Language Contexts

Ibatan of Babuyan Claro (Philippines) – Language Contexts

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Abstract

Babuyan Claro is a small island in northern Philippines, home to a dynamic multilingual community of speakers proficient in at least three languages, namely Ibatan, the local language, Ilokano, the regional lingua franca, and Filipino, the national language. Ibatan, the smallest of the three, has emerged out of an intense and complex contact setting in Babuyan Claro characterized by a kind of egalitarian multilingualism, but its less privileged position vis-à-vis Ilokano and Filipino at present has led to changing patterns of multilingualism across generations, driven by interacting social, political, and cultural changes. Currently, language choices and uses among the first-language and second-language speakers of Ibatan reflect how speakers form networks of interaction across the island. That is, speakers strongly tied to particular networks reflect greater affinity towards Ibatan, whereas those tied to other networks show stronger affinity towards Ilokano. The multilingual landscape of Babuyan Claro is one that clearly demonstrates not only change, but also fragility, where the effect of extra-linguistic pressures on the language ecology of the island has become more and more pronounced as the community has become further integrated into the modern nation state.

Keywords: Babuyan Claro, Northern Philippines, Ibatan, Ilokano, Filipino

How to Cite:

Gallego, M., (2020) “Ibatan of Babuyan Claro (Philippines) – Language Contexts”, Language Documentation and Description 17, 87-110. doi: https://doi.org/10.25894/ldd100