Bikol languages


The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the southeastern part of Luzon, the neighboring island-province of Catanduanes, and the island of Burias in Masbate.

Internal classification

Ethnologue

Ethnologue groups the languages of Bikol as follows:
  • Bikol
  • *Coastal Bikol
  • **Isarog Agta language
  • **Mount Iraya Agta language
  • **Central Bikol language
  • ***Canaman dialect
  • ***Naga City dialect
  • ***Partido dialect
  • ***Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon dialect
  • ***Daet dialect
  • **Southern Catanduanes Bikol language
  • *Inland Bikol
  • **Mount Iriga Agta language
  • **Albay Bikol languages
  • ***Buhinon language
  • ***Libon language
  • ***West Miraya language
  • ***East Miraya language
  • **Rinconada Bikol language
  • ***Highland/Sinabukid dialect
  • ****Agta variant
  • ****Iriga variant
  • ***Lakeside/Sinaranəw dialect
  • ****Baao variant
  • ****Bato variant
  • ****Bula–Pili variant
  • ****Nabua–Balatan variant
  • *Northern Catanduanes Bikol

    McFarland (1974)

Curtis McFarland gives the following classification for the Bikol languages.

Lobel (2000)

While McFarland splits Bikol into 11 dialects, Lobel splits Bikol into 12 different dialects and 4 main branches.
Some dialects of Southern Bikol have the close central unrounded vowel as a reflex of Proto-Austronesian. However, Proto-Austronesian is realized as in Libon. Two Bikol dialects have unique additional consonants, namely Southern Catanduanes, which has an interdental lateral consonant , and Buhi-non, which has the voiced velar fricative.