The Inabaknon language, also known as Abaknon, Abaknon Sama, Capuleño, Kapul, or Capul Sinama, is an Austronesian language primarily spoken in the Island Municipality of Capul of Northern Samar, in the Eastern Visayas Region of the Philippines.
Unlike the other indigenous languages of the Eastern Visayas, namely Waray, Cebuano and Boholano, Inabaknon is not classified as part of the Visayan language family, but is rather grouped with the Sama–Bajaw languages.
Background Inabaknon is spoken on the island of Capul in the province of Northern Samar. According to oral folk history, due to their not liking the religion of the Moros who ruled over them, a group of people and their leader Abak fled Balabac. They sailed until reaching the island. The language is notable as being the only Sama language to not have had major Arabic influence via Islam.
Phonology +ConsonantsLabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalPlosive/Affricate () Fricative()Nasal()Approximant, The consonants in parentheses are only used in loanwords. +VowelsFrontCentralBackHighMid()()Low The mid vowels /e o/ are only found in loanwords.
Vocabulary + Inabaknon wordlist (Jacobson, personal communication, 2007)Language: Inabaknon https://abvd.eva.mpg.de/austronesian/language.php?id=189, in Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283. Accessed July 28, 2026. English Inabaknon Notes hand kambag / tamburo' kambag: arm up to the forearm; tamburo': hand left kawiri right kawanan leg/foot kitid to walk langngan road/path lalan / tinampo lalan: roadway; tinampo: feeder road to come da'ito / pada- "come here" to turn arop to veer to swim rangi dirty rigsok dust alpog skin anit / panit anit: animal skin; panit: vegetable skin back taludtod belly battong abdomen bone ta'ulang liver atay breast darakan shoulder sugbong to know, be knowledgeable alimagmag? / urup-urupan? to think huna'-huna' loanword; "to think, to ponder" to fear kuba-kuba / kulba kuba-kuba: to palpitate; kulba: fear with worry blood laha' head takulok neck kallong hair barahibo nose urong to breathe hingasong to sniff, smell hingos / singo / baho mouth bawa' tooth impon tongue dalla' to laugh patatawa / turakhak turakhak: belly laugh to cry bikho' / ngalngal bikho': to sob; ngalngal: to cry loudly with tears to vomit uta' to spit tupra / rukda' tupra: vulgar; rukda': to expectorate to eat kabos / kakan kabos: to eat voraciously; kakan: to dine to chew samsam general term to cook sugna' to drink tal'ok / inom tal'ok: to drink alcohol to bite pang'it / pa'pa' / kibkib kibkib: loanword to suck supsop ear talinga to hear kali / pakali eye mata to see kulaw? / bataw-bataw kulaw: to check; bataw-bataw: to look randomly to yawn huyam to sleep turi to lie down libbak to dream upi
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External links Literature and articles in Literature and articles in Abaknon.