| Surigaonon | |
|---|---|
| Tandaganon, Surigao, Surigawnon | |
| Native to | Philippines |
| Region | Surigao del Norte, most parts ofSurigao del Sur, and some portion ofDinagat Islands,Agusan del Norte,Agusan del Sur andDavao Oriental |
| Ethnicity | Surigaonon |
Native speakers | 500,000 (2009[needs update])[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | Regional language in thePhilippines |
| Regulated by | Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:sgd – Surigaonontgn – Tandaganon |
| Glottolog | suri1274 |
 Area where Surigaonon is spoken according to Ethnologue | |
Surigaonon (Filipino:Surigawnon) is anAustronesian language spoken bySurigaonon people. As aregional Philippine language, it is spoken in the province ofSurigao del Norte,Surigao del Sur,Dinagat Islands, and some portions ofAgusan del Norte, especially the towns nearLake Mainit,Agusan del Sur andDavao Oriental. The language, along withButuanon andTausug, are the onlyVisayan languages geographically native toMindanao.
Surigaonon is a member of theBisayan languages.[2][3] It has been heavily influenced byCebuano due to the influx of manyCebuanos in the region. However, mostCebuano speakers can hardly understandSurigaonon speakers, except forCebuanos who have been living in the region for years.
Surigaonon is very closely related to theTausug language ofSulu and theButuanon language ofButuan.
Tandaganon[4] (also called Tinandag, Naturalis, Tagon-on) is a closely related variety spoken inTandag and centralSurigao del Sur municipalities ofSan Miguel,Tago,Bayabas,Cagwait,Marihatag,San Agustin, and most ofLianga. 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) variety, with about 400,000 speakers. Surigaonon speakers are distributed throughoutSurigao del Norte, northernSurigao del Sur, and northernAgusan del Norte.[5] Surigaonon and Tandaganon speakers can understand each other well, even if they use their own languages in conversation (similar to the mutual intelligibility between theBoholano dialect and thegeneral Cebuano dialect).
Together, Surigaonon and Tandaganon are spoken inSurigao del Norte and most parts ofSurigao del Sur, except in the City ofBislig, municipalities ofBarobo,Hinatuan,Lingig, andTagbina. In the non-Surigaonon-speaking areas of Surigao, most of the inhabitants are descended fromCebuano-speaking migrants, and the rest are natives who speakKamayo, aMansakan language.
According to Dumanig (2015),[6] Surigaonon has a similar phonological inventory as its sisterBisayan languages,Cebuano andBoholano.
Below is the vowel system of Surigaonon.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Open | a |
Below is a chart of Surigaonon consonants.
| Bilabial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Plosive | Voiceless | p | t | k | ʔ | |
| Voiced | b | d | ɡ | |||
| Affricate | d͡ʒ | |||||
| Fricative | s | h | ||||
| Flap | ɾ | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
Note:[j] is spelledy,[d͡ʒ] is spelledj and[ŋ] is spelledng.