THE PHONOLOGY OF TAUSUG: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

by

EVANGELINE K. TAN

E.T.C., Zamboanga Normal C o l l e g e , 1959

B.S.E.Ed., N a t i o n a l T e a c h e r s ' C o l l e g e , 1964-

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS' FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

i n the Department of C l a s s i c s

D i v i s i o n of L i n g u i s t i c s

We a c c e p t t h i s t h e s i s as conforming t o t h e

required standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

August, 196?
In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements

f o r an advanced degree a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree

t h a t -the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and

study. I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s

t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be g r a n t e d by t h e Head o f my

Department o r by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s understood that copying

or p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l n o t be a l l o w e d

w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n .

Department o f ^ a s ^ j j j s . i ^ Q i ^ ^ ^

T h e " U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia
Vancouver 8 Canada 3

Date August,* 1967

 ABSTRACT

In t h e l a s t few y e a r s t h e r e has been a s t e a d i l y

growing i n t e r e s t i n l i n g u i s t i c s c i e n c e . As a r e s u l t , more

and more of t h e languages o f t h e w o r l d a r e coming w i t h i n t h e

range o f l i n g u i s t i c s c r u t i n y . This interest i s increasingly

m a n i f e s t e d i n P h i l i p p i n e l i n g u i s t i c s as e v i d e n c e d by t h e

number o f languages and d i a l e c t s o f t h e c o u n t r y t h a t have

a l r e a d y been and a r e b e i n g e x p l o r e d .

Some P h i l i p p i n e languages have been e x t e n s i v e l y

i n v e s t i g a t e d , ' w h i l e o t h e r s have been i n s u f f i c i e n t l y explored.

L i n g u i s t i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f Tausug (which i s t h e n a t i v e

language o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r ) i s u r g e n t l y needed. Except

for t h e work e n t i t l e d "The Phonemes o f Tausug" by Seymour

and L o i s A s h l e y o f t h e Summer I n s t i t u t e o f L i n g u i s t i c s (SIL),

no o t h e r l i n g u i s t i c s t u d i e s o f t h e language have been done.

I n v i e w o f t h e inadequacy," t h i s p r e s e n t work on a s y n c h r o n i c

d e s c r i p t i v e a n a l y s i s o f Tausug phonology i s here made a v a i l a b l e .

The purpose o f t h i s s t u d y i s t o g i v e a s u f f i c i e n t l y

comprehensive d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l phenomena o f

Tausug, w i t h t h e end i n v i e w o f p r o v i d i n g b a s i c e x p l a n a t i o n s
;

c o n c e r n i n g t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l system o f t h e language w h i c h s h o u l d

be u s e f u l t o t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d i n Tausug l i n g u i s t i c s . I t i s a l s o

hoped t h a t t h e a n a l y s i s w i l l be o f some p e d a g o g i c a l s i g n i f i -

cance - i n t e a c h i n g a second language t o n a t i v e speakers o f

Tausug and i n p r o v i d i n g a t h e o r e t i c a l f o u n d a t i o n f o r f u t u r e
 iii

modifications and i n n o v a t i o n s i n t h e Tausug orthographical

system.

I n t h e main, t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s o f Tausug

centers on t h e d i a l e c t o f S i a s i town p r o p e r (STP), o f w h i c h

the i n v e s t i g a t o r i s a n a t i v e s p e a k e r . Whenever p o s s i b l e ,

however,' d i s c u s s i o n s of the d i a l e c t a l v a r i e t i e s are included.

An attempt i s a l s o made t o p r o v i d e f o r general categories

v a l i d for a l l dialects.'

As s u g g e s t e d i n t h e t i t l e ' T h e Phonology o f Tausug:

}

A D e s c r i p t i v e A n a l y s i s * , t h e method o f approach t o t h e s t u d y

of t h e sounds o f t h e language i s d e s c r i p t i v e . T h i s i s made

p o s s i b l e by means o f t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l a p p r o a c h , and p r i m a r i l y

the a r t i c u l a t o r y t e c h n i q u e . U s i n g t h e speech organs as a

f a m i l i a r frame o f reference,' t h e p h o n e t i c raw m a t e r i a l o f t h e

language i s a n a l y z e d and d e s c r i b e d first. Phonological

a n a l y s i s , however, goes beyond t h e p h o n e t i c l e v e l .

;
The

u l t i m a t e a i m i s t o e s t a b l i s h t h e phonemic system of t h e

language, hence,' t h e need f o r t h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f t h e

p h o n e t i c raw m a t e r i a l i n t o f u n c t i o n a l u n i t s , i . e . , t h e

phonemes. C e r t a i n fundamental c r i t e r i a such as p h o n e t i c

similarity, 1
complementary d i s t r i b u t i o n , p a t t e r n congruity,

and i d e n t i t y o f f u n c t i o n a r e observed in t h e phonemic c l a s -

sification. With the use of the c o n t r a s t i n g p a i r s (minimal

p a i r s , ' w h i c h d i f f e r o n l y i n one f e a t u r e o r phoneme), t h e

e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e i d e n t i t y o f each o f t h e phonemes o f
 iv

Tausug i s f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n e d . To complete the a n a l y s i s

of Tausug phonology, b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n s of the s u p r a s e g -

m e n t a l f e a t u r e s and the morphophonemics of the language

are included.

A l t h o u g h thoroughness and a c c u r a c y has been aimed

a t , the a n a l y s i s i s f a r from b e i n g e x h a u s t i v e or complete.

Completeness i n any l i n g u i s t i c investigation i s unattain-

a b l e as l o n g as language keeps on changing and knowledge

of l i n g u i s t i c s c i e n c e keeps on a d v a n c i n g . And w i t h the

d e a r t h t o d a t e of l i n g u i s t i c s t u d i e s of the Tausug l a n g -

uage, t h i s p r e s e n t a n a l y s i s of the p h o n o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e

of the language p e r m i t s no more t h a n t e n t a t i v e c o n c l u s i o n s .

 TABLE OP CONTENTS
Page

L i s t o f F i g u r e s and I l l u s t r a t i o n s vi

Acknowledgements v i i

1. INTRODUCTION............. 1

1.1 Background o f t h e P r e s e n t S t u d y 1

1.2 Purpose o f t h e A n a l y s i s 3

1.3 Scope and D e l i m i t a t i o n . . . . . . . 6

1.4 Method o f A p p r o a c h . . 8

1.5 D e f i n i t i o n o f Terms....... 12

2. ' BASIC CONSIDERATIONS TO SPEECH ANALYSIS... 14

2.1 The Use o f t h e I P A . 14

2.2 The Organs o f Speech. 21

2.3 C r i t e r i a Used i n Phonemic A n a l y s i s 25

3. THE SOUNDS OF TAUSUG.... 30

3.1 Vocoids........ ...... 1

30

3.2 Contoids 46

4. THE SYLLABLE .. 55

5 . THE SEGMENTAL PHONEMES .:

66

5.1 The I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e Semivowels ori'Seml-

consonants.........•• 69

5.2 Vowels •. .75

5.2.1 D e s c r i p t i o n and C l a s s i f i c a t i o n . . . . . 77

5.2.2 Phonemic C o n t r a s t 79
 5.2.3 Allophonic Variation.................... 86

5.2.4 Distribution .... 90

5.2.5 Diphthongs......... 91

5.2.6 Triphthongs...... 95

5> 3;Consonants 96

5.3.1 D e s c r i p t i o n and C l a s s i f i c a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . 99

5.3.2 Phonemic C o n t r a s t s . . . . . . . 106

5.3.3 A l l o p h o n i c V a r i a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

5.3.4 Distribution.................... 144

5.3.5 Consonant C l u s t e r s 150

6. THE SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES...... 158

6.1 Stress......................................... 159

6.2 Pitch............v..... 161

6.3 Length......................................... 167

6.4 J u n c t u r e . . . . . . . . . . . . . v .....
1
170

7. MORPHOPHONEMICS . 172

8. SUMMARY, AND .CONCLUSION.... • 177

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................. 183
 L i s t o f F i g u r e s and Illustrations

F i g u r e 1: Map o f t h e P h i l i p p i n e s , showing t h e Tausug-

speaking province

F i g u r e 2: The C a r d i n a l Vowel C h a r t

F i g u r e 3'* A c r o s s - s e c t i o n of t h e head showing t h e organs

of speech

F i g u r e 4-: A m o d i f i e d C a r d i n a l Vowel C h a r t showing t h e

a p p r o x i m a t e l o c a t i o n o f t h e Tausug V o c o i d s

F i g u r e 5: A C h a r t o f Tausug V o c o i d s

F i g u r e 6: A C h a r t o f Tausug C o n t o i d s

F i g u r e 7> The Vowel T r i a n g l e f o r Tausug

F i g u r e 8: The Consonant Diagram f o r Tausug

 AKNOWLEDGEMENT

I w i s h t o express my g r a t i t u d e t o s e v e r a l p e o p l e

w i t h o u t whose h e l p t h i s t h e s i s would n o t have been

p o s s i b l e ; t o D r . R o b e r t Gregg, my f a c u l t y a d v i s e r * ' whon.

saw t h r o u g h t h e work from t h e f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e problem

t o t h e f i n a l accomplishment o f t h e p r o j e c t ; t o M i s s Ruth

M c C o n n e l l i n whose c l a s s t h e w r i t e r g a i n e d encouragement

and I n t e r e s t i n making t h i s s t u d y i n modern l i n g u i s t i c s ;

t o D r . F r e d Bowers who c a r e f u l l y went over t h e f i n a l

d r a f t o f t h i s t h e s i s ; and t o my f r i e n d s , M i s s e s R o s a r i o

Maminta and G e o r g i n a R i v e r a , who w i l l i n g l y h e l p e d p r o o f -

read the manuscript.

The w r i t e r was i n i t i a t e d i n t o t h e f i e l d o f linguist.!,

t i c s and second language t e a c h i n g when she worked i n t h e

E l e m e n t a r y E d u c a t i o n D i v i s i o n , Bureau o f P u b l i c S c h o o l s ,

R e p u b l i c o f t h e P h i l i p p i n e s . ' She was g i v e n a l l t h e n e c e s -

s a r y s u p p o r t and t r a i n i n g by M i s s F e Manza, c h i e f , E n g l i s h

S e c t i o n and Mrs. C a t a l i n a Velasquea-Ty, c h i e f , Upper

P r i m a r y S e c t i o n s To them, I a l s o express my a p p r e c i a t i o n .

T h i s s t u d y was made p o s s i b l e through a s c h o l a r s h i p

g r a n t from t h e E x t e r n a l A i d O f f i c e r Gvernment o f Canada.

The I n t e r n a t i o n a l House p r o v i d e d a home away from home f o r

t h e w r i t e r . To thfese two i n s t i t u t i o n s , I w i s h t o express

my s i n c e r e thanks and a p p r e c i a t i o n .
 MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES
SHOWING THE
TAU SUG - SPEAKING PROVINCE
(SHADED)
 1. INTRODUCTION

Of the two languages spoken i n t h e S u l u A r c h i p e l a g o , a

p r o v i n c e a t the s o u t h e r n t i p of t h e P h i l i p p i n e I s l a n d s , Tausug

i s c o n s i d e r e d t h e p r e s t i g e language of the a r e a . ^ I t i s spoken

as a n a t i v e language by a p p r o x i m a t e l y 30^,812 p e o p l e l i v i n g

throughout t h e s c a t t e r e d i s l a n d s of the p r o v i n c e and as a

second language by many immigrants from v a r i o u s p a r t s of the

c o u n t r y . ^ Most of t h e speakers of Tausug occupy t h e i s l a n d s of

J o l o , S i a s i , Pandaml, Lugus, T a p u l , P a t a , e t c . A considerable

number a r e s c a t t e r e d i n some a r e a s of Zamboanga, B a s i l a n , Davao,

Lanao, B u k i d n o n , C o t a b a t o , and Palawan (see map).

1.1 Background of the P r e s e n t Study

P r e s e n t - d a y Tausug r e p r e s e n t s n o t o n l y a cumulative

n a t i v e development but a l s o an a s s i m i l a t i o n of words from

v a r i o u s l a n g u a g e s , n o t a b l y S a n s k r i t , Malayan, Indonesian,

Chinese, A r a b i c , Spanish, Japanese,and more r e c e n t l y E n g l i s h .

._ Seymour and L o i s . A s h l e y , "The Phonemes of Tausug",

Papers on P h i l i p p i n e Languages, ( M a n i l a : The U n i v e r s i t y of the
P h i l i p p i n e s (UP; and t h e Summer I n s t i t u t e of L i n g u i s t i c s (SIL)
P u b l i c a t i o n , 1 9 6 3 , p.7. I n t h i s paper the a u t h o r s s t a t e t h a t
t h e r e a r e t h r e e languages spoken i n Sulu-Tausug, Samal, and
Yakan. However, t o t h e knowledge of the i n v e s t i g a t o r , Yakan i s
not spoken anywhere i n S u l u . I t i s the language of the n e i g h b o r -
i n g c i t y of B a s i l a n . And s i n c e g e o g r a p h i c a l l y as w e l l as p o l i -
t i c a l l y B a s i l a n i s not a p a r t of S u l u , i t i s l o g i c a l t h a t Yakan
s h o u l d not be c o n s i d e r e d as one of the languages of the p r o v i n c e .
2
The number of Tausug speakersiis based upon the Census
of i960.
 2

Words l i k e pans i t ' r i c e n o o d l e ' , madjpng'mah j o n g ' , and j^kUm:,-.

'wooden shoes' a r e of C h i n e s e o r i g i n . Gitara 'guitar' i s
S p a n i s h , w h i l e apa ' t h i n w a f e r ' i s Japanese. A g r e a t number of
Moslem names a r e A r a b i c , a s i d e from l e x i c a l items such as makru
•taboo', Ramadan (month of f a s t i n g ) , dakdak 'to wash', J a b u r
'book of Moses', e t c .

