Central Bikol | |
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Bicolano Central | |
Native to | Philippines |
Region | Bicol |
Ethnicity | Bicolano people |
Native speakers
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(2.5 million cited 1990 census) 6th most spoken native language in the Philippines |
Latin (Bikol alphabet) Bikol Braille Historically Baybayin |
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Official status | |
Official language in
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Regional language in the Philippines |
Regulated by | Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
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Glottolog | cent2087 |
Central Bikol, commonly called Bikol Naga, is the most-spoken language in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bikol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur. The standard Sprachraum form is based on the Canaman dialect.
Central Bikol features some vocabularies that are not found in other Bikol languages nor to other members of the Central Philippine language family like Tagalog and Cebuano. Examples of these are words the matua and bitis which are the same with Kapampangan words that means older and foot/feet respectively. The word banggi (night) is another example of this as it is different from the usual Bikol word "gab-i" but closer to the word bengi of Kapampangan. There's no formal study about the relationship of the Central Luzon languages to Central Bikol but the latter has several words that are also found in the archaic form of Tagalog spoken in the Rizal and Quezon provinces that are believed to be the home of Central Luzon languages such as Kapampangan in Pampanga and southern Tarlac, and Sambalic languages in Zambales province.