1 Chapter 1 – Introduction 1.0 Brief Introduction of Isinay Isinay (more commonly known as Isinai) is an Austronesian language spoken in the municipalities of Aritao (see map 2), Bambang (see map 3) and Dupax del Sur (see map 4) in the province of Nueva Vizcaya in the Philippines (see map 1). Isinay is the term used for both the language and its native speakers. The etymology of the word Isinay is unclear. There is no evidence whether the name came from the Isinay themselves or if they adopted this name given to them “by others” (Scheerer, 1918, p. 4). As of the present, an estimated 30,000 people speak Isinay (Cruz, 2010). Among the three varieties of Isinay (Isinay Aritao, Isinay Bambang and Isinay Dupax), Isinay Dupax has the most number of speakers comprising more than 50% of the total Isinay speakers or 16,000 people. Isinay Bambang came in second with around 14, 000 speakers while Isinay Aritao only has as few as 100 speakers. Nearly every Isinay is bilingual in Ilocano and/or Filipino. Being the most predominant language in Region II, Ilocano is widely use in all provinces belonging to the region including Nueva Vizcaya and as the lingua franca of the Philippines, Filipino is compulsory taught in all levels in all schools all over the country. Some Isinay can also communicate in Central Cordilleran languages such as Ifugao, Itneg, Kalinga, Kankanaey, Bontok and Balangaw through intermarriages or close contact. 1.1 Objectives, Scopes and Limitations Unlike what has already been written and published on Isinay language, this present work focuses on only one variety of Isinay, the Isinay Dupax variety and by using this variety, the researcher endeavors to provide a basic grammatical description of the language, without making an attempt to compare it with the other Isinay varieties, other Central cordilleran languages or Philippines languages. The variety is chosen because among the three varieties, it has the strongest language status (Basco, et. al, 2009; Cruz, 2010). Furthermore, through personal interview (Perlawan, 2013), the researcher found out that Isinay Dupax was considered as the standard Isinay.