Tausug words l i k e l u p a ' l i k e n e s s ' , walna ' c o l o r ' , mulka

' c u r s e , and s u r g a heaven' seem t o be of S a n s k r i t o r i g i n and
1 !

c o r r e s p o n d r e s p e c t i v e l y t o S a n s k r i t words rupa ' l i k e n e s s ' , v a r n a

•color 1
o r ' c a s t e , mureha 'to i n c i t e w r a t h ' , and s v a r g a 'abode
1

of l i g h t ? 1
Loan words from E n g l i s h a r e p u l i s 'police',- i s k u l
'school', tarak 'truck', b a l i b u l ' v o l l e y b a l l ' , miting 'meeting'
or conference', etc.
1

E x c e p t i n c a r e f u l educated speech, more o f t e n than:.not,

as e v i d e n c e d by t h e examples g i v e n above, words adopted i n t o t h e
language l o s e t h e i r f o r e i g n i s m . They u s u a l l y a s s i m i l a t e t o the
form o f n a t i v e words, t h e f o r e i g n sounds b e i n g r e p l a c e d by appro-
ximate n a t i v e e q u i v a l e n t s .

3'The s o u r c e of i n f o r m a t i o n on S a n s k r i t l o a n s i s t h e doc-
t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n of Juan F r a n c i s c o , " I n d i a n I n f l u e n c e s i n t h e
P h i l i p p i n e s , " S o c i a l S c i e n c e s and Humanities Review (Quezon C i t y :
The U n i v e r s i t y of t h e P h i l i p p i n e s A r t and S c i e n c e s P u b l i c a t i o n ,
January-Sept ember, 1963) V.-28, Nos. 1-3.
Due t o u n a v a i l a b i l i t y o f r e f e r e n c e m a t e r i a l s , t h e i n v e s t i -
g a t o r i s not i n a p o s i t i o n t o g i v e s u f f i c i e n t examples of l e x i c a l
items borrowed from o t h e r languages. I n f l u e n c e s of such languages
a r e e v i d e n t not o n l y i n the language but a l s o i n t h e c u l t u r e of
Tausug.
 3

As one o f t h e e s t i m a t e d e i g h t y - s e v e n languages o f t h e

P h i l i p p i n e s , Tausug f a l l s under t h e g e n e r a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f

the Malayo-Polynesian family. I t appears t o have c l o s e phono-

l o g i c a l as w e l l as s y n t a c t i c a l resemblances w i t h many P h i l i p p i n e

languages l i k e , f o r i n s t a n c e , T a g a l o g and Cebuano.

U n l i k e T a g a l o g , Cebuano, and o t h e r P h i l i p p i n e l a n g u a g e s ,

n o t v e r y many l i n g u i s t i c s t u d i e s have y e t been made o f t h e Tausug

language. I f t h e r e has been any l i n g u i s t i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n a t a l l ,

i t i s almost i n s i g n i f i c a n t . The i n v e s t i g a t o r i s aware o f o n l y

one l i n g u i s t i c s t u d y of t h e language and t h a t i s t h e work done

by Seymour and L o i s A s h l e y c i t e d i n f o o t n o t e N o . l . This pioneer-

ing i n v e s t i g a t i o n p r o v i d e s a summary d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e phonemes

of Tausug, but i t i s n o t s u f f i c i e n t l y comprehensive t o g i v e a l l

the d e s i r e d i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l system o f

the language. I n view o f t h e inadequacy o f l i n g u i s t i c m a t e r i a l s

on t h e Tausug language, and w i t h today's s e e m i n g l y growing i n t e -

r e s t i n P h i l i p p i n e l i n g u i s t i c s , i t i s i m p e r a t i v e t h a t a more com-

p r e h e n s i v e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e language be made a v a i l a b l e .

1.2 Purpose o f t h e A n a l y s i s

- Whether any g i v e n a n a l y s i s i s d e s i r a b l e o r s u c c e s s f u l

depends p r i m a r i l y on t h e purpose f o r w h i c h i t i s i n t e n d e d . I n

t h i s s t u d y , attempt i s made t o p r o v i d e b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e

p h o n o l o g i c a l system o f Tausug, modest though i t may be, as

 4

r e f e r e n c e m a t e r i a l f o r s t u d e n t s of l i n g u i s t i c s who may be i n -

t e r e s t e d i n the Tausug l a n g u a g e . Moreover, the a n a l y s i s may be

of use f o r p e d a g o g i c a l p u r p o s e s . This includes applied linguis-

t i c s and orthography.

T h i s s t u d y o f f e r s n e i t h e r a mass of d e t a i l e d d a t a n o r any

s t a r t l i n g new t h e o r y but i s an attempt t o p r o v i d e b a s i c e x p l a n a -

t i o n s concerning the p h o n o l o g i c a l phenomena of Tausug. W i t h the

d e a r t h of l i n g u i s t i c i n f o r m a t i o n on the language, the d a t a included

i n t h i s s t u d y s h o u l d prove u s e f u l f o r t h o s e who have an inclina-

t i o n towards making f u r t h e r l i n g u i s t i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e Tausug

language.

B a s i c knowledge of the p h o n o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e of Tausug i s

i m p o r t a n t i n the t e a c h i n g of a f o r e i g n language t o n a t i v e speakers

of t h e language. Extensive e x p e r i e n c e has shown t h a t b e t t e r i n -

s i g h t s i n t o t h e l e a r n i n g of a new language a r e g a i n e d by h a v i n g

an a c c u r a t e knowledge of t h e n a t i v e tongue. Better instructional

m a t e r i a l s and methods of t e a c h i n g a f o r e i g n language a r e drawn

from a s y s t e m a t i c comparison of the l e a r n e r ' s n a t i v e tongue and

t h e t a r g e t language t o be l e a r n e d . The starting point, therefore,

f o r an e f f i c i e n t program of second-language t e a c h i n g f o r Tausug

4
speakers i s a s c i e n t i f i c s t u d y of t h e i r n a t i v e tongue.

4 - -••
H a r o l d B. A l l e n , T e a c h i n g E n g l i s h as a Second Language,
.(New Y o r k : M c G r a w - H i l l Book Company, 1965).. N e l s o n B r o o k s ,
Language and Language L e a r n i n g (New Y o r k i H a r c o u r t , B r a c e and
1

World; Inc...*,". .1964). Mary P i n o c c h i a r o , T e a c h i n g E n g l i s h as a

1

Second Language (New York: Harper and B r o t h e r s , 1958). P.Gurrey,

T e a c h i n g E n g l i s h as a Second Language (London: Longmans, Green
and Co. L t d . , 19597.""
 5

T h i s study a l s o i n t e n d s t o c o n t r i b u t e something towards

r e d e f i n i n g t h e o r t h o g r a p h y o f Tausug. I n t h e p a s t , Tausug has

no e s t a b l i s h e d w r i t i n g system o f i t s own. N a t i v e s p e a k e r s have

used e i t h e r t h e A r a b i c a l p h a b e t ( i n t h e case o f those who a r e

g r a d u a t e s o f t h e A r a b i c s c h o o l ) , o r t h e Roman a l p h a b e t ( i n the

case o f those who a r e educated i n t h e modern s c h o o l ) . Of t h e

two, t h e Roman a l p h a b e t h a s been t h e more w i d e l y u s e d .

There have, however, been no f i x e d r u l e s on t h e proper

use o f t h e Roman a l p h a b e t i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e l a n g u a g e ^ so t h a t

d i v e r s e ways o f r e p r e s e n t i n g phonemes t h a t have no corresponding

l e t t e r s i n t h e Roman a l p h a b e t have r e s u l t e d . In representing

the g l o t t a l s t o p ( g l o t t a l c a t c h ) / ? / , f o r i n s t a n c e , some have

u s e d t h e a c c e n t mark /'/• Others have used t h e l e t t e r h when

the g l o t t a l s t o p i s word f i n a l . S t i l l o t h e r s have l e f t i t u n -

marked. A word l i k e kaha [*k»aha? ] * f r y i n g pan* has been o r t h o -

g r a p h i c a l l y r e p r e s e n t e d a s kaha. kahah. o r k a h a . Not one o f

t h e t h r e e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f / ? / , however, shows any r e l a t i o n s h i p

o r c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e sound i n q u e s t i o n . Unless expressed orally

o r w r i t t e n i n c o n t e x t , t h e form k a h a , o r kahah, i s l i a b l e t o be

m i s t a k e n f o r kaha [ *k ahah 3 ' s a f e * ( f o r keeping valuables)?

-'It was o n l y v e r y r e c e n t l y , w i t h t h e i n c l u s i o n o f t h e
v e r n a c u l a r a s t h e medium o f i n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e c u r r i c u l u m o f
Grades I and I I , t h a t some t e n t a t i v e r u l e s have been l a i d down
on t h e use o f t h e Roman a l p h a b e t i n w r i t i n g t e x t b o o k s i n Tausug,

^ I n t h e f i r s t p r e - p r i m e r o f t h e Tausug s e r i e s , t h e g l o t t a l
s t o p i s l e f t unmarked. F o r c o n s i s t e n c y t h e same o r t h o g r a p h i c a l
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n w i l l be used i n t h i s a n a l y s i s .
 6

In t h i s s t u d y , t h e u l t i m a t e o b j e c t i v e i s to establish

the phonemic system of t h e Tausug language, a n a l y z i n g the vowel

and consonant phonemes. To s e t up an o r t h o g r a p h i c a l system

w h i c h I s more r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e phonemes of the language,

the a n a l y s i s u n d e r t a k e n h e r e may p r o v e u s e f u l and a p p r o p r i a t e

as a t h e o r e t i c a l foundation.

1.3 Scope and Delimitation

On a c c o u n t o f t h e i r number and t h e g r e a t d i s t a n c e s

between the i s l a n d s o f S u l u , marked d i a l e c t a l v a r i a t i o n s are

inevitable. Identifiable differences i n speech a r e noticeable,

f o r i n s t a n c e , between t h e d i a l e c t s of J o l o and S i a s i . By

g e n e r a l o b s e r v a t i o n , Tausug s p e a k e r s of J o l o t e n d t o speak

w i t h r e l a t i v e l y f a s t e r tempo compared t o t h e r e l a t i v e l y slow and

somewhat d r a g g i n g pace c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the d i a l e c t o f S i a s i .

F u r t h e r d i s t i n c t i o n i s made a l s o between the d i a l e c t spoken i n

S i a s i Town p r o p e r (STP) and the d i a l e c t spoken i n t h e r u r a l

areas, often referred t o as Gimbahanun 'people from t h e farm*.

The STP i s spoken w i t h l e s s m u s c u l a r t e n s i o n than t h e Gimbahanun.

In t h i s t h e s i s , p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n i s g i v e n t o t h e d i a l e c t of

STP w h i c h i s t h e d i a l e c t spoken by t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r . F o r con-

venience, the a n a l y s i s of the sounds of Tausug w i l l be r e s t r i c t e d

t o t h e p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f words f o u n d i n t h e a c t i v e vocabulary

of t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r . Another p e r s o n ' s speech would be l i k e l y

t o y i e l d an a l m o s t i d e n t i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n a l t h o u g h some o f t h e

examples might v a r y slightly.

 7

A l t h o u g h most o f t h e d i s c u s s i o n s t h a t w i l l soon f o l l o w

a p p l y t o t h e d i a l e c t o f STP and t h e i d i o l e c t o f t h e i n v e s t i g a -

tor i n p a r t i c u l a r , a t t e m p t s w i l l be made t o p r o v i d e f o r g e n e r a l

c a t e g o r i e s w h i c h a r e v a l i d f o r a l l d i a l e c t s o f t h e language.

Whenever p o s s i b l e , i n c l u s i o n o f o t h e r d i a l e c t a l v a r i e t i e s o f

the language w i l l be made i n t h e c o u r s e o f t h e d i s c u s s i o n s .

Following each Tausug example i n t h e t e x t i s a g l o s s

(• ') which g i v e s an approximate meaning o f t h e Tausug

item i n E n g l i s h . To g i v e t h e e x a c t meaning o f t h e examples i n

E n g l i s h ^ i s , however,' o f t e n d i f f i c u l t .
1
Sometimes o n l y rough

t r a n s l a t i o n a l equivalents a r e suggested. I n working w i t h a

language t h a t i s as remote from t h e E n g l i s h c u l t u r e as Tausug,

t h e inadequacy of t r a n s l a t i o n a l e q u i v a l e n t s a l o n e i s o b v i o u s .

The metaphors,' a s s o c i a t i o n s and l i n g u i s t i c e x t e n t i o n s a r e q u i t e

d i f f e r e n t i n both languages.

As suggested i n t h e t i t l e , t h e scope o f t h i s t h e s i s w i l l

be l i m i t e d t o t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l a s p e c t o f Tausug. The u l t i m a t e

p u r s u i t o f t h i s p h o n o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s i s t h e i d e n t i t y of t h e

f u n c t i o n a l u n i t s o f t h e sounds o f Tausug; i n o t h e r words; t h e

establishment o f i t s phonemic system. However, c e r t a i n m a t t e r s

w h i c h a r e b a s i c t o a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e s t r u c t u r e o f speech

sounds and t h e p r o c e s s e s o f a r t i c u l a t i o n need t o be considered

first. F o r t h i s r e a s o n , t h i s t h e s i s w i l l i n c l u d e some b a s i c con-

s i d e r a t i o n s u n d e r l y i n g speech a n a l y s i s ( t h e organs o f speech, t h e

use o f t h e IPA, and t h e c r i t e r i a used i n phonemic a n a l y s i s ) , t h e

 8

sounds of Tausug (l.e», the phonetic raw material), the

s y l l a b l e structure, the segmental phonemes, the suprasegmental

features, and the morphophonemics of the language.

An exhaustive analysis of the suprasegmental features

however, cannot possibly be achieved here. Unlike the segmentals,

the suprasegmentals are not easy to analyze. Even the supra-

segmental features of the English language which have been

subject to l i n g u i s t i c investigation f o r many years cannot be

said to have been f u l l y established; 1

Por suprasegmentals are,

i n short, much more elusive than the segmentals.

Neither i s there an attempt i n t h i s thesis to provide a

complete description of the entire phonological system of the

language. 1
Completeness i s impossible and can never be attained

as long as l i n g u i s t i c investigations are going on." And since

Tausug has been inadequately explored, t h i s modest attempt at

the a n a l y s i s of the phonological structure of the language per-

mits no more than a tentative formulation^

1.4 Method of Approach

Present-day l i n g u i s t i c s offers several approaches to the

phonological study of any given language.' In point of time, a

p a r t i c u l a r language may be studied from a diachronlc or synchronic

7
point of view. In terms of technique of analysis, i t may either

Prom a dlachronic point of view, the study of the sounds

of a language i s made over a period of timev I t i s , i n other
words, h i s t o r i c a l . ' On the other hand, synchronic study of the
language i s done at a certainpoint of time. This thesis deals
1

with the present status of the Tausug language.

