Ilokano Lessons

The Philippines series of the PALI Language Texts, under the general editorship of Howard P. McKaughan, consists of lesson textbooks, grammars, and dictionaries for seven major Filipino languages. Ilokano is an Austronesian language. It ranks third among the major languages of the Philippines, being spoken by just over 12 percent of the population. Widely spoken throughout the Philippines, Ilokano is the dominant language of most of the provinces of Northern Luzon and is used as a lingua franca by non-Ilokano speakers in this area. Settlers have also carried the language to Mindoro and to several areas in Mindanao. Ilokano Lessons was developed under the auspices of the Pacific and Asian Linguistics Institute (PALI) of the University of Hawaii, and accompanies the Ilokano dictionary and the Ilokano reference grammar. The lessons in this text are supplemented by a series of appendixes consisting of vignettes of Ilokano life, songs, a glossary, and vocabulary lists.

Let's Speak Ilokano takes a new and lively approach to language learning. Lessons are learned in the context of simulated real-world experiences that are acted out in the classroom. Of related interest: Ilocano Dictionary and Grammar, by Carl Rubino

The Philippines series of the PALI Language Texts, under the general editorship of Howard P. McKaughan, consists of lesson textbooks, grammars, and dictionaries for seven major Filipino languages. Ilokano is an Austronesian language. It ranks third among the major languages of the Philippines, being spoken by just over 12 percent of the population. Widely spoken throughout the Philippines, Ilokano is the dominant language of most of the provinces of Northern Luzon and is used as a lingua franca by non-Ilokano speakers in this area. Settlers have also carried the language to Mindoro and to several areas in Mindanao. The Ilokano reference grammar was developed under the auspices of the Pacific and Asian Linguistics Institute (PALI) of the University of Hawaii, and accompanies the Ilokano dictionary by the same author as well as Ilokano Lessons by Bernabe, Lapid, and Sibayan. This reference grammar concentrates on syntactic structures. Professor Constantino cites morphological farms in depth in his dictionary. Consequently the treatment here should be used in conjunction with both the dictionary and the lessons mentioned above. It is the hope of the editor and author alike that this reference grammar will prove of value and interest to learners of Ilokano.

The Philippines series of the PALI Language Texts, under the general editorship of Howard P. McKaughan, consists of lesson textbooks, grammars, and dictionaries for seven major Filipino languages. Ilokano is an Austronesian language. It ranks third among the major languages of the Philippines, being spoken by just over 12 percent of the population. Widely spoken throughout the Philippines, Ilokano is the dominant language of most of the provinces of Northern Luzon and is used as a lingua franca by non-Ilokano speakers in this area. Settlers have also carried the language to Mindoro and to several areas in Mindanao. The Ilokano dictionary was developed under the auspices of the Pacific and Asian Linguistics Institute (PALI) of the University of Hawaii, and accompanies the Ilokano reference grammar by the same author as well as Ilokano Lessons by Bernabe, Lapid, and Sibayan. The dictionary contains some 7,000 Ilokano entries. Many of the entries are illustrated by Ilokano sentences to clarify usage.

Students familiar with Precy Espiritu’s widely used beginning language text Let’s Speak Ilokano will welcome Intermediate Ilokano. Each of the twelve lessons consists of eight major components: reading, vocabulary study, story, questions for conversation, grammar notes, writing practice, fluency practice, and culture notes. The text integrates eclectic approaches to language teaching and learning and encourages active participation by students. Intermediate Ilokano is intended for students with one year of college-level Ilokano but is also appropriate for younger learners at a comparable level.

This root-based dictionary of the Ilocano language is the most comprehensive dictionary produced of Ilocano (Iloko), the lingua franca of Northern Luzon, and historically the native language of the majority of Filipino immigrants to the United States. The body of the dictionary includes entries for roots and affixes with illustrative sentences, idioms, common derivations, and scientific names (when applicable). Ilocano synonyms are also furnished when appropriate. Derived words that undergo morphological fusion are listed as separate entries to facilitate lexical searches. There is also an affix cross-reference list to help the beginning student recognize root words. Unlike most dictionaries of Philippine languages, it has an extensive English to Ilocano section, information on the pre-Hispanic syllabary, and language maps of the Philippines showing where the largest concentration of Ilocano speakers reside. Of related interest: Let's Speak Ilokano, by Precy Espiritu

An essential source of reference for this linguistic community, as well as for linguists working on typology and syntax.