Surigaonon is an
Austronesian language spoken by
Surigaonon people. As a
regional Philippine language, it is spoken in the province of
Surigao del Norte
Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...
,
Dinagat Islands,
Surigao del Sur, and some portions of
Agusan del Norte, especially the towns near the
Mainit Lake,
Agusan del Sur and
Davao Oriental.
External relationships
Surigaonon is a member of the
Bisayan languages
The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mo ...
. It has been heavily influenced by
Cebuano due to the influx of many
Cebuanos in the region. However, most
Cebuano speakers can hardly understand
Surigaonon speakers, except for
Cebuanos who have been living in the region for years.
Surigaonon is very closely related to the
Tausug language of
Sulu
Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu ( Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Its cap ...
and the
Butuanon language
Butuanon is an Austronesian regional language spoken by the Butuanon people in Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur, with some native speakers in Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte. It is a part of the Bisayan language family and is closely ...
of
Butuan.
Varieties
Tandaganon
Tandaganon (also called Tinandag, Naturalis, Tagon-on) is a closely related variety spoken in
Tandag and central
Surigao del Sur municipalities of
San Miguel,
Tago,
Bayabas,
Cagwait
Cagwait, officially the Municipality of Cagwait ( Surigaonon: ''Lungsod nan Cagwait''; tl, Bayan ng Cagwait), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 21,747 ...
,
Marihatag,
San Agustin, and most of
Lianga. It can be classified as a separate language or alternatively as a southern variety of Surigaonon. There are about 100,000 speakers.
Surigaonon (also called Jaun-Jaun, Waya-Waya) itself on the other hand is the northern (
Surigao del Norte
Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...
) variety, with about 400,000 speakers. Surigaonon speakers are distributed throughout
Surigao del Norte
Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...
, northern
Surigao del Sur, and northern
Agusan del Norte.
Surigaonon and Tandaganon speakers can understand each other well, even if they use their own languages in conversation (similar to the mutual intelligibility between the
Boholano dialect and the
general Cebuano dialect).
Together, Surigaonon and Tandaganon are spoken in
Surigao del Norte
Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...
and most parts of
Surigao del Sur, except in the City of
Bislig, municipalities of
Barobo,
Hinatuan,
Lingig, and
Tagbina. In the non-Surigaonon-speaking areas of Surigao, most of the inhabitants are descended from
Cebuano-speaking migrants, and the rest are natives who speak
Kamayo, a
Mansakan language.
Phonology
According to Dumanig (2015),
Surigaonon has a similar phonological inventory as its sister
Bisayan languages
The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mo ...
,
Cebuano and
Boholano.
Vowels
Below is the vowel system of Surigaonon.
Consonants
Below is a chart of Surigaonon consonants.
Note: is spelled ''y'', is spelled ''j'' and is spelled ''ng''.
Clusters
Surigaonon has 25 consonant clusters (br, bl, bw, by, dr, dy, dw, gr, gw, kr, kl, kw, mw, my, nw, pr, pl, pw, py, sw, sy, tr, tw, ty, hw) and 4 diphthongs (aw, ay, iw, uy), which is similar to Cebuano.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Languages of the Philippines
Visayan languages
Languages of Surigao del Norte
Languages of Surigao del Sur
Languages of Dinagat Islands
Languages of Agusan del Norte
Languages of Agusan del Sur
Languages of Davao Oriental