Movement & Direction in Siargaonon

9 words and phrases, recorded by a native speaker of Siargaonon (Surigaonon), the language of Siargao Island in the Philippines. Part of Grammar & Mastery.

Hearing it spoken

Written Siargaonon can only take you so far — the sounds are what give a speaker away. Two rules matter more than any other: the letter J is always hard, as in the English "jump" (never softened to a "y"), and many words that use an L in neighbouring languages use a Y here — ulo becomes uyo, balay becomes bayay. The pronunciation guide covers both in detail.

Every phrase on this page can be heard aloud, drilled with flashcards and quizzes, and scheduled for review in the free app.

Two Ways to Ask Where Someone Is Going

Haman kaw singod? and Haman kaw mukadto? both ask where you are going, and both are correct. The first is the casual one you will hear on the road; the second is built around mukadto, with the mu- prefix marking something still to happen.

Neither is more polite than the other. Choosing between them is habit, and the one you hear most is the one to copy.

Kun-o for Ahead, Kagan-o for Behind

Kun-o kaw mo-larga asks when you will leave, and Kun-o man kaw mukadto sa iskuylahan? asks when you are going to school. Both point forwards, and both use kun-o.

Ask about something already done and the word changes to kagan-o, as the past and present actions page shows. The question word carries the tense before the verb gets a chance to.

Unu na adlaw kaw mu-larga asks which day you leave — same forward-looking mu-, this time asking for a day rather than a time.

A Sentence in the Past

An ako panaw adton sabado means my trip was last Saturday. It opens with an, the small marker doing the work of the, then the possessor, then the thing possessed.

English would say my trip and be done. Siargaonon marks the noun first and attaches ownership around it, which is worth reading slowly a few times until the shape feels ordinary.

Leaving and Approaching

Adto nako is I will leave now, and Ari nako is the alternative — both in use, neither more correct.

Duyod is to approach, specifically moving toward someone. Dayag is to climb. Both are bare roots, so they carry no timing until a prefix arrives to give them one.

Keep exploring

Is a word missing, or is something here wrong? This record is incomplete by definition — a living language is bigger than any one speaker. Tell us and it will be reviewed and added.