 9

be descriptive or comparative.- As the t i t l e suggests, and with

a language l i k e Tausug which has no orthography of i t s own, and

therefore no written accounts of the past language, t h i s f i r s t

attempt a t a comprehensive study of the sound system of the

language i s purely a synchronic descriptive a n a l y s i s .

To a r r i v e a t a description and analysis of the speech

sounds of Tausug, two l i n g u i s t i c approaches are made a v a i l a b l e ;

The approach may be made from the physiological point of view

of the a r t i c u l a t o r y organs and processes involved (Articulatory

phonetics) and the study of the sound waves as perceived by the

hearer s ears (auditor.v phon e 11o s).

1
The other approach, which

i s so recent that i t s " f u l l impact on l i n g u i s t i c s has not yet

8
been f e l t " , i s primarily concerned with the physical characteris-

t i c s of sounds as revealed by machines such as the sound specto-

graph?' I t i s known as acoustic phonetics.'

Neither of the two approaches to the study of the speech

sounds producible by the human voice can be c a t e g o r i c a l l y desig-

nated as the only approach to the exclusion of the o t h e r E v e n

l i n g u i s t s and phoneticians are not yet agreed on any one single

framework to use i n a l l l i n g u i s t i c investigations or descriptions.

To a large extent, the merits of any one approach are determined

by the study i t s e l f , especially the purposes f o r which i t i s

intended.' In view of t h i s , the physiological or a r t i c u l a t o r y

H.A, Gleason, J r . , An Introductory to Descriptive

L i n g u i s t i c s (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1961), p.20.

^Robert A. H a l l , J r . , Introductory L l n g u l s t i e s (New York:

1

Chilton Books, 1964), p.96« ;

 10

approach i n p a r t i c u l a r , i s believed to be the more suitable f o r

the purposes set f o r t h i n the f i r s t part of t h i s chapter.'

There are good p r a c t i c a l reasons f o r the a r b i t r a r y l i m i -

tation to the use of the a r t i c u l a t o r y type df study which l i n -

guists have been u s i n g . 0

I t i s the oldest and the best esta-

blished means of describing a language with a f u l l terminology

based on f a m i l i a r and observable physiological phenomena. For

beginners i n l i n g u i s t i c s and f o r non-specialists, most of the

terms are not d i f f i c u l t to comprehend.

Even without the use of elaborate equipment, the inves-

t i g a t i o n can be c a r r i e d on through the physiological approach^

The organs of speech responsible f o r production and d i f f e r e n t i a -

t i o n of speech sounds can be r e a d i l y and p r o f i t a b l y studied?

They are f a i r l y accessible to visual observation either d i r e c t l y

or through the use of simple devices l i k e a mirror or f l a s h l i g h t .

Besides, many people, especially language teachers, are already

acquainted with the vocal apparatus and i t s behavior, on which

the descriptions of sounds are based.

Although, i n the main, description and c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of

speech sounds of Tausug are based on a r t i c u l a t i o n , auditory con-

sideration cannot be t o t a l l y ignored. The presence or absence of

S e e WV Nelson Francis, The Structure of American English

x u

(New York: The Ronald Press Co., 1958), pp.' 57-58. R. H. Robins,
General L i n g u i s t i c s : An Introductory Survey (London: Longmans,
1965), pp. 1
84-85. Gleason, op.' c i t . , p.' 20.'
 11

audible f r i c t i o n , f o r instance, i s an auditory c r i t e r i o n basic i n

consonant-vowel d i s t i n c t i o n ? I t supplements i n a valuable way

articulatory differentiations.

In the analysis of the suprasegmental features, the

c r i t e r i a used are fundamentally based on auditory judgment.

Preliminary to the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of the speech sounds

of Tausug into functional or relevant u n i t s , that i s , phonemes,

an analysis of the phonetic raw materials i s undertaken. The

phonemes of the language are established on the basis of c e r t a i n

fundamental c r i t e r i a such as the d i s t r i b u t i o n a l relationship

e x i s t i n g between sounds, phonetic s i m i l a r i t y , i d e n t i t y of function,

pattern congruity (neatness of pattern), and economy of analysis."*"

For convenience of analysis of the phonological structure

of Tausug, the investigator believes that the most l o g i c a l order

i s to discuss f i r s t the preliminary considerations to speech ana-

l y s i s before the discussion of the sounds of the language follows.

Next, to establish the s y l l a b l e patterns of the language, which

i s thought to be useful as the basis, f o r a better description and

c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of the segmental phonemes of the language which

fallows immediately. Discussions of the segmental phonemes

include the interpretation of the semivowels, description and

c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of vowels, consonants, diphthongs, triphthongs,

"^Refer to section 2.3 f o r discussion of c r i t e r i a used i n

phonemic a n a l y s i s . Also see H a l l , pp. c i t ? , p. 26; Charles F.
Hockett, A Course i n Modern L i n g u i s t i c s (New York: The MacMilian
Co., 1958) pp. 110-111; W. Haas "Relevance i n Phonetic Analysis",
Word XV (1959)'. PP. 1-18.
 12

and consonant c l u s t e r s . To complete t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s o f

t h e l a n g u a g e , t h e suprasegmental f e a t u r e s and t h e morphophonemics

of t h e language a r e i n c l u d e d . The f i n a l c h a p t e r c o n t a i n s a "brief

summary and some c o n c l u d i n g s t a t e m e n t s on t h e a n a l y s i s .

1.5 D e f i n i t i o n of Terms

Some terms "which a r e c o n s i d e r e d b a s i c t o a b e t t e r under-

s t a n d i n g o f t h e a n a l y s i s o f t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e ought t o

be d e f i n e d h e r e ! 2

The TAUSUG LANGUAGE r e f e r s t o t h e means o f communication

u s e d by a group o f p e o p l e ( t h e Tausug) i n t h e p r o v i n c e o f S u l u ;

Tausug i s c o n s i d e r e d a language i n i t s own r i g h t , n o t a d i a l e c t

of any o t h e r P h i l i p p i n e l a n g u a g e , s i n c e i t I s n o t m u t u a l l y i n -

t e l l i g i b l e w i t h any o f t h e o t h e r language groups o f t h e c o u n t r y .

By DIALECT i s meant " t h e v a r i e t y o f language spoken by t h e members

of a s i n g l e homogeneous speech community.'"^

A c c o r d i n g t o H o c k e t t , a d i a l e c t i s a c o l l e c t i o n o f more

or l e s s s i m i l a r i d i o l e c t s . IDIOLECT r e f e r s t o t h e t o t a l i t y o f

the speech h a b i t s o f a s i n g l e i n d i v i d u a l a t a g i v e n p o i n t o f

time!'^

•^Whenever n e c e s s a r y , i n t h e t e x t , some o t h e r terms which

need c l a r i f i c a t i o n a r e e x p l a i n e d i n t h e footnotes*?

• -3prancis,
1
op. c i t . , p;' 43 „ N

H o c k e t t , op. c i t . , p.' 3 2 1 .
 13

Communication within a language group i s c a r r i e d on by-

means of utterances. An UTTERANCE i s defined i n t h i s thesis as

any stretch of speech produced by a person before and a f t e r which

there i s s i l e n c e d I t may be a one-syllable word or a long,

complicated sentence?

Utterances are made up of sequences of speech sounds the

study of which i s known l i n g u i s t i c a l l y as PHONOLOGY. This i n -

cludes both phonetic and phonemic, segmental and suprasegmental

considerations and the corresponding categories involved. 1

By

PHONETIC i s meant a general description of events of speech

structures.' These include a l l features of sounds whether r e l e -

vant or non-relevant, d i s t i n c t i v e or n o n - d i s t i n c t i v e .

PHONEMIC, on the other hand i s r e s t r i c t e d as a term to

r e f e r to those speech sounds that are relevant and d i s t i n c t i v e

and that serve to bring out contrasts between word forms. Such

speech sounds have d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g features or c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

which are c a l l e d DISTINCTIVE FEATURES. In the text, d i s t i n c t i v e

feature does not always mean a choice between two polar q u a l i t i e s

as described by Jakobson, Fant, and Halle i n t h e i r Preliminaries

16
to Speech Analysis. 1
In the sense used here, any feature of speech

which characterizes or distinguishes a phoneme from other phonemes

i s a d i s t i n c t i v e feature of that phoneme.' 1

^ Z e l l i g s. Harris, Structural L i n g u i s t i c s (Chicago: The

University of Chicago Press, 1963), p. 14. See also Mario Pel,
1

Glossary of L i n g u i s t i c s Terminology (New York: Doubleday and

Company, 1966), p. 128.

F o r discussion of the binary analysis of the d i s t i n c t i v e

X D

features of phonemes, r e f e r to Jakobson, Fant, and Halle, P r e l i m i -

naries to Speech Analysis (Massachussetts: MIT Press, 1965)?
 2. BASIC CONSIDERATIONS TO SPEECH ANALYSIS

Before attempting a d e s c r i p t i v e a n a l y s i s of the phonology

of Tausug, c e r t a i n m a t t e r s w h i c h a r e c o n s i d e r e d important to

b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e s t r u c t u r e of speech and the proceso-

ses of s p e a k i n g have t o be d i s c u s s e d h e r e . These i n c l u d e s (1)

t h e use of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l P h o n e t i c A l p h a b e t ( I P A ) ^ , (2)

1
the

organs of speech, and (3) the c r i t e r i a used i n phonemic a n a l y s i s .

2.1 The Use of the IPA

I n d i s c u s s i n g the p h o n o l o g i c a l phenomena of any given

language, i t i s n e c e s s a r y as w e l l as c o n v e n i e n t , t o have c o n s i s -

t e n t symbols of n o t a t i o n c o r r e l a t e d w i t h the sounds t o be observed

and c l a s s i f i e d , a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t h a t g i v e s a one-to-one c o r r e s -
18
pondence w i t h the sounds t o be r e p r e s e n t e d . The IPA has been

devised t o meet s u c h a need. A l t h o u g h i t cannot be c l a i m e d as

•the 1
o n l y p o s s i b l e and p e r m i s s i b l e means of r e c o r d i n g speech

sounds, t h e IPA i s t h e b e s t e s t a b l i s h e d and most w i d e l y used,

hence i t s p r e f e r e n t i a l use i n t h i s t h e s i s . "To use d i f f e r e n t

symbols f o r each new language", t o quote Swadesh, would make

19
l i n g u i s t i c science extremely d i f f i c u l t . '
17
. I n t e r n a t i o n a l P h o n e t i c A s s o c i a t i o n , The P r i n c i p l e s of
the I n t e r n a t i o n a l P h o n e t i c A s s o c i a t i o n (London: Department of
P h o n e t i c s , U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e , 1965), P.10»
x o
A s e t of g r a p h i c symbols g i v i n g a c o n s i s t e n t r e p r e s e n -
t a t i o n of speech i s known as p h o n e t i c t r a n s c r i p t i o n . F o r t h e
purpose of a c c u r a c y i n r e c o r d i n g p h o n o l o g i c a l phenomena, p e n o -
l o g i s t s have d e v e l o p e d what i s c a l l e d narrow t r a n s c r i p t i o n which
i n d i c a t e p r e c i s e l y every p h o n e t i c d e t a i l s , and broad t r a n s c r i p -
t i o n w h i c h i n d i c a t e o n l y the r e l e v a n t o r f u n c t i o n a l u n i t s of
sound.
M o r r i s Swadesh "The
1 9
Phonemic P r i n c i p l e " , Language
X (1934), p. 26.
 15

Only t h e p o r t i o n o f t h e IPA which i s p e r t i n e n t t o t h e

p h o n o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s o f Tausug w i l l be used i n t h i s text,

a l o n g w i t h some o f t h e m o d i f y i n g symbols w h i c h may be u s e f u l

f o r showing s e v e r a l k i n d s o f d i f f e r e n c e s i n a r t i c u l a t i o n o f

sounds as i n some o f t h e d i a l e c t s o f t h e language. Other s p e c i a l

symbols and sounds n o t found i n t h e IPA manual, but w h i c h a r e

c u r r e n t l y used and a r e c o n s i d e r e d u s e f u l i n r e p r e s e n t i n g some

speech phenomena o f Tausug a r e i n c l u d e d . A few more symbols,

whenever n e c e s s a r y , a r e e x p l a i n e d as t h e y a r e used i n t h e t e x t .

T a b l e o f Symbols and S i g n s

V o c o i d s and C o n t o i d s

Symbol Tausug Example Approximate Equipment

in English

[i] pila C'p* i l a h ] 'how much 1

[I] kalis ['k'alls] 'kris'

[1] pisu [ «p*isU?] 'sprain'

[a] taas ['t'a?as] 'height 1

Ca] kaun C 'k»a?Un] 'will get'

M baha ['bBhs?] 'maybe'

M pula D'P'Ulah] 'red'

Cu] bud [bu:d] 'mountain' '

Cu] subul ['sugUl] 'young man' o r ' b a c h e l o o r '
bukun [ 'bwkw.?] 'not' or'no' (negations)'

CA] bukug C'bUkAg] * bone'

 16

Symbol Tausug Example A p p r o x i m a t e Equipment

in English
M manghud ['nnsnhYdl 'younger b r o t h e r ' o r

'sister'
CP] pasu C'p'asUh] 'flower p o t '
CD] basu C'basUh] 'drinking glass'
[p] abaga C?a'3ay h] a 'shoulder'
[t] tau C »t»a?Uh] •people'
Cd] daan C 'da?on] 'old' (of things)
M kaan C'k'a?an] 'get f r o m ' o r 'get f o r '
Cs] gaan C ga?cai]
f
'weight'
agarun [ ? a y a r l b l
I
'will follow'
C?] abal C'?agal] 'current'
Ch] habal C'hapal] 'news'
Cn] ahad C ?ahad]
!
'Sunday'
Cs] sabal C'sagal] 'stoic'
Cm] maug [»ma?Ug] •possessive'
Cn] nanug Cna'na?Ug] 'went down'
c>>] . ngan C*}a:n] •name'
Ci] lad ju C 'ladjUh] 'farness'
Cr] rad j u C'radjUh] 'radio
karna C'k»aana?] 'that i s why*
Cd] Jaga C Jayah]
1
'guard'
Cy] yari C'yarlh] 'here' o r ' i t i s h e r e '
Cw] walu C'walUh] 'eight'
 17

Supras egmental;:, and Some M o d i f y i n g S y m b o l s 2 0

Symbol Description Tausug Example

['] S u p e r i o r v e r t i c a l t i c k used anarun [ ? a ' n a : r U n ]

t o s y m b o l i z e prominence on •will learn 1

f o l l o w i n g s y l l a b l e on t h e

phonetic l e v e l

['] A c u t e a c c e n t used t o i n d i c a t e anarun / ? a n a r u n /

p r i m a r y s t r e s s on t h e pho-

nemic l e v e l
2 3 1
E]1
Low p i t c h l e v e l M a l i n g k a t i n bad .lu

[ ]
2
Normal p i t c h l e v e l •The d r e s s i s p r e t t y . 1

High p i t c h l e v e l

Extra high p i t c h l e v e l I g Kawl 'Get o u t ! '

2 31
Falling intonation Y a r i h i Inda 1
'Inda i s h e r e . '

Rising intonation Y a r i h i I n3a t

'Inda i s h e r e ? '
2- 3 _v
Sustained intonation Y a r i h i Inda

'Inda i s here,'

(but )

20
James C a r r e l l and W i l l i a m _ T i f f a n y P h o n e t i c s ; Theory
and A p p l i c a t i o n t o Speech Improvement (London: "McGraw H i l l
Company,- I n c . , I9S0), p. X I I . !
 18

Symbol Description Tausug Example

[I] S i n g l e bar juncture f o r short

pauses w i t h i n an u t t e r a n c e Nami a k u i s t a j b u g a s 1

[||] Double b a r j u n c t u r e f o r l o n g e r f i b a n s a y u l ||

pauses a t t h e end o f an 'I bought f i s h , rice,

utterance and v e g e t a b l e . 1

S l i g h t l y c^as-pirated a r t i c u l a t i o n t a b u [ 't'aeU?]

