Waray language

Waray
Waray-Waray, Samar-Leyte Visayan
Winaray, Samareño, Lineyte-Samarnon, Binisayâ nga Winaray, Binisayâ nga Samar-Leyte
Native toPhilippines
RegionEastern Visayas, some parts of Masbate, southern part of Sorsogon, and Gibusong Island of Mindanao
EthnicityWaray
Native speakers
3.6 million (2015 census)[1]
DialectsStandard Waray (Tacloban dialect), Northern Samar dialect, Calbayog dialect, Culaba-Biliran dialect, Abuyog dialect and 20 other identified dialects and subdialects
Latin;
Historically Baybayin
Official status
Official language in
Regional language in the Philippines
Regulated byKomisyon sa Wikang Filipino
Historically regulated by the Sanghiran san Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte
Language codes
ISO 639-2war
ISO 639-3war
Glottologwara1300
Areas where Waray-Waray is spoken
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Waray (also known as Waray-Waray or Bisayâ/Binisayâ nga Winaray/Waray, Spanish: idioma samareño meaning Samar language) is an Austronesian language and the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar, and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of western and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Bisayan languages, only behind Cebuano and Hiligaynon.

  1. ^ Waray at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016) Closed access icon