ILOKANO


at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa

 

Ilokano is the chief regional language of northern Luzon in the Philippines spoken by over ten million native speakers. It ranks third (after Cebuano and Tagalog, respectively) in the number of native speakers. In the United States, Ilokano is the native and ancestral language of the majority of Filipinos, including approximately 85% of the Filipino population in Hawaii. In recognition of the large Ilokano population in the State of Hawaii, the University of Hawaii (UH) has supported the establishment of a full Ilokano Program --- the only one of its kind in the world.