'market'
CO Full length ud [ ? u : d ] 'worn'

CO Half length subul [su.gUl]

'young man' o r

'bachelor'
C O Centralization pisu ['plsU?l 'sprain'

C]w
Labialization kugan [»k uyan] w

' w i l l be happy'

co Nasalization mampallam [mam'pallam]

'mango 1

c] B r a c k e t s used t o e n c l o s e taikud C't'aykUd]

phonetic transcription •back'

/ / S l a s h e s used t o e n c l o s e taikud /'taikud/

phonemic transcription 'back'
To f a c i l i t a t e d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e v o c o i d s o f Tausug, i t

i s n e c e s s a r y t o have a frame o f r e f e r e n c e s u c h as t h e c a r d i n a l
21
vowel c h a r t t o be used as a k i n d o f s t a n d a r d measure.

21 IPA, o p . c i t . y pp. 4—9.

 19

Figure 2: The C a r d i n a l Vowel Chart

Front Central Back

 20

The v o w e l s r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e a b o v e c h a r t do n o t b e l o n g t o any-

one l a n g u a g e , b u t h a v e b e e n c h o s e n by D a n i e l Jones to represent

certain well-defined tongue positions. The cardinal [ i ] i s the

closest possible front v o w e l r e p r e s e n t e d r o u g h l y i n E n g l i s h " '..

by the vowel i n t h e word see [ s i : ] . The cardinal [ a ] i s the

most open of t h e back vowels found i n Southern E n g l i s h pronun-

ciation of f a r [ f a r : ] . The [ e ] , [fi], and [ a ] as shown i n t h e

above c h a r t belong to the front series, spaced out equally, and

i n t e r m e d i a t e between [ i ] and [ a ] , while [a], [ o ] and [u] are

vowels of the back series continuing t h e same s c a l e of equal

acoustic separation. A neutral vowel called schwa, [s], is

intermediate between the regions of c a r d i n a l [ e - c ] and [o-o]

97

(See F i g u r e 2).

Articulation of each of the c a r d i n a l vowels i s accompa-

nied by either a 'spread','neutral', or 'rounded' l i p position.

Cardinals [ i , e, e , a , a] have 'spread' o r ' n e u t r a l ' l i p positions,

while [a, o,u] are articulated with different degrees of l i p

rounding. The [ a ] has normally a neutral l i p position.

The sound w h i c h i s p r o d u c e d w i t h t h e mouth l e s s open

and t h e tongue r a i s e d toward t h e p a l a t e i s r e f e r r e d t o as a
:Qlose o r h i g h v o w e l . Thus [ i ] and [ u ] a r e c l o s e v o w e l s . They
a r e t h e c l o s e s t v o w e l s t h a t c a n b e produced...on-,the h i g h e r l e v e l ,
so t h a t t h e y a r e s a i d t o have reached t h e vowel l i m i t . Opposite
t o t h e c l o s e v o w e l s a r e t h e s o - c a l l e d o p e n o r l o w w h i c h a r e made
w i t h t h e mouth w i d e l y open and t h e tongue l y i n g low i n t h e mouth.
The [ a ] a n d t h e [ a ] v o w e l s f a l l u n d e r t h i s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n .
Intermediate,.between a c l o s e and an open vowel a r e vowels w h i c h
are c a l l e d h a l f - c l o s e , i n the case of those nearest to the close
vowels ( i . e . , [ J e
- [°])
a n d
- half-open, i n the case of those
a n d

midway between h a l f - c l o s e and open v o w e l s ( i . e . , [ s ] and [a]j.

 21

2.2 The Organs o f Speech

The speech mechanisms which a r e u n i v e r s a l t o a l l human
23
beings p l a y a very important r o l e i n t h e process of speaking. ^

I n s t u d y i n g t h e speech sounds o f any g i v e n l l a n g u a g e from t h e

a r t i c u l a t o r y p o i n t o f v i e w , a d e t a i l e d enumeration and c l a s s i -

fication o f t h e organs o f speech and t h e way t h e y a r e used will

prove u s e f u l as a frame o f r e f e r e n c e .

I n g e n e r a l , f o r most languages l i k e Tausug, f o r i n s t a n c e ,

speech sounds a r e u s u a l l y made w i t h o u t g o i n g b r e a t h from t h e

lungs w h i c h i s m o d i f i e d i n one way o r a n o t h e r by t h e organs o f

speech t h a t i t passes t h r o u g h . Discussions o f t h e speech mecha-

nisms w i l l be made i n t h e o r d e r i n which t h e b r e a t h - s t r e a m

passes them a f t e r h a v i n g been r e l e a s e d from t h e lungs through

t h e b r o n c h i a l tubes and t h e t r a c h e a .

The f i r s t resonance chamber t h a t t h e b r e a t h - s t r e a m goes

through i s a b o x - l i k e s t r u c t u r e o f c a r t i l a g e a t t h e upper end

of t h e t r a c h e a c a l l e d t h e l a r y n x , o r more commonly, t h e ''Adam's ?

apple .1
I t c o n t a i n s two membranes known as t h e v o c a l bands

w h i c h c a n be r e l a x e d and k e p t a p a r t , l e a v i n g a narrow passage

so t h a t t h e a i r p a s s i n g t h r o u g h produces a u d i b l e f r i c t i o n like

the [ h ] a t the beginning o f E n g l i s h hand and t h e Tausug [ 'ha(3Ul]

•blanket'. The v o c a l bands c a n a l s o be drawn t i g h t l y together

or o n l y p a r t i a l l y opened. When c o m p l e t e l y c l o s e d , so t h a t a i r i s

J
It s h o u l d be made c l e a r t h a t t h e organs o f speech
r e f e r r e d t o a r e o n l y f u n c t i o n i n g s e c o n d a r i l y as s u c h . The p r i
mary f u n c t i o n s o f t h e s e organs a r e e a t i n g and b r e a t h i n g .
 Figure 3: A cross section of
the head
showing the organs of speech

Oral Nasal cav/ty

cavity
"Fondue
palate
2. Blade
J. Franf
y.BScfc
Root
(turn Hd6e)
Ve/um(Sofi pa la
Teeih

U v u la
tips
Pharynx

EpigloHf's

Vocal Esophagus
bands
Larynx Trachea
 23

n o t a l l o w e d t o pass and t h e n opened s u d d e n l y , t h e r e s u l t a n t

sound i s a g l o t t a l s t o p [ ? ] w h i c h o c c u r s as t h e i n i t i a l and

f i n a l sounds o f Tausug word a s i b i [ ? a ' s i p l ? ] ' s m a l l 1

and a l s o

i n t h e E n g l i s h emphatic e x c l a m a t i o n ouchl [?aUt£]. When t h e

v o c a l bands a r e p a r t i a l l y opened, t h e c u r r e n t o f a i r f o r c e s

i t s e l f t h r o u g h , c a u s i n g them t o v i b r a t e . The sound waves

caused by t h e v i b r a t i o n o f t h e v o c a l bands i s known as v o i c e ,

and sounds formed w i t h t h e accompaniment of the laryngeal

v i b r a t i o n a r e r e f e r r e d t o as v o i c e d sounds. Those sounds made

Oh,

w i t h o u t accompaniment o f v o i c e a r e c a l l e d v o i c e l e s s sounds. ^

A c c o r d i n g t o H a l l and H o c k e t t , t h e v o c a l bonds d e t e r -

mine t h e p i t c h , and t h e f o r c e w i t h w h i c h t h e c u r r e n t o f a i r i s

e x p e l l e d from t h e l u n g s d e t e r m i n e s t h e volume o f sound. J

From t h e l a r y n g e a l resonance chamber, t h e c u r r e n t o f

a i r goes t h r o u g h t h e pharynx where i t may be m o d i f i e d by means

of c o n s t r i c t i o n made by t h e back o f t h e tongue brought c l o s e

o r i n c o n t a c t w i t h t h e back w a l l o f t h e t h r o a t , r e s u l t i n g i n

what i s c a l l e d t h e p h a r y n g e a l o r p h a r y n g e a l i z e d sound. This

t y p e o f sound, however, does n o t o c c u r i n Tausug.

J u s t above t h e pharynx i s t h e velum from w h i c h hangs

t h e f l e s h y t i p c a l l e d t h e uvula.' The back most p a r t o f t h e

26

velum i s known as t h e v e l i c , w h i c h d e t e r m i n e s whether a sound

i s pronounced w i t h n a s a l resonance o r n o t . When t h e v e l i c i s

opened, t h e b r e a t h - s t r e a m i s a l l o w e d t o escape t h r o u g h t h e nose,

ph.
A l l vowels and c e r t a i n consonants a r e always v o i c e d .
C e r t a i n consonants a r e always v o i c e l e s s .
2
5 H a l l / op. c i t . , p.' 42.
H o c k e t t , op. c i t . , p. 66.
2 6
H a l l l o c . c i t . , p. 42.
 24

r e s u l t i n g i n a nasal a r t i c u l a t i o n . When i t i s closed, the

current of a i r i s channeled through the oral cavity exclusively.

Most of the points a t which the breath-stream can be

modified are found i n the mouth or oral cavity; The tongue,

an extremely f l e x i b l e and movable organ, plays the major r o l e .

As i l l u s t r a t e d by the diagram of the organs of speech on page 22,

the tongue has f i v e parts to i t , which phoneticians distinguish

as important i n speech production. Any of these parts can be

r a i s e d or lowered, fronted or retracted.' Any a r t i c u l a t i o n i n

which the tongue i s raised toward the roof of the mouth i s c a l l e d

close or high and one i n which the tongue i s lowered i s c a l l e d

open or low. In l i k e manner, the terms front and back correspond

respectively to the forward and backward movements of the tongue.

When the surface of the tongue i s suppressed so that a trough i s

formed through which the a i r passes, creating a hissing noise, the

resultant sounds are known as s i b i l a n t s . On the other hand, where

the tongue surface i s pressed against the roof of the mouth and

a i r i s allowed to pass on one or both sides of the tongue, the

a r t i c u l a t i o n made i s c a l l e d a l a t e r a l .

There are other areas of a r t i c u l a t i o n i n the oral cavity

such as the series of regions i n the roof of the mouth. Prom

back to front are the velum or soft palate, the hard palate,

the gum-ridge or alveolum, and the back surface of the upper

front teeth. Customarily, sounds made i n each of these regions

 25

a r e d e s c r i b e d as v e l a r , p a l a t a l , a l v e o l a r , and d e n t a l . On

o c c a s i o n , a sound may i n v o l v e more t h a n one r e g i o n , so t h a t

a c o m b i n a t i o n o f a d j e c t i v e s i s used t o d e s c r i b e s u c h a r t i c u -

lations. A sound, f o r i n s t a n c e , made i n t e r m e d i a t e

1
between

t h e a l v e o l u m and t h e hard p a l a t e i s r e f e r r e d t o as an a l v e o -

p a l a t a l sound. A sound w h i c h i s made w i t h t h e t i p o f t h e

tongue pushed out i n between t h e upper and l o w e r t e e t h i s

formed as a n i n t e r d e n t a l sound.

The a r t i c u l a t i o n o f a sound may i n v o l v e t h e use o f t h e

l i p s , ' so t h a t a sound produced w i t h b o t h l i p s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i s

called a bilabial. A n e u t r a l o r a spread l i p p o s i t i o n , o r a

p r o j e c t i o n and r o u n d i n g o f t h e l i p s may accompany t h e a r t i c u l a -

t i o n o f a sound.

I t s h o u l d be mentioned, however, t h a t except f o r t h e

v o c a l bands,' i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o make ' s h a r p l y d e f i n e d limits

f o r a l l the regions o f t h e organs o f speech j u s t d i s c u s s e d .

T h e i r areas i n the anatomical t r a c t a r e only approximately

identified. I n s u c h a c a s e , " i t i s n o t " , says H a l l , "possible

t o i d e n t i f y t h e p l a c e of a r t i c u l a t i o n o f any g i v e n sound w i t h

mathematical p r e c i s i o n " .

2.3 C r i t e r i a Used i n Phonemic A n a l y s i s

I n a n a l y z i n g the phonological s t r u c t u r e of a given

language, t h e f i r s t c o n s i d e r a t i o n i s t o d e s c r i b e t h e p h o n e t i c

raw m a t e r i a l as produced by t h e speech o r g a n s , t h e sounds which

 26

make t h e a c t u a l e v e n t s of speech. The u l t i m a t e a i m o f a phono-

logical analysis, however," i s t o go b e y o n d t h e l e v e l o f t h e raw

materials, to find adequate and c l e a r l y defined categories into

which t h e p h y s i c a l events o r phones (speech sounds) c a n be

classified? I n other words, t o i d e n t i f y the functional units

of sounds which a r e c a l l e d phonemes. I n s o d o i n g , certain criteria

such as the f o l l o w i n g are normally observed i n t h e process of

classification.

