Bisayan Islands & Languages
Who are the Bisayan?
Where are the Visayas?
What languages do they speak?
The Visayas are the central islands of the Philippine archipelago. Although Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines, there are more Visayan language speakers than Tagalog, as it is also the dominant language of Mindanao due to inter-island migration.
Many different languages exist within the Visayan language tree, believed to be of Austronesian/ Polynesian/ Malay origins. Differences are NOT simply dialects; these are unique local ways of communal transmission & native heritage in an area of complex biodiversity & rich histories of cross-cultural exchange.
Even though Hiligaynon, Cebuano & Waray are the common Visayan languages of the Philippines, these are by far NOT the only ones, & within each one, there are MANY dialects. (The Bantayanon language that I speak, for example, combines Hiligaynon, Cebuano & Waray!)
Learning ONE of these three main Visayan languages opens points of access to linked local roots & networks of relationships across the islands. If you are of Visayan origins within the international network of Filipinos, learning a Visayan language is an important bridge for reconnection to your roots!
Western Visayas
Hiligaynon
Central Visayas
Sugbuanon
Eastern Visayas
Hiligaynon