Question Words in Siargaonon
14 words and phrases, recorded by a native speaker of Siargaonon (Surigaonon), the language of Siargao Island in the Philippines. Part of Questions & Conversations.
| Siargaonon | English | Notes on usage |
|---|---|---|
| Uno man tun? | What is that? | 'Man' form — asks what something IS |
| Uno may imo? | What do you want? | 'May' form — asks about an action |
| Uno may ila tag laong? | What did they say? | |
| Uno may ato mahimo? | What can we do? | |
| Diin / Haman | Where | 'Haman' is more casual |
| Kun-o | When (future) | |
| Kagan-o | When (past) | |
| Uno | What | |
| Sin-o / Siman | Who | 'Siman' is more casual |
| Tag-uno | How | |
| Hae | Where | Haman = hae + man |
| Pila kabook | How many | Pila alone = how much |
| Ngano / Uman | Why | 'Uman' is the local form |
| Pila | How many / How much |
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.
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