Ang Gamay nga Prinsipe — in Hiligaynon.
The Hiligaynon language, also often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region and parts of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is part of the Visayan language family, making it closely related to other Visayan languages such as Cebuano, Waray, and Aklanon. Hiligaynon is primarily spoken in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental, and it serves as a lingua franca in other parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
The heartland of Hiligaynon-speaking areas includes the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. It is also widely spoken in Capiz, Guimaras, and parts of Antique on the island of Panay, as well as in parts of Mindanao, particularly in cities like Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. Hiligaynon is one of the ten major languages of the Philippines, with approximately 9 to 10 million native speakers as of the last estimates.
Hiligaynon belongs to the Central Philippine branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages within the Austronesian family. It shares significant linguistic features and vocabulary with other Philippine languages, especially those within the Visayan group.
Hiligaynon has three basic vowels: /a/, /i/, /u/, which can appear as short or long vowels. The language has a set of 16 consonants. The phonology is characterised by its openness, with syllables typically ending in vowels
Grammar and Syntax. Like many Philippine languages, Hiligaynon employs a verb-focus system that is marked by verbal affixes to indicate the focus of the sentence, such as the actor, object, or location. Hiligaynon uses a set of personal pronouns that vary depending on the level of politeness and whether they are in the nominative, accusative, or oblique cases.
