In English, the language is primarily known as Tausug (i.e., Tausug language "language of the Tausug people"). The local name of the language is bahasa Sūg (Sulu language). The term Tausūg (tau Sūg, meaning "people of Sulu") is derived from two words: tau ("person") and Sūg^[4] (The transformation of "Sūk", itself the contraction of Sūlūk^[5]). Thus, in Tausug, Tausug refers to people while Bahasa Sūg refers to the language. Several scholars postulate that "Sūlūk" derives from "Ahl ul-Sūlūk", or "people of the path (to Allah)," in reference to the Islamic missionaries who arrived to spread the religion of Islam.^[6] Meanwhile, a similar sounding word "sug", which means "water-current", has been given by a number of writers as the etymologic source of the term; the two words, even if similarly pronounced, are not related.^[2] In the past, the language has also been simply referred to using the generic term "Moro".^[7]

Tausūg is an Austronesian language. It is classified by linguists as being a member of the Bisayan languages family, which includes Cebuano and Waray.^[8] In particular, it has many similarities with the Surigaonon language of the provinces Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur and with the Butuanon language of Agusan del Norte^[8] – both spoken in northeastern Mindanao; hence, Zorc (1977) groups these three languages as part of a "South Bisayan" grouping.

Tausūg is primarily spoken in the Sulu Archipelago, which aside from the island of Sulu, also includes the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands and the island of Basilan. It is a lingua franca spoken in different areas/islands of the archipelago.^[9]

Due to migration, the language is also spoken alongside other local languages in the Zamboanga Peninsula (e.g., Cebuano and Chavacano), which includes the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga City. It is also spoken in Southern Palawan,Eastern Sabah, Malaysia and in Nunukan Regency,North Kalimantan,Indonesia.

Vowels edit

Tausūg 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.^[10]

The vowel phonemes have a broad range of allophones:^[11]

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

Tausūg has expectedly developed some variations in accent and vocabulary from one area to another, but there are two basic dialects characterized by differences with regard to vowel sounds. 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 /ə/,^[12] the last vowel representing schwa sound or "obscure u", a retention from Proto-Philippine and Proto-Bisayan. The "Parianun", the residents of the urban areas, use only three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/, /u/,^[13]; the loss of /ə/ is common in many Bisayan and other Philippine languages.

Consonants edit

The consonant phonemes are:^[14]

Allophones:^[11]

• /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.^[11]

Pronouns edit

Personal pronouns edit

Tausūg has three pronouns sets:^[15]

Demonstratives edit

Case markers edit

The case markers of Tausūg are:^[16]

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 edit

The positive existential ("there is") is aun, the negative existential ("there is none") is way.^[17]

Interrogative words edit

Verbs edit

Verbs in Tausūg are inflected for focus and aspect.^[18]

Affixes expressing ability:

Numbers edit

Tausūg numerals:^[8][19]

Tausūg is today primarily written using the Latin alphabet. Historically, it had previously been written using 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 – وَيْرُؤُنْ تُهَنْ مَلَيِڠْکَن هَالله، هِمُحَمَّدْ ئِڠ رَسُولْ سِن الله
• English translation – There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

The Arabic script used to write Tausūg differs in some aspects from the script used for Arabic and in the Jawi script used for Malay. 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 Tausūg, it is (ئِن). The Tausūg Arabic script utilizes 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 edit

Arabic edit

Many Tausug words derive from the Arabic language.

Some examples of Arabic words in Tausug are

Tausūg words derived from Sanskrit

• Languages of the Philippines
• Yakan
• Bikol
• Cebuano
• Chavacano
• Hiligaynon
• Kapampangan
• Ilocano
• Pangasinan
• Bisayan languages
• Waray language

• Publications in Tausūg and other Philippine languages
• Tausug-English Dictionary of SIL International. online version accessible from Webonary.org.
• Tausug at Wiktionary
• Tausug Language by Dr. Carl G. Rubino
• Bansa.org Tausug Dictionary Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
• Tausug English Glossary Search for common Tausug Words
• Tausug 101 by Anak Iluh