Tausug language

Tausug[lower-alpha 1] (Tausug: Bahasa Sūg;[lower-alpha 1][2][3] Malay: Bahasa Suluk) is an Austronesian language spoken in the province of Sulu in the Philippines and in the eastern area of the state of Sabah, Malaysia by the Tausūg people.

Tausug
Bahasa Sūg[lower-alpha 1]
بَهَسَ سُوگ
Native toPhilippines, Malaysia
Region— Spoken throughout the Sulu Archipelago (Basilan and Tawi-Tawi), southern Palawan and eastern Sabah
— Also spoken in Zamboanga City and Zamboanga Peninsula
EthnicityTausug
Native speakers
1.1 million (2000)[1]
Latin (Malay alphabet)
Arabic (Jawi)
Official status
Official language in
Regional language in the Philippines
Regulated byKomisyon sa Wikang Filipino
Language codes
ISO 639-3tsg
Glottologtaus1251
  Areas where Tausug is the majority language

It is widely spoken in the Sulu Archipelago (Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan), Zamboanga Peninsula (Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga City), Southern Palawan and Malaysia (Eastern Sabah). Tausug and Chavacano are the only Philippine languages spoken on the island of Borneo.

The Tausug language has some lexical similarities or near similarities with Surigaonon language of the provinces Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur and with the Butuanon language of Agusan del Norte; it has also some vocabulary similarities with Sugbuanon, Bicolano and with other Philippine languages.[2] Many Malay and Arabic words are found in Bahasa Sūg.

Etymology

The local name of the language is Bahasa Sūg (Sūlū Language). The term Tausūg (Tausug: tau Sūg, meaning "people of Sūlū") is derived from two words: tau ("person") and Sūg[4] (the transformation of "Sūk", itself the contraction of Sūlūk[5]). Thus, Tausug refers to people while Bahasa Sug refers to the language. "Sūlūk" has derived from "Ahl ul-Sūlūk", or "People of the Path (to Allah)," that refers to the Islamic missionaries who arrived to spread the religion of Islam.[6] A similar sounding word "sug", that means "water-current", has been inaccurately used by foreign writers as the etymologic source of the term; the two words, even if similarly pronounced, are not related.[2]

Phonology

Vowels

Tausug has three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/, /u/, with phonemic length (e.g. īpun, "shrimp" vs. ipun, "tooth"). Stress is not phonemic and usually occurs on the final syllable.[7]

The vowel phonemes have a broad range of allophones:[8]

  • /a/: [a,ɐ,ɑ]
  • /i/: [i,ɪ]
  • /u/: [u,ʊ,ɤ,ʌ,ə]

Known locally as Bahasa Sūg, Tausug is a lingua franca spoken in the different areas/islands of the archipelago especially in the southern Philiippines,[9] and it has expectedly developed some variations in accent and vocabularies from one area to another, but there are notable two basic dialects that formed on the basis of vowel use. The "Gimbahanun" (literally means people from the farm) speakers, the residents of the out-of-town rural areas, use four vowels: /a/, /i/, /u/ and /ü/,[10] the last vowel representing schwa sound or "obscure u", with the IPA symbol "ə"; most likely as a result of the aggregate influences of the languages of the colonists Austronesian, Champuan, Majapahit, and Sanskrit, which all have schwa vowels. The "Parianun", the residents of the urban areas, use only three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/, /u/,[11] which are similar to that of the Arabic language; most probable explanation is that when the Arab missionaries later arrived not to colonize but teach Islam and basic Arabic, the lessons were concentrated on the urban residents, the rural areas being harder to infiltrate.

