Iraya language
The Iraya language is a language spoken by Mangyans on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. Zorc (1974) places the Iraya language within the North Mangyan group of Malayo-Polynesian languages, though Lobel (2013) notes that it shows "considerable differences" to Tadyawan and Alangan, the other languages in this group. There are 6,000 to 8,000 Iraya speakers, and that number is growing. The language status of Iraya is developing, meaning that this language is being put to use in a strong and healthy manner by its speakers, and it also has its own writing system (though not yet completely common nor maintainable).
| Iraya | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Philippines |
| Region | Mimaropa |
Native speakers | (10,000 cited 1991) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | iry |
| Glottolog | iray1237 |
| ELP | Iraya |
Ethnologue reports that Iraya is spoken in the following municipalities of northern Mindoro island.
- Mindoro Occidental Province: Paluan, Abra de Ilog, northern Mamburao, and Santa Cruz municipalities
- Mindoro Oriental Province: Puerto Galera and San Teodoro municipalities
Barbian (1977) also lists the location of Calamintao, on the northeastern boundary of Santa Cruz municipality (7 km (4.3 mi) up the Pagbahan River from the provincial highway).
The language is not well documented, though a translation of the Bible is available locally.