about 70 to 75 aboriginal languages of the Philippine Islands. They belong to the Indonesian branch of the Austronesian family and are subdivided into two main subgroups—the central (or Mesophilippine) division and the northern (or Cordilleran) division—with a number of other member languages forming smaller groups or remaining unclassified.

The most important languages in the central division are Tagalog (Tagalog language) (a standardized form of which, Pilipino (Pilipino language), is the official national language) and Cebuano (Cebuano language). The most important in the northern division is Ilocano.