, liyano, de pelo, dima s'bato, pitu s'bato, de
perlas, bumbolya, karakol, pinatapatan – traditional earrings that come from the Spanish
period
 angang – jars
 dibang – flying fish
 payi – lobster
 arayu – dorado
 mataw – dorado fisherman
 tipuho – breadfruit
 uhango – pandan
 tamidok – fern
 chayi – fruit similar to lychee Pometia Pinnata
 soot – generic term referring to the Ivatan rain cape made from the finely stripped leaves
of the vuyavuy palm.
 vakul – woman's soot, worn on the head.
 kanayi – man's soot, worn on the shoulders.
 falowa – Ivatan boat, now usually motorized, for 10–20 passengers.
 tataya – Ivatan dory with twin oars, for 2–4 passengers.
 timban – church
 vanuwa – port
 avayat – a broad directional term used to indicate the west, a western direction or the
western side.
 valugan – a broad directional term sued to indicate the east, an eastern direction or the
eastern side.
 palek – sugar cane wine
 malisto – fast
 mawadi – slow
 mavid – beautiful
 kuman – eat
 minem – drink
 bapor, tataya – boat
 taw – sea
 ranum – water
 salawsaw – wind
 kayvan – friend
 mahakay – man
 mavakes – woman
 masalawsaw – windy
 makuhat – hot
 matimuy/machimuy – raindrops
Phrases
 Hello – Kapian capa nu dios
 How are you? – Ara ca mangu?
 I am fine – Taytu aco a mapia
 I am not fine – Ara coava mapia
 Thank you – Dios mamajes
 Where are you going? – Ngayan mo?
 I am going to... – Mangay aco du...
 Where is ___? – Ara dino si ___?
 Straight ahead – Direcho
 How much? – Manyi Pira?
 How many? – Pira?
 Good – Mapia
 No good – Mapia/Mavid ava
 Yes – Oon
 I want ___ – Makey ako no ___
 I don't want – Makey aco ava
 I have a problem – Mian problema ko
 No problem – Arava o problema
 Good luck – Mapia palak
 What's your name? – Angu ngaran mo?
 Where is the house of ___? – Jino vahay da ___?
 There – du nguya, du daw, dawr
 Here – diaya
 Hungry – mapteng
 Thirsty – ma-waw
 Tired – mavanah, chinagagan (south), navanax
 Happy – masuyot, masaray
 Whistling – mamito, mihiñoxay (Itbayat)
 Soft – mahma, maxma & mayuxma (Itbayat)
 Sea – taw, hawa (Itbayat)
 Bird – manumanok, kangkang (Itbayat)
 Perpendicular – maybatbat, mipatinu-nong (Itbayat)
 Mud – hetek, xetek (Itbayat)
 Yesterday – kakuyab
 Afternoon – makuyab
 When are we going? – Antin mangu ta mangay?
 When are you going to cut your hair? – Antin mangu ka mapagugud?

Ivatan words
Etymology
Coined words are two words combined to form one new word.

Sentence Coined word Meaning Usage

Mirwa ta anchiya We'll meet again Street
Tanchew
w later. language

Street
Jinu ngayan mu Nganmu Where are you going?
language

Similarities with other Philippine languages

Person House Dog Coconut Day New

Va-
Ivatan Tawo Vahay Chito Niyoy Araw
yo

Tagalog Tao Bahay Aso Niyog Araw Bago

Haron Aya Alda Ba-

Bikol Tawo Niyog
g m w go

Adla Bag-
Cebuano Tawo Balay Iro Lubi
w o

Adla Ba-
Tausug Tau Bay Iru' Niyug
w gu

Aya Adla Bag-

Kinaray-a Taho Balay Niyog
m w o

Kapampanga
Tau Bale Asu Ngungut Aldo Bayu
n

Pangasinan Too Abong Aso Niyog Agew Balo

 Alda
Ilocano Tao Balay Aso Niog Baro
w

Gaddang Tolay Balay Atu Ayog Aw Bawu

Tboli Tau Gunu Ohu Lefo Kdaw Lomi

Similarities with the Tao language

Day Home Friend Eat Drink

Ara Vaha Kuma Mino

Ivatan Cayvan
w y n m

Ara Vaha Kagaga Kuma Minu

Yami 雅美/達悟
w y n n m

Accommodation
Room Mail Water Time

Cuart Danu
Ivasayen Tulas Oras
o m

Itbayate Cuart Tura Ranu

Oras
n o s m

Approval and disapproval

Nothin
Good Of course Ok Pretty Yes No Perhaps
g

Oka
Ivasayen Mapia Siyempre Mavid Oon Omba Arava Siguro
y

Itbayate Map'pi Siyempre Oka Mavij Uwe Engg Aralih Siguro

n a y n a

Colors
Gre Whit
Black Blue Brown Dark Gray Light Red Yellow
en e

Ivasay Mavaje Maa Chocol Masa Mavua Berd Mavay Mayd Mañuja
Marial
en ng nil ati ri vo e a ac ma

Itbayat Mavaw Chocol Masa Mavu- Mareng Mavay Mahil Mayuxa

A'sul Birdi
en eng ati rih avo ang ah ak ma

Days of the week

Monda Wednesda
Sunday Tuesday Thursday Friday Saturday
y y

Doming Biyerni
Ivasayen Lunis Martis Miyirkolis Juibis Sabado
o s

Itbayate
Lumingu Lunis Martis Mirkulis Juybis Birnis Sabalu
n

Direction
Left Right Straight ahead

Wana
Ivasayen Huli Diricho
n

Itbayate Gur Wana

Diricho
n i n

Cardinal numbers
Zero On Two Thre Fou Five Six Seve Eight Nine Ten
 e e r n

Ivayase Siro, ab As Dadu Tatd Apa Dadim Ane Papit Wawa Sasya Sapuj
n u a a u t a m o jo m o

Itbayate Siro, a' A's Dadu A'p Lalim A'ne Sasya Sapux
Atlu Pito Waxo
n bu a ha at a m m u