Surigaonon () is an

Austronesian language The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken b ...

spoken by Surigaonon people. As a regional Philippine language, it is spoken in the province of Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands,

Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur (Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Sur''; ; ), officially the Province of Surigao del Sur, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Caraga Regions of the Philippines ...

, and some portions of Agusan del Norte, especially the towns near Lake Mainit, Agusan del Sur and Davao Oriental. The language, along with Butuanon and Tausug, are the only Visayan languages geographically native to

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

External relationships

Surigaonon refers to the people and the language of the people of Surigao del Sur and del Norte. It is composed of ethnic languages of Surigao the mix version of Surigao's ethnic language and Cebuano. 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 and the Butuanon language of Butuan.

Varieties

Tandaganon

Tandaganon (also called Tinandag, Naturalis, Tagon-on) is a closely related variety spoken in Tandag and central

municipalities of San Miguel, Tago, Bayabas, Cagwait, 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

Surigaonon (also called Jaun-Jaun, Waya-Waya) itself on the other hand is the northern ( Surigao del Norte) variety, with about 400,000 speakers. Surigaonon speakers are distributed throughout Surigao del Norte, northern

, 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 and most parts of

, 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, 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''.