I. 1
Criterion of distribution. Distribution applies to

the sum o f c o n t e x t s under w h i c h speech sounds occur, i . e . , the

position i n which t h e speech elements a r e found with respect to

each other and t o other phones. I f two elements of speech stands

in t h e same p o s i t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o each other but f u n c t i o n

differently, they are said t o be i n c o n t r a s t w i t h each other.

Thus, i n T a u s u g , [p*'] a n d [ £ ] i n p a s u ['p»asUh] ' f l o w e r : ; p o t •

and basu ['basUh] ' d r i n k i n g g l a s s ' h a v e t h e same p h o n e t i c environ-

ment i n t h a t b o t h occur word initial. However, they cannot be

classified t o t h e same phoneme s i n c e t h e y contrast with each other

phonetically as w e l l as s e m a n t i c a l l y . I n such a case, [ p ' ] and

[b] are said t o be i n c o n t r a s t i v e d i s t r i b u t i o n .

But when two o r more phones o c c u r i n t h e same phonetic

environment (as i n t h e case of [ i ] and [ i ] i n p i d p i d ['p'idpld]

'trembling'), a n d do n o t c o n t r a s t w i t h each o t h e r , they a r e

said t o be i n n o n - c o n t r a s t i v e d i s t r i b u t i o n . I n cases where one

 2?-

phone o c c u r s and t h e o t h e r does n o t , and v i c e versa, so that

they complement each o t h e r , t h e phones a r e s a i d t o b e i n com-

plementary d i s t r i b u t i o n . The n o r m a l phenomenon i n Tausug i s

for t h e [ i ] phone t o o c c u r i n s t r e s s e d syllables and t h e [ i ]

vocoid t o appear i n unstressed syllable as i n t h e above example,

pidpid £ p'idpld].
1
H o w e v e r , i n some T a u s u g speech, these two

phones a l t e r n a t e freely i n both stressed and unstressed syllable.

In such a case, [ i ] and [ i ] a r e said t o be i n f r e e v a r i a t i o n or

free alternation.

2. Criterion of Phonetic S i m i l a r i t y . To be c o n s i d e r e d as

similar enough f o r purposes o f c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a s members of the

same phoneme, a g r o u p o f p h o n e s m u s t s h a r e t h e same phonetic

feature o r features which a r e not shared by other phone-types

in the language. T h e T a u s u g [ i ] a n d [ i ] s h a r e t h e same high-

front tongue p o s i t i o n and t h e r e l a t i v e l y moderate l i p spreading.

Both a r e voiced sounds. Similarly, [ t * ] and [ t ] i n tahud

[•t'ahUd] 'spur on r o o s t e r s ' legs' and duhat['duhat] 'a k i n d of f

fruit',' although d i s t r i b u t i o n a l l y they belong to different envi-

r o n m e n t s , a r e g r o u p e d u n d e r t h e same phoneme b e c a u s e o f their

intrinsic similarity i n point of articulation as well as voiceless-

ness.'

3. Criterion of Identity o f Function.' As a c o r a l l a r y to

the criteria of distribution and phonetic s i m i l a r i t y , a group of

p h o n e s may be c l a s s i f i e d on t h e b a s i s of their identity of function.

To illustrate this, ;
reference t o the preceding examples. The [t*]
 28

and [ t ] sounds i n ['t'cchUd] a n d [ ' d u h a t ] a l t h o u g h functioning

in two d i f f e r e n t environments do n o t n e c e s s a r i l y suggest that

they belong t o d i f f e r e n t phonemes s i n c e t h e u s e o f one f o r t h e

other does n o t change t h e meaning o f t h e words, a l t h o u g h t h e

p h e n o m e n o n m a y n o t b e common i n t h e l a n g u a g e . B u t when another

dental sound l i k e [ l ] i sused i nplace of the [ t ] i n [*duhat],

the r e s u l t a n t word i s duhal ['duhal] ' t ohand over' (something).'

This criterion of identity of f u n c t i o n serves t o prevent group-

ing of disparate speech sounds on t h e b a s i s of d i s t r i b u t i o n and

phonetic similarity. T h u s , T a u s u g [ m , p , b ] i n mugmug ['mugmUg]

•to g u r g l e ' pugpug ['p'ugpUg] 'softened by p r e s s u r e ' , a n d bugbug

['bugbUg] 'porridge' although they a r e p h o n e t i c a l l y s i m i l a r as

bilabials and have i d e n t i c a l distribution, c a n n o t , however, be

grouped i n t o o n e phoneme since they d i f f e r i n f u n c t i o n and con-

trast with one a n o t h e r as manifested by t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n mean-

ing.

4. Criterion o f P a t t e r n Congruity. 1
Although according

to Sapir there i s no language t h a t forms a w a t e r - t i g h t system,

and t h a t we s h o u l d be s u s p i c i o u s i ftoopretty a picture results

25

from t h e phonemic a n a l y s i s o f p h o n e t i c a l l y a s y m e t r i c a l s i t u a t i o n s ,

nevertheless, i n every phonemic system 'skewness' i s o f t e n avoided

and t h e tendency toward 'symmetry' i s sought.' I n Tausug, f o r

instance, there i s t h e problem of whether t o i n t e r p r e t t h e i n i t i a l

sounds o f juwalan 'fried b a n a n a ' a s a s i n g l e phoneme, / j / , or a

2
^Hall, o p . c i t . , p . 9?.
 29

cluster o f two consonants, / d j / . U s i n g , however, the criterion

of neatness of p a t t e r n , t h e sound i s interpreted as a single

phoneme, s i n c e interpreting i t otherwise would render the

phoneme d i f f e r e n t from other consonants i n the language which

appear only singly i n word initial position, never i n clusters.

Another example t o i l l u s t r a t e the working of t h i s criterion

of pattern congruity i s t h e g r o u p i n g t o g e t h e r of [ p ' ] and [p] i n

pukul ['p'ukUl] 'armless' o r ' f i n g e r l e s s * and l u k u p £'lukUp] ' t o

scruj> t h e mossy s u b s t a n c e f r o m ,' . . 1

and [ k ' ] and [k] i n kitab

['k'ltab] 'bible 1
and battik ['battlk] "Indonesian f a b r i c ' into

phonemes / p / and /k/ r e s p e c t i v e l y i n congruity with the [ t ' ] and

[t] i n tahud and duhat which are grouped into t h e phoneme / t / .

 30

3. THE S P E E C H SOUNDS OF TAUSUG

The whole range of Tausug phonetic raw m a t e r i a l made

by the organs of s p e e c h may be conveniently divided into two

main types: those i n which the organs of speech are used

to form resonance chamber t h r o u g h which the breath-stream

passes without any audible friction, and those i n which the

current of a i r i s obstructed i n one way or another resulting

in a complete block or audible friction. T h e s e two classes

of speech sounds are r e f e r r e d t o as vocoids and contoids

respectively.

3.1 Vocoid

A vocoid i s a type of sound which i n v o l v e s primarily

resonance. The most i m p o r t a n t single factor responsible for

the production of the vocoids i s the position of the tongue

in the oral cavity. Normally, vocoids are described accord-

ing to three factors: the tongue height (high or low), the

tongue advancement (front to back), and the l i p position

(spread, n e u t r a l , or rounded).

With the use of the schematic r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the

organs of s p e e c h o n ; p a g e 22 and the c a r d i n a l vowel chart on

p a g e 19, and with the use of some E n g l i s h k e y w o r d s that

roughly represent some o f the c a r d i n a l sounds (IPA manual,

p.9), the vocoids o f T a u s u g may be conveniently discussed.

Starting with the high front vocoid, the most commonly

heard variety i s the medial sound of Tausug word b i d [bi:d]

'hill' which closely approximates the tongue position

 31

of t h e c a r d i n a l [ i ] i n E n g l i s h keyword bead [ b i r d ] • Compared

to E n g l i s h , however, t h e f r o n t o f t h e tongue s u r f a c e i s n o t

r a i s e d so h i g h i n t h e mouth. The t o n g u e i s r e l a t i v e l y l e s s

t e n s e f o r Tausug a n d t h e l i p s a r e n o t so s p r e a d as they a r e i n

English. I n terms o f q u a l i t y o f sound, Tausug [ i ~] i n the

example c i t e d above I s r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t e r i n d u r a t i o n than that

of E n g l i s h . However, l e n g t h e n i n g o f t h e v o c o i d i n Tausug does

n o t h a v e a n y s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t on t h e w o r d , s o t h a t [ b i : d ] o r

Ibid] are equally acceptable. Vowel l e n g t h , i n o t h e r w o r d s ,

i s non-phonemic i n the language.

Normally, the vocoid [ i ] occurs i n stressed syllables,

which i s u s u a l l y the 'penultimate* ( o r second t o t h e l a s t ) sylla

ble i n a word. As i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h e examples f o l l o w i n g , [ i ]

p a t t e r n s f r e e l y w i t h almost a l l c o n t o i d s o f Tausug, except that

it does n o t o c c u r a f t e r [ y ] •

Plla [ »p»ilah] 'how much'

tinga [ *finah] 'extra appendage'

kila £ 'k'ilah ] 'to recognize'

bllas [ »bilas ] 'sore eyes'

dila [ 'dila? ] 'tongue *

gila [ 'gllah ] 'careless*

11a [ '?ilah ] ' b i r t h mark',

hilla [> «hilla? ] 'to pull'

miskin [ 'miskin ] 'poor'

 32

niyat ['niyat] •desire' or 'ambition', e t c .

ngilu [«nilU£] 'gum' ( i n t h e mouth)

sila ['silah] 'they' ( s u b j e c t i v e case)

jilun ['jilUn] 'to p u t i n j a i l '

l i l l a ['lilla?] 'to g i v e up' o r 'to surrender

riha [«rihah] 'to p u t i t here'

bawi-a [ba'wi-?ah] 'retrieve i t '

The distinctive q u a l i t y o f t h e [ i ] sound, whether t h e

duration i s long or-short, i s retained i n stressed syllables.

However, i n cases where t h e s t r e s s s h i f t s t o another s y l l a b l e as

a result of suffixation, like kila ['k'ilah] ' to recognize'

becoming k i l a h u n [ k ' I ' l a h U n ] 'will recognize' the w e a k e r stress

leads to a perfectly acceptable normal s u b s t i t u t i o n , the [ i ]

vocoid. This v a r i e t y i s much l o w e r a n d somewhat more centered

than [ i ] . The tongue i s more l a x and t h e l i p s are less spread.

The [ i ] sound i s relatively shorter i n duration than [i].Position-

wise, [ i ] i s intermediate between c a r d i n a l s [ i ] and [ e ] . A

sample o f t h e environmental conditions i n which [ l ] occurs i n

relation to the contoids o f Tausug i s l i s t e d below:

tapil ['t'apll] 'to put s i d e by s i d e '

bati [«batl?] 'awake'

pikil ['p'ikll] •to think'

sabit ['saplt] 'to hook' (something on .

landi ['landi?] 'coqufttte'

tagi ['t«aylh] 'fondness for . . . . '

 33

ba-id ['ba?Id] 'to ask permission'

tahi [•t'ahl?] 'to sew 1

kami ['k'amlh] 'we' (pronoun)

panit ['panit] 'tuna fish'

mangi ['manl?] 'bad'

kusil ['k'usll] •toughness 1

or 'hardness

(of food)

.iangi [«janjl?] 'promise 1

kalis [•k'alls] 'kris'

manjari [man jarlh]

1
•can be' o r ' w i l l do'

bawis ['bawls] 'a s p e c i e s of fish'

As obviously manifested by t h e above s a m p l i n g s , [ i ] patterns with

all contoidsof t h e language except that i tnever follows [ y ] .

A third variety of the high-front vocoid i s heard i n

words l i k e liag [lyag] 'was b e i n g looked up', k a i t [k'ayt] 'safety'

pin', 1
kiait [k»yayt] 'was p i n n e d ' , etc., which i s represented by

[y]. I t has a tongue p o s i t i o n higher t h a n [ i ] , a n d much c l o s e r t o

that of the cardinal [ i ] . The m u s c l e s o f t h e tongue f o r[ y ]a r e

more t e n s e and t h e p o s i t i o n of the lips i s u s u a l l y c o n d i t i o n e d by

its phonetic environment, t h e sound preceding or following i t .

Thus, i n liag, the lips are loosely spread, while i n kiait, both

[ y ] a r e more drawn t o t h e s i d e s o f t h e mouth t h a n the [ y ] i n [lyag].

In a word l i k e biusan ['byusan], the l i p position f o r[ y ] a n t i c i -

pates that of the vocoid [ u ] which i s rounded.

 3k

In the high "back r a n g e , ' t h e r e a r e a s m a n y v o c o i d s as

there are i n the high front series. Starting from the highest

possible variety, there i s the [w] vocoid which p a r a l l e l s the

high front vocoid [ y ] i n tongue h e i g h t . This sound i s heard i n

words l i k e buad [bwad] 'to d r y ' laum [lawm] 'inside', buaun

[bwawn] 'to rock a baby t o sleep, e t c . , I t a p p r o x i m a t e s very

closely t h e tongue p o s i t i o n of cardinal [u] i n English too [tu:],

although f o r [w] the l i p s a r e more pushed f o r w a r d and t h e muscles

of t h e tongue a r e r e l a t i v e l y more tense.

Another vocoid of the high-back s e r i e s i s heard i n words

like bud [ b u : d ] 'mountain', k u t a [ 'kiuta?] *fort', uban ['?ilgan]

•white hair', s u b u l [ »suj3Ul] ' y o u n g m a n ' or'bachelor',etc., which

has a tongue p o s i t i o n just a little lower a n d moved" m o r e toward

the center than that of c a r d i n a l [ u ] i n English too [ t u : ] . For

Tausug, this vocoid (which i s symbolized as [u])has a more relaxed

tongue p o s i t i o n , l o o s e l y spread l i p s , and t h e d u r a t i o n of t h e

sound i s relatively shorter than that of English. Like [ i ] , i t s

high-front counter-part, [ u ] may be l e n g t h e n e d or shortened with-

out losing i t s distinctive quality, neither the long nor the short

quality affecting significantly t h e words where i t o c c u r s . Such

a vocoid i s commonly f o u n d i n a stressed syllable and i s observed

to occur w i t h atoost a l l t h e c o n t o i d s of the language, except [ w ] .