Consonants

The consonant phonemes are:[12]

Labial
Labiodental		 Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive
Affricate		 voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d d͡ʒ <j> ɡ
Fricative f s h
Approximant l j <y> w
Trill r

Allophones:[8]

  • /b/: per default [b], but [β] between vowels
  • /g/: per default [ɡ], but [ɣ] between vowels
  • /h/: per default [h], but [ɦ] between vowels
  • /r/: per default [r], but [ɹ] before /m,n,g,k/

Medial gemination (of all non-glottal consonants) is phonemic.[8]

Grammar

Personal pronouns

Tausug has three pronouns sets:[13]

nominative genitive oblique
1st person singular aku ku kāku'
1st person dual kita ta kātu'
2nd person singular ikaw, kaw mu kaymu
3rd person singular siya niya kaniya
1st person plural inclusive kitaniyu taniyu katu'niyu, katu'natu'
1st person plural exclusive kami namu kāmu'
2nd person plural kamu niyu kaniyu
3rd person plural sila nila kanila

Case markers

The case markers of Tausug are:[14]

nominative genitive oblique
common insinha
proper singular hikay
proper plural hinda'kanda'

Non-subject undergoers take the oblique marker when definite or a proper noun, but indefinite common nouns take the genitive marker sin.

  • Hi Nasul in kimaun ha mampallam. "It was Nasul who ate the mango."
  • Nagdakdak sin baju' in manga bujang. "The maidens washed clothes."

Existentials

The positive existential ("there is") is aun, the negative existential ("there is none") is way.[15]

Interrogative words
EnglishTausug
Who?Siyu?/Hisiyu?[16]
What?Unu?
Where?Diin? / Hariin? / Hāin? (contracted Hariin) / Haunu? (Ha+uuu)
Why?Mayta'? / Mahi?
When? (future)Ku'nu?
When? (past)Ka'nu?
How? (manner)Biya'diin?
How many?Pila?

Verbs

Verbs in Tausug are inflected for focus and aspect.[17]

completed progressive contemplative imperative
Actor focus ⟨im⟩
nag-
naN-		C⟨im⟩V-
nag-CV-
naN-CV-		‹um›
mag-
maN-		∅
∅
paN-
Patient focus ⟨i⟩C⟨i⟩V--un-a
Locative focus ⟨i⟩ -anC⟨i⟩V- -an-an-i
Instrument focus ⟨i⟩C⟨i⟩V-hi--an

Affixes expressing ability:

completed progressive contemplative
Actor focus naka-nakaka-maka-
Patient focus na-na-CV-ma-
Locative focus kia- -ankia-CV- -anka- -an
Instrument focus kia-kia-CV-hika-

Numbers

Tausug numerals:[16][18]

Tausug
1 isa / hambuuk
2 duwa
3 tū
4 upat
5 lima
6 unum
7 pitu
8 walu
9 siyam
10 hangpū'
11 hangpū' tag isa
20 kawha'an
30 katlu'an
40 kapatan
50 kay'man
60 kanuman
70 kapituwan
80 kawaluwan
90 kasiyaman
100 hanggatus
1,000 hangibu

Writing system

The Tausūg language was previously written with the Arabic alphabet. The script used was inspired by the use of Jawi in writing the Malay language.

An example of the Arabic alphabet in writing the Tausūg language:

  • Latin script – Wayruun tuhan malayngkan Allāh, hi Muhammad ing (in) rasūl sin Allāh
  • Arabic script – وَيْـرُٷنْ تُـهَـنْ مَـلَـيِـڠْـكَـن هَالله، هِـمُـحَـمَّـدْ ئِـڠ رَسُـولْ سِـڠ الله
  • English translation – There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

The Arabic script used to write the Tausug language differs in some aspects from the script used for the Arabic language and in the Jawi script used for Malay languages. One of the main differences is in the way that word-initial vowels are written.

In Arabic, /in/ is (إن); in Jawi (Malay), it is (ان). In Tausug, it is (ئِن). The Tausug Arabic script utilises the letter yā' with a hamza (ئ) to represent a short vowel. If a kasra (ئِ) is added, it becomes an 'i' sound. If a fatha (ئَ) is added, it becomes an 'a' sound. If a damma (ئُ) is added, it becomes a 'u' sound.

