Samar - Languages and Dialects

Languages and Dialects

Residents of Samar are mostly Waray, the sixth largest cultural-linguistic group in the country. 90.2 percent of the household population speaks the Waray language while 9.8 percent also speak Cebuano; 8.1 percent Boholano; 0.07 percent Tagalog and 0.5 percent other languages. There are two types of Waray spoken in the province, Waray Lineyte-Samarnon which is spoken from the southernmost tip of the province up to the municipality of Gandara and Waray Calbayog, an intermediary between the Waray of Northern Samar and the Waray of Samar, spoken in Calbayog City, Santa Margarita, and in some parts of Tagapul-an, Santo Niño and Almagro. Cebuano is spoken in some parts of the first district of Samar, mainly in Calbayog City, Almagro, Santo Niño and Tagapul-an. English and Chinese languages are also spoken.