Cebuano (or Bisaya, pronounced as [bɪ’saja] in Cebuano) is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people. The name “Cebuano” is derived from the island of Cebu, home to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.Like Tagalog, the Cebuano language was heavily influenced by the Spanish language during the period of colonialism. With the arrival of Spanish colonials, for example, a Latin-based writing system was introduced to the Cebuano language. Today Cebuano is used far more frequently as a spoken language than it is a literary language. Writing system: Latin (Cebuano alphabet) Official language in: Regional language in the Philippines