Most Spoken Dialect in South Cotabato
South Cotabato is a melting pot of people coming from different regions and tribes. There are over 20 different dialects spoken in the province and most of the South Cotabateños are multilingual, able to communicate in Hiligaynon and/or Cebuano, as well as in both Tagalog and English. Other languages spoken are Ilocano and Maguindanao. The indigenous tribes like the T'boli's and B'laan, in addition, use their own tribal dialects.
Based on reports from the NSO, Hiligaynon tops the list as the most spoken dialect in South Cotabato, being the mother tongue of 52.4% of the household. Cebuano ranks second, and T'boli third.
Hiligaynon 52.4%
Cebuano 14.2%
T’boli 15.6%
Ilocano 4.6%
Maguindanaoan 3.6%
Karay-a 1.6%
Tagalog 1.5%
South Cotabato is a melting pot of people coming from different regions and tribes. There are over 20 different dialects spoken in the province and most of the South Cotabateños are multilingual, able to communicate in Hiligaynon and/or Cebuano, as well as in both Tagalog and English. Other languages spoken are Ilocano and Maguindanao. The indigenous tribes like the T'boli's and B'laan, in addition, use their own tribal dialects.
Cebuano 14.2%
T’boli 15.6%
Ilocano 4.6%
Maguindanaoan 3.6%
Karay-a 1.6%
Tagalog 1.5%
Ilonggos from Panay and Negros in
the Visayas settled in the municipalities of Norala, Banga, Surallah, Sto. Niño
and the City of Koronadal. On the other hand, people from the Ilocano speaking
regions of Luzon settled in Tampakan, Tantangan and Tupi, and the Ilocano
language may still be heard spoken in these towns. The Visayan language,
Cebuano is also the main dialect in the municipalities of Polomolok and Tupi
(along with Ilonggo and Tagalog). Both towns are near to Cebuano-speaking
General Santos City.
The Maguindanao tribe is the major Muslim Filipino
tribe in South Cotabato. Other tribes are
the T'boli and B'laan tribes in the municipalities
of Lake Sebu and T'boli .