Latin
Tausug Alphabet (Bahasa Sūg Alipbā'tā')
Letter ABDGHIJKLM
Name Alipbā' dālgā' hā' ījīmkāplāmmīm
IPA /a//b/, /β//d//ɡ/, /ɣ//h/, /ɦ//i//dʒ//k//l//m/
Letter NNgPRSTUWY'
Name nūnngā' pā' rā' sīntā' ūwāwyā' hamja
IPA /n//ŋ//p//r/, /ɹ//s//t//u//w//j//ʔ/

Arabic
Tausug Alphabet – Arabic Script
CharacterIsolatedInitialMedialFinalName
اﺍﺎalip
بﺏﺑـﺒـﺐbā'
تﺕﺗـﺘـﺖtā'
جﺝﺟـﺠـﺞjīm
ددـدdāl
رﺭـرrā'
سﺱﺳـﺴـﺲsīn
غﻍﻏـﻐــﻎgayn
ڠڠڠــڠــڠngā'
فﻑﻓـﻔـﻒpā'
ککﻛـﻜـکkāp
گگﮔـﮕــﮓgāp
لﻝﻟـﻠـﻞlām
مﻡﻣـﻤـﻢmīm
نﻥﻧـﻨﻦnūn
وﻭـوwāw
هﻩﻫـﻬﻪhā'
يﻱﻳـﻴـﻲyā'
ءءءhamja
أأـأalip with hamja above
ﺅﺅـﺆwāw with hamja above
ئئئـــئــئyā' with hamja above
لالالاــلاــلاlām alip

Examples
English Tausug Latin Script Tausug Arabic Script
What is your name? Unu in ngān mu?[lower-alpha 2] / Siyu in ngān mu? اُنُ ئِـن ڠَـان مُ؟
My name is Muhammad In ngān ku Muhammad ئِـن ڠَـان كُ مُـحَـمَّـد
How are you? Maunu-unu na kaw? مَـؤُنُعاُنُ نَـكَـو؟
I am good Marayaw da isab مَـرَيَـو دَ ئِـسَـب
Where is Ahmad? Hariin hi Ahmad? هَـونُ هِ أحـمَـد؟
He is in the house Yadtu siya ha bāy هَ بَـاي سِـيَ
Thank you Magsukul kaymu مَـگـسُـكُـل

Loanwords

Many Tausug words derive from the Arabic language.

