Hiligaynon

Hiligaynon, also often referred to as Ilonggo or Binisayâ/Bisayâ nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, predominantly in Panay Island, Negros Occidental, and Soccsksargen, most of whom belong to the Hiligaynon people. It is the second-most widely spoken language in the Visayas and belongs to the Bisayan languages. It is more distantly related to other Philippine languages.

It also has one of the largest native language-speaking populations of the Philippines, despite it not being taught and studied formally in schools and universities until 2012. Hiligaynon is given the ISO 639-2 three-letter code hil, but has no ISO 639-1 two-letter code.

Hiligaynon is mainly concentrated in the regions of Western Visayas (Iloilo, Capiz, and Guimaras), Negros Island Region (Negros Occidental), and Soccsksargen (South Cotabato including General Santos, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato). It is spoken in other neighboring provinces, such as Antique and Aklan in Western Visayas, Negros Oriental in Negros Island Region, Masbate in Bicol Region, and southern parts of Mindoro, Romblon and Palawan in Mimaropa.

From Wikipedia · Hiligaynon language · CC BY-SA 4.0