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 (

) variety, with about 400,000 speakers. Surigaonon speakers are distributed throughout

, 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

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

, 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.