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Inhabitants, called Bicolanos, speak any one of the several varieties of Bicol,
an Austronesian language closely related to other Central Philippine languages
such as Cebuano and Tagalog. Bicol varieties include Bicol Rinconada (Iriga-Buhi area),
the western Albay dialects Oasnun and Darage�o (Oas, Daraga), Bicol Sorsogon
(Sorsogon), Bicol Catanduanes and Bicol Partido (municipalities surrounding Lagonoy Gulf).
Standard Bicol is based on the dialect of Naga City and is spoken in a wide area
stretching from Camarines Norte, most of Camarines Sur, the entire east coast of Albay
(including Legazpi and Tabaco) and northern Sorsogon. Standard Bicol is generally
understood by other Bikol speakers and is the regional lingua franca.
The Bicol languages are the dominant languages of the region. The Filipino language
(Tagalog) is also spoken in northern parts of Camarines Norte as well as in the
municipality of Del Gallego, Camarines Sur. Two Visayan languages, Sorsoganon and
Masbate�o or Minasbate, are spoken in Masbate and Sorsogon; they are collectively
referred to as Bisakol.
The Bikol languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken particularly
on the Bicol Peninsula on the island of Luzon and parts of Catanduanes and Burias
Island, Masbate Province. There is also a continuum between Visayan languages and
Bikol languages, called Bisakol languages.
The eight varieties of Bikol according to the Ethnologue 15 are:
Coastal Bikol (Northern)
Naga
Agta, Isarog
Agta, Mt. Iraya
Central Bikolano
Virac (Southern Catanduanes))
Inland Bikol (Southern)
Agta, Mt. Iriga
Albay Bicolano (Buhi-Daraga)
Iriga Bicolano
Pandan (Northern Catanduanes)
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