 35

Thus:

pulak [ ' p»ulak] 'abortion'

tulak ['t'ulak] 'to push'

kulang ['k'ulan] 'lacking'

burak [ 'burak] 'powder'

dusa [ *dusah] 'sin' or fault'

gula [«gula?] 'molasses' or'nectar'

ulan ['?ulan] 'rain'

hula ['hula?] 'place'

mula ['mulah] •will become r e d '

mm.uk [«nunUk] 'balete tree'

nguya ['nuya?] 'to chew'

subul ['supUl] •young man' o r 'bachelor'

juba ['jupa?] 'robe'

lura ['lura?] •sputum' o r ' t o s p i t '

ha ruhul [ha'ruhUl] •at t h e end'

yubus ['yupUs] 'was finished'

A lower variety of [ u ] i s observable i n some o f t h e

examples l i s t e d above l i k e , f o r i n s t a n c e , nunuk ['nunUk], subul

['supUl], ha r u h u l [ h a ' r u h U l ] , ' and yubus ['yupUs]. I t i s apparent

that the vocoid [ u ] occurs i n unstressed syllables. To illustrate

further i t s occurrence i n such phonetic context, a list o f words a r e

provided below. Save f o r[w], t h e [ u ] v a r i a n t i s shown t o p a t t e r n

with almost a l l contoids of the language.

 36

kiput c 'k'ipUt] 'tight'

batu c •batith] 'stone'

pikul c •p'ikUl] •to strangle'

kabug c 'k'abUg] 'bat'

daugdug c 'dawgdUg] 'thunder'

bagu [ •ba^Uh] 'new'

maus [ 'ma?Us] 'in a hurry'

tanghul c 't'anhUl] 'to bark'

kamu [ 'k'omU?] 'ours'

lanut c •lanUt] 'abaca fiber'

bungug c 'bunUg] •dull'

masub [ •masUb] 'very fond o f . . .'

bad j u [ •badjUh] 'storm'

talus c 'talUs] 'prophetic'

barung c 'barUn] 'a t y p e of bladed weapon'

payung c «p»ayun] 'unbrella'

P o s i t i o n w i s e , - t h e [_UJ v o c o i d stands intermediate between c a r d i n a l

[ u ] a n d [o],' that i s just a little lower a n d more c e n t r a l than

the vocoid [u]. I t resembles very closely the articulation of

the vocoid i n E n g l i s h put [ p U t ] , except t h a t f o r T a u s u g [u],' the

muscles o f t h e tongue a r e more l a x and t h e l i p s are less rounded.

All the vocoids just discussed a r e made w i t h the tongue

raised high i n t h e mouth, b u t w i t h t h e tongue l a i d low i n the oral

cavity, i n central position, and w i t h the lips unrounded and

 37

relaxed, a vocoid transcribed as [a] i s produced. This sound is

' found i n words such as the following:

pais [«p'a?Is] 'skin 1

taas [«t'a? s] a
'height'

balu ['balUh] 'widow' o r 'widower'

dahun ['dahUn] •leafl'

manis [;manls] 'charm'

nanaug [na'na?Ug] 'went d o w n '

sabun ['sabUn] 'soap'

['jayah] •guard'

lara [ larah]
1
'pepper'

radju ['radjUh] 'radio'

yari ['yarlh] •here'

In comparison to the c a r d i n a l [ a ] i n the Northern English

pronunciation of pan [pan],' the Tausug vocoid i n ['p»a?ls], i s

not so low i n the mouth. Approximately,its l o c a t i o n i n the car-

dinal vowel chart i s intermediate between c a r d i n a l s [a] and [a],

but a little raised (see Figure 4).

It has been i n t e r e s t i n g l y observed that the [a] vocoid

occurs following either a bilabial,' dental or alveopalatal con-

25

toids. In cases where the preceding sound is a velar or a

"glottal contoid, a n o t h e r v a r i e t y w h i c h i s more back and somewhat

lower than [a] has been noted to occur. The vocoid in question

resembles very c l o s e l y the cardinal[a] i n Southern English pronun-

'See section 3.2 for discussion of the contoids of Tausug.

 38

elation of f a r[ f a r ] , and i s , therefore, represented with the

same s y m b o l , [ a ] . A s a m p l i n g o f words where t h i s sound occurs

are provided below:

kaun [«k»a?Un] /will get'

anarun ['?a'narUn] 'will learn'

gad ja [ 'gad jah] 'elephant

ngan [ 'nasn] 'name'

habul [»h pui]

a
•blanket'

pakain [paka?In] 'where' (Interrogative pronoun)

maandum [ma'?andUm] 'cloudy'

agarun [?cfvarUn] 'will follow'

mangadji [ma'nadjl?] 'will read the Koran'

mahaba [ma'haga?] 'long'

jawabun [ja'wopUn] 'will bargain' o r ' t o answer back

kakas ['k'akas] 'ringworn'

paa ['p'a? h] a •thigh'

abaga [?a*payah] 'shoulder'

paha ['p'ahah] •band f o r t h e n a v e l '

lawa ['lawa?] *'spider 1

In some t y p e s of informal s p e e c h , a more c e n t e r e d and

raised sounde'than [ a ] , which i s just directly below the c a r d i n a l

[a] fluctuates freely with either one o f t h e two v a r i e t i e s of the

low central vowel already discussed ( [ a ] and [ a ] ) . This vocoid

is s y m b o l i z e d a s [e] a n d may be h e a r d i n words s u c h a s b a h a [ 'b-ehe?]

 39

' m a y b e ' , b a k a [ 'belre?] 'tartar', s a b a l [ s*e0Sl]

f
'stoic , 1
mas t a l

[ 'nuestel] ' t e a c h e r ' , ayaw [ ' T ^ y e w ] 'does n o t l i k e ' , e t c .

The precise position f o r t h e ["8] s o u n d may vary amoung

Tausug speakers, w i t h t h e tongue being relatively higher than

To v i s u a l i z e better the approximate positions of the

vocoids d i s c u s s e d above, the cardinal vowel chart i s drawn below

with the vocoids of Tausug roughly indicated on i t . The smaller

dots (.) represent the vocoids of the language, while the bigger

(©) a r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e c a r d i n a l sounds (Figure 4).

Figure 4: A modified C a r d i n a l Vowel Chart

showing the approximate location

of t h e Tausug vocoids.
 ko

As clearly i l l u s t r a t e d i n the above diagram, there are a total

of nine vocoids that are commonly h e a r d i n the Tausug of STP,

equally apportioned into the h i g h - f r o n t , high-back, and low-

centered ranges.

On occasion, any of the vocoids o f T a u s u g may be modified

in contact with the adjacent sounds. The most f r e q u e n t modifica-

tion i s nasalization. I n words l i k e , mampallam 'mango', f o r

example, the vocoid i n the first syllable i s pronounced with

slight degree of n a s a l i z a t i o n as a consequence of the two nasal

sounds p r e c e d i n g and f o l l o w i n g the vocoid. Thus mampallam may

be t r a n s c r i b e d as [mam'pallam] w i t h the ^symbol; "[~'] ^ used

to represent nasalization.

Another dimension of v a r i a t i o n i n vocoid i s length.

Although i t has been p o i n t e d out i n preceeding discussions that

shortening and lengthening of vocoids i s non-phonemic i n Tausug,

phonetically, there i s c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f e r e n c e between a vocoid

in a s t r e s s e d and unstressed syllables. In the Tausug word

ahad 'Sunday', f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e [a] i n the first stressed sylla-

ble is relatively longer than the vocoid i n the second unstressed

syllable. Compared t o ad 'fence', however, the first [a] i n ahad

is relatively shorter. Thus, ahad i s t r a n s c r i b e d as [/a.had] and

ad [?a:d].

Vocoids u s u a l l y form the syllabic centers, being the most

sonorous sounds, normally v o i c e d and produced without impediment

 41

in the oral cavity. I n cases w h e r e two vocoids occur in the

same s y l l a b l e , s o that one i s more sonarous than the other, the

less sonorous i s classified as s e m i v o c o l d and forms what i s

known as a phonetic diphthong w i t h the f u l l vocoid. The semi-

vocoids correspond to the high-front v o c o i d [ y ] and the high-

back v o c o i d [ w ] . T h e s e two sounds f u n c t i o n o n l y as s u c h and "

never as full vocoids. Sometimes the semivocoids are referred

to as glides due t o t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c movements w h i c h are

made b y rising or f a l l i n g from one point to another with swift

transition.

The more commonly h e a r d phonetic diphthongs of Tausug

which occur immediately following or preceeding contoids are

listed below w i t h examples:

piara [ ' p'yarah] 1

was s ent•

bia [bya?] •as i f

giaWiSr [«gya?Us] 'could a f f o r d to . . .'

hiatud ["hyatUd] 'escorted' or 'returned'

niat C'nyat] 'desire' or 'aspiration'

etc.

p&igu ['paygU?] •to take a bath'

taikud ['t'aykUd] 'back' or 'behind'

da i n [dayn] * from'

saing [sayn] 'banana•

lain [layn] 'to transfer 1

 42

[ay] kait [k'ayt] 'safety p i n '

gaid [sayd] 'as a m a t t e r of course'

qil [?ayl] 'moslem way o f cleansing

before prayer time•

hain [hayn] 'to put something on ...'

[wa] puasa ['p»wasah] 'fasting'

luan [lwon] 'cargo'

tuangun [ 't'wccnUn] 'will pour'

suat [swat] 'to d r y '

[aw] paus [p'aws] 'to chew sugarcane'

taumpa ['t'awmpa?] 'shoes'

baus [baws] 'to bargain'

daugdug ['dawgdUg] ' thunder'

jawm [ jawm] •needle•

[yu] piunug ['p'yunUn] •fainted'

kiugan ['k'uyan] 'was happy 1

biula ['byulah] 'violin'

niug [nyug] 'coconut palm tree'

jiuk [jyuk] 'answered back with

sarcasm'

[wi] antuilas [?an'twilas] 'sequins'

huis [hwis] 'judge•

mui [mwi?] 'to go home'

suihan ['swihan] 'will relate something'

(gossips, news, e t c . )
 43-

A possible variation of [ y u ] i s [yU] which might be

heard sometimes i n stressed syllables like i n t h e above given

examples. T h e [yU.] d i p h t h o n g i s , however, o f t e n heard i n un-

stressed syllables i n the following words:

piulakan [p'yU lakan] 1

•deliberate abortion'

tltiu ['t'ityU?] 'very little'

kiulangan [k'yU'lanan] 'was d e c r e a s e d ' or

'reduced'

diugalan [ d y U g cclan]
1
'was angry'

jiuwalan [jyU'walan] 'was f r i e d ' ( o f banana)

siulayan [syU layan]

1
'tried'

hiugasan [hyU'yasan] 'was washed'

liura?an [lyU ra?an]

1
'spat on . . . '

As clearly shown i n t h e f o r e g o i n g examples, the syllabic

element i n a diphthong i s always lower than the glide. The

d i p h t h o n g a l movement f o r [ y a ] , f o r e x a m p l e , s t a r t s from the posi-

tion of [ y ] which i s a little above t h e v o c o i d [ i ] , t h e n moves i n

the d i r e c t i o n of the low central vocoid [ a ] . Sometimes i n infor-

mal speech, t h e [ « ] v o c o i d may b e h e a r d instead of [ a ] . The g r a -

dual opening o f t h e jaw i s obvitlms a s a r t i c u l a t i o n shifts from

one sound t o t h e n e x t , s o i s "the c h a n g e i n l i p p o s i t i o n from spread

to neutral.

The d i p h t h o n g a l movement o f [ a y ] i s j u s t the opposite of

[ya]. Articulation proceeds from the position of vocoid [ a ] , then

 4-if

moves r a p i d l y but smoothly i n the direction of the high front

semi v o c o i d [y]. T h e same d i r e c t i o n a l r . m o v e m e n t i s a l s o observa-

ble with the [ a y ] diphthong except that i n the latter, the

starting point i s the vocoid [ a ] instead of [ a ] . The closing

movement o f t h e jaw and t h e change from n e u t r a l t o spread l i p

position are characteristics of these diphthongs. The [ a y ]

diphthong i s observed t o o c c u r o n l y when f o l l o w i n g bilabial,

dental, or alveopalatal contoids. I n t h e case of [ay], i t i s

found t o -occur f o l l o w i n g velar or glottal contoids.

Symmetrically opposed to [ y a ] i s the diphthong [wa]. The

articulatory movement b e g i n s from t h e h i g h back s e m i v o c o i d [ w ] ,

t h e n moves t o t h e p o s i t i o n f o r that of [ a ] . In gliding downward,

the opening movement o f t h e jaw i s a g a i n n o t i c e a b l e . The change

from rounded to neutral l i p position can also be observed.

Like the [ a y ]diphthong, the [aw] counterpart s t a r t s arti-

c u l a t o r y movement w i t h t h e l o w c e n t r a l vocoid [ a ] , but glides up

into the high-back semivowel [w] Instead of the high-front [ y ] .

The lips change from a n e u t r a l l y opened t o a rounded position.

In t h e case o f [ a w ] , d i p h t h o n g a l movement i s r e l a t e d to [ a ] i nthe

same way [ a y ] i s r e l a t e d to [ay].

The [ y u ] diphthong has a s t a r t i n g point that i s practically

t h e same a s t h e [ y a ] d i p h t h o n g . However, w i t h [ y u ] , movement i s

made i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e h i g h back v o c o i d [ u ] . Change i n l i p

position from spread t o rounded i s observable.

 4 5

A parallel articulation i s valid f o r t h e [w3.jp d i p h t h o n g

in words like m u i £mwi?|] ' t o go home , 1

b u t movement s t a r t s with

the h i g h - f r o n t semivocoid heading toward the vocoid quality f o r

[i] , although perhaps sometimes a l i t t l e lower, nearer to [ I ] .

The lips change from rounded t o l o o s e l y spread position.