Some examples of Arabic words in Tausug are

Tausug Word Meaning (Tausug) Arabic Word Pronunciation Meaning (Arabic)
Adab manners أدب adab manners
Ahirat Hereafter آخرة ākhirah hereafter
Ajayb amazing عجيب 'ajīb amazing
Akkal intelligence عقل 'Aql intellect
Alam universe عالم 'ālam world
Allāh God الله Allāh God
Amānat message أمانة amānah trust
Ammal use عمل 'amal to make
Awal origin أوّل awwal first
Awliya ascetic أولياء awliyā' ascetics
Ayat verse آية āyah verse
Ayb shame عيب 'ayb shame
Barawi Desert robber بدوي badawī bedouin
Batāl unclean باطل bātil void
Bilāl Muezzin/caller to prayer بلال Bilāl Bilal ibn Rabah
Daawa excuse/alibi دعوة da'wah invitation
Duhul extremity دخول dukhūl entrance
Daira city دائرة dā'irah area
Dayyus cuckold ديّوث dayyūth cuckold
Dunya earth دنيا dunyā world
Duwaa prayer دعاء du'ā prayer/supplication
Habal news خبر khabar news
Hadas impurity حدث hadath impurity
Hakīka birth ritual عقيقة aqīqah birth ritual
Hakīkat truth حقيقة haqīqah truth
Hatīb speaker خطيب khatīb speaker
Hawa Eve حواء Hawā' Eve
Hidāyat announcement هداية hidāyah guidance
Hikmat wisdom حكمة hikmah wisdom
Hukum judge حكم hukm ruling
Humus alms خمس khums fifth
Hutba' sermon خطبة khutbah sermon
Hurup sound of a letter حروف hurūf letters
Ibilīs demon إبليس Iblīs devil
Ihilās sincerity إخلاص ikhlās sincerity
Ijin blessing إذن idhn permission
Ilmu' knowledge علم 'ilm knowledge
Imān forbearingness إيمان īmān faith
Intiha' end إنتهى intihā end
Irādat determination إرادة irādah determination
Islām Islam إسلام Islām Islam
Istigapar to beg pardon إستغفار istighfār to beg pardon
Instinja pure إستنجاء istinjā' to clean one's self
Jabūr Psalms زبور zabūr Psalms
Jāhil foolish جاهل jāhil ignorant
Jakāt tithe زكاة zakāh tithe
Jamāa congregation جماعة jamā'ah congregation
Jamān clock زمان zamān time
Janāja bier جنازة janāzah funeral
Jāt appearance ذات dhāt self
Jaytūn olive زيتون zaytūn olive
Jin spirit جنّ jinn demon
Jinā adultery زنا zinā adultery
Juba garment جبّة jubbah garment
Jubul anus دبر dubr anus
Junub pollution جنوب junūb dirty
Jurriyat lineage ذرية dhurriyyah offspring
Kahawa coffee قهوة qahwah coffee
Kāpil disbeliever كافر kāfir disbeliever
Karāmat miracle كرامة karāmah miracle
Kawwāt power قوّة quwwah force
Kubul grave قبور qubūr graves
Kudarat Power of God قدرة qudrah ability
Kulbān sacrifice قربان qurbān sacrifice
Kuppiya' male head covering كوفيّة kūffiyah kefiyyeh
Kupul disbelief كفز kufr disbelief
Lidjiki' blessing رزق rizq sustenance
Maana meaning معنة ma'nah meaning
Magrib sunset مغرب maghrib sunset
Magsukul Thanks شكر shukr thanks
Mahluk human مخلوق maklūq created
Maksud purpose مقصود maqsūd intended
Makbul fulfilled مقبول maqbūl accepted
Malak Beautiful ملك malak Angel
Maruhum deceased مرحوم marhūm deceased
Masrik east مشرق mashriq east
Matakaddam parable متقدّم mutaqaddam preceding
Mayat corpse ميت mayt dead
Mujijat mystery معجزة mu'jizah miracle
Mulid pupil مريد murīd pupil
Munapik hypocrite منافق munāfiq hypocrite
Murtad apostate مرتد murtad apostate
Muskil uncommon مشكل mushkil problem
Mustahak lawful owner مستحقّ mustahaqq deserving
Mustajab occurred مستجاب mustajāb answered
Muwallam scholar معلّم mu'allim teacher
Nabī prophet نبي nabī prophet
Najal promise نذر nadhar vow/promise
Najjis filth ناجس nājis filthy
Napas breath نفس nafas breathe
Napsu desire نفس nafs ego/desire
Nasihat advice نصيحة nasīhah advice
Paham familiarity فهم fahm understanding
Pardu' legislation فرض fard compulsory
Piil action فعل fi'l action
Pikil think فكر fikr thought
Pir'awn Pharaoh فرعون fir'awn Pharaoh
Rahmat blessing رحمة rahmah mercy
Rasūl messenger رسول rasūl messenger
Ruku' bow ركوع rukū' bowing
Rukun precept ركن rukn pillar
Sabab because سبب sabab reason/cause
Sahabat follower صحابة sahābah companions
Saytān Satan شيطان shaytān Satan
Sual discussion سؤال su'āl question
Subu dawn صبح subh dawn
Sunnat female circumcision سنّة sunnah tradition/sunnah
Takabbul arrogant تكبّر takabbur arrogance
Takwīm calendar تقويم taqwīm calendar
Tallak divorce طلاق talāq divorce
Tarasul Tausug poem تراسل tarāsul correspondence
Tasbi prayer beads تسبيح tasbīh praise
Ummul age عمر 'amr age
Wajib compulsory واجب wājib compulsory
Wakap pause وقف waqf pause
Waktu time وقت waqt time

