Kankanaey, also spelled Kankana-ey or Kankanaëy, (kan-ka-NA-əy; kali di Kankanaëy [kaˌli di kankaˈnaɁəj]) is a South-Central Cordilleran language under the Austronesian family spoken on the island of Luzon in the Philippines primarily by the Kankanaey people. Alternate names for the language include Central Kankanaey, Kankanai, and Kankanay. It is widely used by Cordillerans, alongside Ilocano, specifically people from Mountain Province and people from the northern part of the Benguet Province.^{[page needed]} Kankanaey has a slight mutual intelligibility with the Ilocano language.

Ethnologue lists Mankayan-Buguias, Kapangan, Bakun-Kibungan, and Guinzadan as dialects of Kankanaey. Northern Kankanaey is listed as a separate language.

Kankanaey is spoken in northern Benguet, southwestern Mountain Province, southeastern Ilocos Sur, northeastern La Union, southwestern Ifugao, and northwest Nueva Vizcaya. Northern Kankanaey is spoken in western Mountain Province, southeastern Ilocos Sur, and southern Abra.

Some words with this sound are as follows:

Kankanaey content roots divide the Kankanaey lexicon into different categories to define their usage and word type. The categories are class roots, property roots, stative roots, perception-stative roots, physical roots, and action roots. Word charts and definitions taken from Janet Allen's Kankanaey: A Role and Reference Grammar Analysis.

Class roots are a class of nouns that are defined by physical or other sensory characteristics.

Property roots point out a characteristic like size, taste, color, etc.

Stative roots point out a temporary physical condition. Result-stative roots are states that are changed by an outside source.