A phonetic diphthong has been observed as a combination

of one s e m i v o c o i d and a f u l l vocoid. I n cases where two semi-

vocoids and a f u l l vocoid areinvolved within t h e same syllable,

the resultant combination i s called a phonetic triphthong. The

commonly d i s t i n g u i s h e d phonetic t r i p t h o n g s o f Tausug a r e t h e

following:

[ y 30
a
kiait [ kyayt ] 'safety pin*

liain [ lyayn"] 'was t r a n s f e r r e d '

(refers t o things)

[woiw] duawn [ dwtmwn ] 'to double' (something)

buaun [ bwawn] ' t o r o c k a baby t o s l e e p '

[yaw] jgiaud [ syawd ] 'was r e c e i v e d ( w i t h r e c e p t a c l e )

biaus j~ b y a w s ] 'was b a r g a i n e d '

[way ] buaih [ b i % y h ~] 'to place rattan on something'

kuaih [kwayh ] ' t o wind*

The [ y a y ] t r i p h t h o n g i sa r t i c u l a t e d w i t h movement start-

ing from t h e [ y] position, then moving towards the syllabic

v o c o i d [ a] a n d b a c k t o w h e r e a r t i c u l a t i o n started. Movement

from one sound t o t h e o t h e r sound i s s o f a s t that the transi-

tion between each sound i s hardly noticeable. Starting with

the high-back semivocoid, t h e same a r t i c u l a t o r y movement f o r

[ waw ~] i s m a d e .
 k'6

Symmetrically opposed to each other in articulatory move-

ments a r e the triphthongs [yaw] and [way]. For [yaw], articula-

tion proceeds from the p o s i t i o n f o r [ y ] , t h e n moves q u i c k l y t o -

wards the p o s i t i o n f o r the low central vocoid [ a ] , then g l i d e s up

again into the direction f o r [w]. The opposite articulatory move-

ment i s v a l i d f o r [way].'

3.2 Contoids

As has already been expressed earlier i n the chapter, a

contoid is a sound involving audible turbulence of the current of

air at one point or another i n the vocal tract, or else a complete

interruption of the air-stream i n the resonance chambers.

Basically contoids are described on the basis of three

major criteria's the point of a r t i c u l a t i o n , the manner of articu-

l a t i o n , and the presence o r absence o f voice.

By point of a r t i c u l a t i o n i s meant the place i n the reso-

nance chamber where a r t i c u l a t i o n of a contoid takes place.

Usually a p a i r of a r t i c u l a t o r s serve to define the basic points

of a r t i c u l a t i o n . Contoids made w i t h the u p p e r and the lower lips

brought together, like the Tausug [p,b,p,m] i n p i l a ['pilah] 'how

much , basu [basUh]

1
' d r i n k i n g g l a s s ' , abaga [?a'0ayah] 'shoulder'

and maas [ ' m a ? a s ] o l d ' ( r e f e r s t o p e r s o n ) r e s p e c t i v e l y , a r e

v
referred

t o as bilabjals.' W h i l e [p,b,m] a r e articulated with the lips com-

pletely closed, [p] i s made w i t h a small aperture which permits

the air-stream to pass through causing audible friction. This

sound i s observed to occur only in intervocalic p o s i t i o n as in

the example abaga C?a pay ' ]*
, a 1

A l a r g e number o f Tausug contoids such as [ t ] i n t a u

['ta?Uh] 'people' [ d ] i n daan ['da?on] 'old* (referring to

things), [ s ]i n sabal ['sapal] s t o i c ' , 1

[ n ] i n nanaug [na'na?Ug],

•went d o w n , [ l ] i n l a d j u [ ' l a d j U h ] ' f a r n e s s ' , a n d [ r ] i n r a d j u

1

C'radjUh] ' r a d i o ' c a n be c l a s s i f i e d i ndentals since the articula-

tor'y o r g a n s " i h v o l v e d L a r e L u s u a l l y t h e t i p o f t h e t o n g u e a n d t h e

back o f t h e upper t e e t h coming i n contact with each other. How-

ever, there i s considerable variation i n the exact point of a r t i -

culation. I n the case o f [ t ] f o r instance, 1

articulation i s usual-

ly i n t e r d e n t a l as i n t a u['t'a?Uh] 'people', tubu ['t'upUh]'sugar-

c a n e ' a n d t i m u l ['t»imUl] 'north'.' The f i r s t [ t ] of tastas

['t»astas] i s a l s o i n t e r d e n t a l , - b u t t h e s e c o n d o n e , d u e t o t h e

influence of the preceding [ s ] sound, i s a r t i c u l a t e d a t t h e back

surface of the teeth. 1

W i t h [ d ] a n d [ n ] i n daan [ 'da?an] a n d nanaug

[na'na?Ug] r e s p e c t i v e l y , t h e tongue t i p i s a t t h e base o f t h e t e e t h ,

sometimes closer t o the alveolar area. The [ s ] i n s a b u l C'sapui],

[l] i n lad.ju [ ' l a d j U h ] , [ r ] i n radju ['radjUh] a r e a r t i c u l a t e d with

the t i p o f t h e tongue on t h e a l v e o l a r r i d g e just behind t h e base

of the teeth. I n somewjrds of Sanskrit origin, a variety of [ r ]

made w i t h t i p o f t h e t o n g u e c u r l e d t o w a r d , b u t n o t t o u c h i n g , t h e

alveopalatal region i s heard. This i s t r a n s c r i b e d as as i n

the words k a r n a ['k'aana?] ' t h a t i s why', w a r n a [ w a ^ n a ? ] 'color',

a n d p a r m a n ['p'aaman] 'word ( o f God), o r 'message'.

 1+9

When t h e f r o n t o f t h e tongue i s pushed a g a i n s t t h e

extreme f r o n t o f t h e p a l a t e b u t c l o s e t o t h e a l v e o l i , an

a l v e o p a l a t a l sound i s made, w h i c h i s s y m b o l i z e d as [ j ] a s i n

t h e i n i t i a l sound o f jaga [ ' j a y a h ] 'guard' juba C'juga?] 'robe',

jambangan [ jam'banan] ' p l a n t ' , ' e t c . .

Some c o n t o i d s a r e made f u r t h e r back i n t h e mouth w i t h

t h e back s u r f a c e o f t h e tongue moved toward t h e velum o r s o f t

palate. Such c o n t o i d s a r e known as v e l a r s and t o t h i s classi-

f i c a t i o n b e l o n g s t h e c o n t o i d s [k.g.y.n] i n words l i k e kalis

[ ' k ' a l l s ] ' k r i s ' , gandum ['gqndUm] 'earn', agad ['?qyqd] 'to

f o l l o w ' , and ngan [ n a : n ] 'name'. U n l i k e [k.g.n], 1

the contoid

is limited i n distribution. I t occurs o n l y i n i n t e r v o c a l i c

environment, n e v e r elsewhere.

A n o t h e r p o i n t o f a r t i c u l a t i o n i s found i n t h e l a r y n g e a l

a r e a where t h e c l o s i n g , then e x p l o d i n g o f t h e v o c a l bands r e s u l t s

i n a g l o t t a l catch [ ? ] . T h i s i s t h e sound heard a t t h e b e g i n n i n g

and t h e end o f t h e word a s i b i [ ? q ' s i | 3 l ? ] 'small . 1

A l e s s promi-

nent ( o r even p o t e n t i a l ) g l o t t a l s t o p i s heard i n i n t e r v o c a l i c

p o s i t i o n , i . e . , hambuuk [ham'bu?Uk] 'one'.

When t h e v o c a l bands a r e w i d e l y opened so t h a t t h e a i r -

s t r e a m passes out w i t h some f r i c t i o n t h r o u g h i t without obstruc-

t i o n , t h e [ h ] c o n t o i d which i s t h e i n i t i a l sound i n h a b u l ['hqBUl]

i s produced. A p a r t i a l l y v o i c e d v a r i e t y o f [ h ] , t r a n s c r i b e d as

Cn] ,' has been observed t o o c c u r between v o c o i d s as i n t h e examples

 4 9

ahad ['?ahad] 'Sunday , l h a t u d [?I'hcttUd]

1
'will he returned',

uhaw [ ' ? u h a w ] t h i r s t , mahaba [ m a ' h a 0 a ? ] 'long*, etc..

The second criterion used i n c h a r a c t e r i z i n g as well as

differentiating contoids i s the manner i n w h i c h t h e y are pro-

duced. G e n e r a l l y , - on the basis of such c r i t e r i o n , ' contoids are

classified into stops and continuants. Stops refer to contoids

characterized by momentary c l o s u r e of the passage of a i r . Fol-

lowing is a list of Tausug contoids classified under stop sounds.

Examples showing their occtirrences i n various phonetic environ-

ments a r e also provided:

Syllable initial:

pisu [«p'isU?] 'sprain'

tilu ['t'ilU?] 'to throw'

kilu ['k'ilUh] •kilo 1

bilu ['bilUh] •blue'

dugu ['duyU?] 'blood'

gandum [gondUm] 'corn'

andum ['?ondUm] ' cloud'

jaum [ jawm] 'needle'

Syllable final preceding another stop

taptap ['t'aptap] 'always'

patta ['p'atta?] 'picture'

pukpuk ['p'ukpUk] 'to pound' or 'to hammer'

sabtu ['sabtU?] 'Saturday'

 50

bad j u ['badjUh] 'storm'

magtuy'. ['magtUy] 'immediately'

ka kaw ['ka? kaw] 'you g e t '

Word final

atup [•?atUp] 'nipa palm s h i n g l e '

langit [»lanlt] 'sky' or 'heaven'

pikpik ['p'ikplk] 'wing 1

kltab ['k'itab] •bible'

lupad [•lupad] •to f l y '

tubid C'tuglg] 'water'

sapa ['sapa?] •lake'

Normally, there a r e t h r e e phases to a stop: the catch

or implosion; the hold o r o c c l u s i o n , and the r e l e a s e o r explo-

sions In syllable initial, a l l stop contoids are released.

Some l i k e [p,t,k] are slightly aspirated. Thus, the symbol [']

immediately f o l l o w i n g each o f them i n s y l l a b l e initial i s used

to i n d i c a t e stops with released and s l i g h t l y a s p i r a t e d articula-

tion. When o c c u r i n g i n syllable final preceding another stop

(see second s e t o f examples), 1

o r when o c c u r r i n g i n w o r d final

position (of last s e t of examples), the stop contoids a r e un-

released.

Contrary to the stops, the continuants are characterized

not only by c o n s t r i c t i o n but also with some d e g r e e of aperture

at one p o i n t of articulation. They a r e produced by restricting

 5a

but not completely obstructing the flow of a i r from the lungs.

Among t h e c o n t o i d s o f Tausug," d i f f e r e n t types of continuants

are distinguished according t o t h e v a r i o u s ways i n w h i c h t h e

breath-stream may b e c h a n n e l e d , t o produce audible friction.

The so-called f r i c a t i v e contoids a r e produced w i t h t h e

organs of speech involved brought n e a r l y together and the breath

forced out e q u a l l y over the entire region of near contact, thus,

causing audible friction. To t h i s category, t h e Tausug

[p» »Y>h»h»D
s
are classified. Contoids £s] and [ h ] occur i nun-

limited distribution - syllable initial as w e l l as syllable

final. On t h e o t h e r hand, [p,y,h], as has a l r e a d y been pointed

out, are limited i n their distribution. They occur only i n inter-

vocalic environments.

Nasal i s another type of continuant which i s produced

when t h e a i r i s i m p e d e d a t some p o i n t i n the oral c a v i t y and

channeled through the nose, thus producing a nasal resonance.

The contoids [m,n,n] f a l l under t h i s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and they a r e

observed t o occur i nunlimited distribution.

Another type of continuant i s made w i t h the a i r passing

out a t one o r b o t h sides of t h e tongue. The term l a t e r a l i s used

to designate such type o f sound. ;

I n Tausug, only the [ l ] contoid

falls under t h i s category as i n t h e words l a p a l £'lapal] 'words',

or ' m e s s a g e ' , p a l p a l [ 'p»'alpal] ' d e a f ' , s a b a l £'sagal] 'stoic',etc.

 52

The last type of continuant i s known as flap. It is

articulated by r a p i d movement o f the tongue t i p a g a i n s t the

alveolar region. The dental-alveolar flap [r] is commonly

heard i n intervocalic position i n native words s u c h as ha ran

[ha'ran] 'on the road', parang ['p'aranj 'grass , 1

baran

['baran] 'body', i r u [ ' ? i r U ? ] 'dog', p u r u l [ ' p ' u r U l ] 'pure',

etc. The [ r ] occurs initially and finally i n words of foreign

origin like radju ['radjUh] ' r a d i o ' , r u h u l kudus [ r u h U l 'k'udUs]

'holy spirit', k a p i r ['k'ocplr] 'heathen', Jabur [ • japUr]

i
writings of Moses', e t c . The a l v e o p a l a t a l [a] occurs also in

loan words, in syllable final p o s i t i o n , preceding contoids like

[m] and [n] i n such words as p a r m a n ['p'aaman] 'word o f God' and

warna [wocina?] 'color', respectively.

Finally, the contoids of Tausug are characterized, dif-

ferentiated and classified on the basis of voicing. Contoids

made w i t h the accompaniment of v i b r a t i o n of the vocal bands are

classified as voiced. To this group a large s e r i e s of the con-

toids of the language are categorized : [b,j3,d,g,y,m,n,n,l,r,u,n].

The voiceless contoids are [ p , t , k , ? ,s , h ] . '

As a general summary o f the discussions of the speech

sounds of Tausug, the charts b e l o w w h i c h show t h e entire range

of Tausug vocoids, 1
phonetic d i p h t h o n g s and triphthongs, as well

as contoids have been drawn up:

 53

Figure S' A Chart of Tausug Vocoids

Front Central Back

High [y] [w]

' [ i ] Cu]'

[I] Cu]"
C«]
Low Ca] [a]

Phonetic Diphthongs

[ y u ] [wi ]

[ya ] [ wa ]

[ ay ] [ aw ]

[ ay ] [ aw ]

Phonetic Triphthongs

[ yay ] [ waw ]

[ yaw ] [ way ]
 54

Figure 6: A Chart of Tausug Contoids

Bilabial Dental- Alveo- Velar Glottal

Alveolar palatal

Stop P b t d j k g ?