Tausug words derived from Sanskrit

Tausug Word Meaning (Tausug) Sanskrit Word Pronunciation Meaning (Sanskrit)
Guru teacher गुरु guru teacher
Naga dragon नाग nāga serpent
Āgama religion आगम āgama religion
Lahu' eclipse राहु rāhu eclipse
Lupa appearance रूप rūpa appearance
Dukka grieve दुःख duḥkha suffering
Sutla' silk सूत्र sūtra to sew/thread

Notes
  1. Rightful name is "Bahasa Sūg" (Sūlū Language); "Tausūg" is a term that means "people", but has been inaccurately used to mean the language, becoming familiar even if not accurate.
  2. "Unu in ngān mu?" is a literal translation of Tagalog question "Ano ang pangalan mo?" (or "What is your name?" in English) but is not used by autochthonous Tausūg in day-to-day conversations. To use "Unu in ngān mu" is a glaring sign that the speaker is not a Tausug. "Siyu (or Hisiyu) in ngān mu?" is used for knowing the given or personal name, but to know other callings that are not personal, "Unu" is used, as in: "Unu in pagtawag kaymu ha bāy?" (What is your calling in the house?... "In pagtawag kāku' Bungsu, sabab aku in kabungsuhan." (My calling is Bungsu because I am the youngest); "Unu in ama' mu? Siyu in ngān niya?" (What is your father? What is his name?)..."In ama' ku mangingista'. In ngān niya hi Abdulla." (My father is a fisherman. His name is Abdulla);

See also

References
  1. Tausug at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Bangahan, Benjamin S., M.D. (2015). "English-Bahasa Sūg Dictionary". Vibal Publishing House.
  3. Jannaral, Julmunir I. (2019-09-11). "English-Bahasa Sug dictionary launched today". Manila Times. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  4. Jim Haskins (1982). The Filipino Nation: , or Tausug could also mean, strong people from the word "tau" means – people, "sug" from the word " kusug – strong. The Philippines : lands and peoples, a cultural geography. Grolier International. p. 190. ISBN 9780717285099.
  5. "Tausug | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  6. Hamsain, AbdulAziz H. (2016-06-27). "The Journey of a Tausug Doctor". TausugOnline. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  7. Peneyra (1992), pp. 1–2.
  8. Tan, Evangeline K. (1967). "The phonology of Tausug: a descriptive analysis". open.library.ubc.ca. M.A.Thesis, University of British Columbia. p. 16.
  9. "Tausug". www.csueastbay.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  10. Tan, Evangeline K. (1967). The phonology of Tausug : a descriptive analysis (Thesis). University of British Columbia.
  11. Rubino, Carl R. Galvez (2005). Intensive Tausug: A Pedagogical Grammar of the Language of Jolo, Phillipines. Dunwoody Press. ISBN 978-1-931546-17-1.
  12. Peneyra (1992), p. 1.
  13. Peneyra (1992), pp. 4–5.
  14. Peneyra (1992), pp. 7; 14–15.
  15. Peneyra (1992), p. 32.
  16. Zorc, David Paul (1977). The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction. Canberra, Australia: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. doi:10.15144/PL-C44. ISBN 0858831570.
  17. Peneyra (1992), pp. 35–47.

Bibliography
  • Peneyra, Irma V. (1992). A grammatical sketch of the Tausug language. The Archive, Publication 6. Diliman: University of the Philippines.

Further reading
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