Ilokano Reference Grammar

Book excerpt: 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.