ðĶ
Halea Institute
Halea Institute
| Person | Subject | Oblique | Gen. I (before noun) | Gen. II (postposed) | Short |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I / me | akÃģ | sa akÃē | ako bayay | bayay nako | ko |
| You (sg.) | ikÃĄw / 'kaw | sa imÃģ | imo bayay | bayay nimo | mo |
| He / She | sijÃĄ | sa ijÃĄ | ija bayay | bayay nija | â |
| We (incl.) | kita | sa ato | ato bayay | bayay nato | â |
| We (excl.) | kami | sa amo | amo bayay | bayay namo | â |
| You (pl.) | kamo | sa ijo | ijo bayay | bayay nijo | â |
| They | sila | sa ila | ila bayay | bayay nila | â |
Used for strong emotion â urgency, anger, deep love. Dimo (to you), dija (to him/her), dijo (to you all).
| Type | Subject marker | Object / Oblique |
|---|---|---|
| Personal names / titles | si | sa kan |
| Common nouns (transitive obj.) | an | nan |
| Common nouns (intransitive / location) | an | sa |
| Focus | What is highlighted | Verb marker | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actor Focus (AF) | The doer of the action | mu- / mag- / maka- | Mukuha ako nan isda. (I get fish.) |
| Object Focus (OF) | The thing acted upon | -on / in- | Kuhaon ko an isda. (The fish will be gotten.) |
| Locative Focus (LF) | The place or recipient | -an | Kuhaan ko an baldi. (I'll take from the pail.) |
| Conveyance Focus (CF) | The thing conveyed / instrument | -an ipa- | Kuhaan ko sija nan isda. / Ipadaya ko sa ija an suyat. |
| Affix | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mu- | Simple future, AF | mu+kadto â mukadto (will go) |
| nu- | Simple past, AF | nu+kadto â nukadto (went) |
| nag- / mag- | Continuative aspect | nag+luto â nagluto (was cooking) |
| -in- / gin- | Perfective (result persists) | luto â tagluto (was cooked); kanta â tagkanta |
| -on | Object focus, future | kuha â kuhaon (to be taken) |
| -an | Locative focus (LF) | kuha â kuhaan (take from) |
| -an ipa- | Conveyance focus | kuhaan ko sija nan isda / ipadaya ko sa ija an suyat |
| pa- | Causative (have done) | pa+luto â palutuon (have cooked) |
| maka- | Ability / involuntary | maka+kanta â makakanta (able to sing) |
| mag-...-ay | Performer noun (one who does) | mag+baligja+ay â magbaligjaay (seller) |
| pinaka- | Superlative | pinaka+isog â pinakaisog (bravest) |
| ting- | Season / time of | ting+uyan â tinguyan (rainy season) |
| mag-in-root-ay | Reciprocal (mutual action, vowel-initial root) | igo â mag-in-iguay (maginiguay) â hitting each other |
| mag-(C)-in-root-ay | Reciprocal (consonant-initial root) | higuguma â mag-h-in-igugmaay (maghinigugmaay) â loving each other; langoy â mag-l-in-angujay (maglinangujay) â swimming together |
| Particle | Type | Meaning / Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| unta | Optative | I wish / I hope (like Tagalog sana) | Unta makakadto ako. (I hope I can go.) |
| kuno | Quotative | Reportedly / allegedly (hearsay) | Buotan kuno sija. (She is reportedly kind.) |
| basin | Epistemic | Maybe / perhaps | Basin muuyan silom. (Maybe it will rain tomorrow.) |
| bitaw | Candor | Indeed / candor (short for balitaw) | Amo gajud bitaw. (That's really it.) |
| baja | Discovery | It turns out / I see now | Maestra baja sija! (She turns out to be a teacher!) |
| gani / ngani | Emphasis | Right? / Indeed / of course | Lagi ngani! (Yes, of course!) |
| lagi | Affirmation | Of course / indeed | Lagi! (Of course!) |
| ra | Limitation | Just / only | Usa ra ka baso. (Just one glass.) |
| pa | Continuation | Still / yet | Nagtulog pa sija. (She is still sleeping.) |
| na | Completion / urgency | Already / now | Human na ako. (I'm already done.) |
| man | Assertion | Is so / indeed | Marajaw man sija. (She really is good.) |
| kay unoman kintahay | Emphatic why | Why in the world / why on earth | Kay unoman kintahay nagbuhat ka jaun? (Why on earth did you do that?) |
| Aspect | AF marker | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Future | mu- | Will do once | Mukanta ako. (I will sing.) |
| Simple Past | nu- | Did once | Nukanta ako. (I sang.) |
| Continuative | nag- / mag- | Ongoing or habitual | Nagkanta sija. (She was/keeps singing.) |
| Perfective | tag- prefix | Completed; result persists | Tagkanta nija an awit. (The song was sung.) |
An endangered Austronesian language of Siargao Island, Philippines â brought to life through story, mythology, and interactive learning.
ðŠķ Hidden feathers scattered across the site unlock secret story fragments â watch for them!
Play & Learn
Vocabulary, sentence-building, and rapid-fire recognition â each game teaches a different layer of the language.
Surigaonon is spoken by ~400,000 people across Surigao del Norte and Siargao Island. Halea brings it to the world through structured, story-driven lessons.
Our method uses interlinear glossing, cultural immersion, and gamified drills â built from the ground up to champion language preservation and child literacy.
Halea Institute champions Surigaonon literacy among children in Siargao. Mother-tongue instruction in the early years builds stronger readers, stronger thinkers, and children who are proud of where they come from.
Every lesson you complete contributes to documentation of an oral-tradition language. You are part of the living archive of Siargao.
Earn ðĨĨ coconuts to unlock Siargao's endemic species â each badge reveals real island lore.
Surigaonon is a Visayan language of the Austronesian family, spoken primarily in Surigao del Norte province and across Siargao Island. It belongs to the same branch as Cebuano and Waray, yet carries its own distinct vocabulary, sound system, and rich oral tradition including riddles (tigmo), and the mythology of the Halea.
Surigaonon is verb-first: the verb always leads the sentence. The voice/focus system marks which noun is the grammatical topic through verb affixes â not word order.
j = like English "j" in "jump" â jaon (JAH-on), marajaw (mah-ruh-JOW)
aj / ay = diphthong "ai" â marajaw (good)
ng = always nasal as in "sing" â ngayan (name)
-' = glottal stop â uli' (go home)
Stress is phonemic (changes meaning). Acute accent marks stress: akÃģ (I, subject) vs à ko (my, genitive). In casual writing, accents are often omitted.
Complete chapters to unlock towns. Each 100 ðĨĨ reveals a new endemic species.
Words saved: 0
Halea Institute is a community-funded project. Your support keeps Surigaonon alive for future generations, funds voice recordings with native speakers, and expands our lesson library.
Fund professional studio recordings with Siargao native speakers for all 20 chapters.
Develop chapters 15â20 with video, oral history interviews, and cultural field documentation.
Keep the platform free, ad-free, and accessible to diaspora communities worldwide.