Fricative s fi h
I

Nasal m n
1

Lateral 1

Flap r ;
JL
 55

4. THE SYLLABLE

Language sounds occur i n patterned sequences; they are

never i n isolation. The most i m p o r t a n t and probably the

smallest sequence of sounds w h i c h bears s i g n i f i c a n c e i n the

phonological a n a l y s i s of Tausug i s the s y l l a b l e . Many f a c t s

on t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l u n i t s of the language are l a r g e l y dependent

on t h e i r distribution with reference to the s y l l a b l e and i t s

2.ft r -i 27
matrix. The initial s o u n d i n p i s u £p'i-sU?J ' s p r a i n ' and

piara [ 'p'ya-rah]," f o r instance, i s different from the final

s o u n d o f t h e w o r d a t u p ['?a-tUp] ' p a l m l e a f roofing'. In the

first two e x a m p l e s , [p»] i s r e l e a s e d and s l i g h t l y aspirated,

while i n the l a t t e r , [p] i s unreleased and u n a s p i r a t e d . Such

differences b e t w e e n [p*'] a n d [ p ] e v i d e n t l y shows a s i m p l e func-

tion of p o s i t i o n or d i s t r i b u t i o n w i t h i n the syllable.

Although Tausug s t r e s s i s non-phonemic, that i s , i t bears

no significance with regard t o meaning, there are subtle dif-

ferences i n f o r c e and l e n g t h between vowels i n s t r e s s e d and un-

stressed syllables. A l l Tausug vowels have forms v a r y i n g i n

relative l o u d n e s s and l e n g t h d e p e n d i n g on t h e i r positions i n a

given syllable. Generally, vowels i n stressed s y l l a b l e s are

relatively louder and l o n g e r than those i n unstressed syllables.

26
C.F.Voegelin, "Shawnee Phonemes", L a n g u a g e , X
( D e c e m b e r / 193*0 t p.'24.

2
^A hypen i s u s e d h e r e t o mark s y l l a b l e division within
a word.
 56

The f i r s t [ a] i n lara b-a.-rah ] ' p e p p e r , f o r i n s t a n c e ,

1
i s con-

siderably louder and longer than t h e[ a ] i n t h e second. In

larahan [la-ra.-han] ' t o put p e p p e r , however, where t h e r e i s

1

a shift i n s t r e s s as a r e s u l t of suffixation, t h e second [ a ]

28

is relatively longer than the f i r s t and a l s o than the t h i r d .

Other s i m i l a r examples are bata ['ba.-ta?] ' c h i l d ' , lapal [la.-pal]

'message', a n d _pasal Q p a . - s a l ] 'market*.

The syllable i s also a useful criterion i n the classifi-

cation o f sounds whose s t a t u s c a n n o t be e a s i l y defined, as t o

whether they fall under t h e vowel category o r t h e consonant
29

category. Reference i s made h e r e to the nonsyllabic vowel-

like sounds [ y] and [w] i n Tausug. I t i s often d i f f i c u l t to

tell w h e t h e r [ y] and[w] a r e t o be c l a s s i f i e d as v o w e l o r c o n -

sonants u n t i l we h a v e t h e m i n d i s t r i b u t i o n and i n contrast i n a

syllable a n d s e e how t h e y pattern with other vowels and conso-

nants i n t h e language. Their status i s established only accord-

30

ing to their contextual function, i . e . , what t h e y do w i t h i n a

syllable.

In order therefore to establish a satisfactory basis f o r

description as w e l l as c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f both t h e segmental and

the s u p r a s e g m e n t a l phonemes o f T a u s u g , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o define

at this point the structure of the syllable as i toccurs i n the

language .

28"
R e f e r t o s e c t i o n 6.3 f o r f u r t h e r d i s c u s s i o n s o n
lengthening of vowels.
^ K e n n e t h P i k e , P h o n e t i c s , (Ann Arbor: The U n i v e r s i t y o f
M i c h i g a n P r e s s , 1964) p p . 7 3 , 7 5 - 7 6 .
30
I b i d , , p . 73. Daniel Jones a l s o used 'contextual
f u n c t i o n * a s c r i t e r i a i n v o w e l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n b u t i n more v a r i e d
ways t h a n P i k e .
 57

Linguists a r e n o t always i n agreement as t o t h e i r defi-

nition and/or description of the syllable due t o t h e i r differen-

ces i npoint of views. 3 1

Pierre F o u c h e a n d M a u r i c e Grammont, f o r

instance, define the syllable i nphysiological terms, character-

izing i t i n terms o f t h e growing and decreasing o f tension o f t h e

muscles o f t h e v o i c e - p r o d u c i n g mechanism. S t e t s o n , on t h e o t h e r

hand, d e s c r i b e s t h e s y l l a b l e i n terms of 'chest pulses^ where-

2

as F e r d i n a n d de S a u s s u r e bases h i s discussion on t h e degree o f

opening of sounds? 3
other criteria advanced f o rdefining the
34
syllable a r e those of 'relative l o u d n e s s o f phoneme' (Bloomfield),

'prominence' - made u p o f i n h e r e n t s o n o r i t y , length, stress,

intonation, and a combination of these (Jones, P i k e ^ a n d 'sonority'

(Kenyon, Hall, Jespersen). J

For purposes of this phonological analysis o f Tausug,

it proves convenient t o analyze t h e s y l l a b l e i nterms of a single

unit o f prominence (peak of sonority), such that t h e most

31
B e r t i l Mamberg, P h o n e t i c s , (New Y o r k : Dover Publica-
tions 1963), pp. 64-65.
I b i d . , pp. 68-69.
3 2

^ F e r d i n a n d de S a u s s u r e , Course i n G e n e r a l L i n g u i s t i c s ,
(London: M c G r a w - H i l l B o o k Company, 1966), p p . 57-60.
-^Leonard B l o o m f i e l d , Language, (Toronto: H o l t , R i n e h a r t ,
and W i n s t o n , 1964), p. 125.
35
^ D a n i e l Jones, An Outline o f E n g l i s h P h o n e t i c s ,
( C a m b r i d g e : W. H e f f e r a n d S o n s L t d . , 1 9 5 6 ) , p . 5 4 .
Kenneth P i k e , Phonemics (Ann Arbor: The U n i v e r s i t y o f
M i c h i g a n P r e s s , 1 9 6 4 ) , p p . 9 0 - 9 1 , 148. P i k e m a k e s a d i s t i n c t i o n
between p h o n e t i c and phonemic s y l l a b l e s . The above d i s c u s s i o n
i s more c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e l a t t e r .
36j.s. K e n y o n , A m e r i c a n P r o n u n c i a t i o n , A T e s t b o o k o f
P h o n e t i c s f o r Students o f E n g l i s h , (Ann Arber: The U n i v e r s i t y
of M i c h i g a n P r e s s , 1935), PP. 68-69.
H a l l , op. c i t . , pp. 61-63.
 58

outstanding (sonorous) sound c o n s t i t u t e the nucleus or center

of a s y l l a b l e . This nucleus always corresponds to the vowels

(on vocoids on the phonetic level), because vowels are u s u a l l y

more s o n o r o u s t h a n consonants (contoids). They are normally

voiced and are produced without impediment i n the oral cavity.

There are as many s y l l a b l e s as there are vowels in a

Tausug u t t e r a n c e . A n a t i v e speaker of the language recognizes

instinctively the number o f syllables i n a given utterance by

the number o f v o c o i d s present. I n a word l i k e malingkat

"beautiful" f o r i n s t a n c e , a l l n a t i v e speakers will recognize

that there are three s y l l a b l e s : £ma-'liij-kat] . I t has been

already p o i n t e d out i n previous d i s c u s s i o n s (on p h o n e t i c level)

that i n cases w h e r e two vowels occur i n the same s y l l a b l e - a

semivowel with a full vowel - a diphthong i s formed. Such a

combination makes a s i n g l e syllabic center. Thus, the word

mjLaJbtu [ ' m y a t - t u h j 'went,. ; t h e r e 1

has only two syllables, with a

diphthong i n the first.

A close examination of the examples g i v e n in preceding

paragraph, [»p'i-sU?] , [«p'ya-rah] , [*?a-tUp] , [«ba-ta?],

£ ma- ' l i n - k a t ] , and ['myat-tUh] shows t h a t some s y l l a b l e s end in

a vocoid, while others end i n c o n t o i d s . S y l l a b l e s ending i n vocoid-:

are termed free or open s y l l a b l e s . Those t h a t have contoid.:

margins at the end are referred t o as checked or closed

syllables. Thus, i n [ 'p'i-sU? ] t h e first syllable is 'free*

whereas the second one is checked'.

,
 Further investigation o f t h e above data w i l l reveal

that a free syllable always occurs i n word initial o r word

final position. A checked syllable, on t h e o t h e r hand , shows

unlimited distribution. I t can occur i n i t i a l l y , m e d i a l l y , and

finally. This o b s e r v a t i o n c a n be f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n e d by look

ing a t iS;ome-:.: e x a m p l e s s u c h as t h e f o l l o w i n g :

taas [ «f a-?os] 'height'

anarun [?a-'narUn] 'will learn 1

ubu [ *?u-[3Uh] 'cough'

mabiskay [ma-'pis-kay] 'fast'

kaun [ «k»-?Un] 'will get'

larutan [la->ru-tan] 'will pull'

suatun ['swa-tUn] 'will dig'

haturan [ha-'tu-ran] 'will return'

paagarun [p»a-? -'-ja-rUn]

a •will take along with

ingatun [?i-na-tUn] 'ought t o know'

manghud [Jman-hUd] 'younger b r o t h e r ' o r

'sister'

sambi [•sam-bl?] 'to change'

lawa ['la-wah] •left' (hand c o r n e r , •

tahi [•tarthl?] 'to sew'

Although I n the w r i t t e n form i t s e e m s t h a t some Tausug

syllables begin w i t h vowels like the f i r s t syllable of anarun

[?a na?-:rUn]
J
'will learn ,
1
ingatun [?I- na-tUn] ,
'ought t o l e a r n , 1
 60

i n t a a s f t*a?as1
f
and the second s y l l a b l e 'height*, and that

• some s y l l a b l e s appear t o end i n vowels t o o ( s e e u b u [ »?u£Uh]

'cough*, sambi [ 'sam-bl?] ' t o change', etc.), i n actual

speech, t h i s i s not so. S y l l a b l e s are always initiated by

consonants, including the glottal stop which i s assumed t o be

present even when no c o n s o n a n t i s i n d i c a t e d on t h e orthography.

I n word final, syllables always require final consonants,

including [ ? ] and [ h ] which are not represented i n w r i t i n g .

The justification f o rthe existence of [ ? ] before vowels

and e i t h e r £?] and [ h ] a f t e r vowels a t t h e end o f syllables

in word f i n a l p o s i t i o n i s e s t a b l i s h e d on t h e b a s i s o f t h e pho-

nemic status o f b o t h sounds i n Tausug. S u b s t i t u t i n g one sound

for the other, o r any consonant f o rthat matter, results i n

another native word or a non-existing one. Thus, the follow-

ing words a r e l i s t e d t o show t h e phonemic contrast between [?]

and £h] i n a l l possible distributions:

Word initial

ilu ['?i-lUh] ' orphan'

hilu [«hi-lUh] 'dizzy* or 'drunk'

ug. C?ug] 'hold something dear'

hug [hug] •change' (money)

abal [*?a-pal] 'whirlpool'

habal ['ha-pal] 'news *

 61

Word medial

nailu [na-*?i-lUh] 'became orphan'

nahilu [na-'hi-iUh ] •became drunk*

[«p«a-?dh] 'thigh'

paha [»p»a-hcthT ]
'band f o r t h e n a v e l '

dayahan [da-'ya-han]
•rich*
dayaan [da-* ya-?an] 'surface up'

Word final

di [di:? ] 'no* (does n o t l i k e )

[dli:h ] 'here*

bad.ju [«badjU?] 'dress' (general form)

[*badjUh] *storm» o r ' t y p h o o n *

augu [*duyU? ] 'blood*

[ «duyUh ] *corner *

U n l i k e £ ?] , t h e [h*] contoid a t t h e end o f words like,

b a d j u £'badjUh] *storm* a n d d u g u [ «duyUh] *corner* seems t o

be realizable as zero, or at least i t i soften not audible

enough t o be n o t i c e d . However, i f a s u f f i x l i k e an 'to cause

to', ' t o p u t . . .*, e t c . i s added t o each o f t h ewords above,

the r e a l i z a t i o n o f f_ h) becomes p e r f e c t l y clear. Thus:

b a d j u + a i l 'becomes' ( > ) b a d j u h a n [ bad-'juhxn 3

•to cause t o storm'

d u g u + a n >-duguhan [ dU-'yu-l^cm ~] ' t o p u t c o r n e r ( s )

on something*

The above word c o n t r a s t phonemically with

b a d j u + an > b a d j u a n f b a d - ' j u ? q n *to p u t a d r e s s o n
1
..'

d u g u 4fr a n > d u g u a n f d u ' y u - ? q n " | 'to p u t blood on . . »

 6*,

The u s e o f a n i n s t e a d of han i n t h e f i r s t s e t o f examples

restSL; on t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t [h], like [ ? ] , i s already found a t

the end o f each word, b a d j u and dugu, a l t h o u g h o r t h o g r a p h i c a l l y

[h] i s not represented. The phenomenon o f [ h ] becoming a part

of t h e added syllable i s normal i n Tausug. Any f i n a l consonant,

for that m a t t e r , i n word final p o s i t i o n , unless the suffix begins

with a consonant, forms the i n i t i a l consonant o f t h e new syllable.

To justify this c l a i m more examples are listed here:

sulat + an y sulatan [sU- "la-tan]

'write' > 'will write'

burak 4 an burakan [ b U - 'ra-kotn]

'powder' > 'will powder'

ha b u l -f an "y habulan [ha-'Bu-lan]

'blanket > 'to put a

blanket'

sumbung 4- un. y sumbungun [sUm»bu-nUn]

•report' > ' w i l l make a

report'

juwalan + un y juwalanun [ ju-wa- 'la-nUn]

'fried banana' > 'to f r y

banana'

salam + un ^> salamun [sa- *la-mUn]

'hand shake' > 'to shake

hands
 63

£ *k»a-li-?Ih]

•to d i g 1
> 'you d i g '

lukup + 1 > lukuM ClU'kuPIh]

• c o v e r ' > 'you cover*

&tup + i , •> a t u p i [?a-'tu-plh]

nipa shingle*>*you put nipa

roofing'

In t h e above examples i t i s clearly shown w i t h complete

consistency that final c o n s o n a n t s become i n i t i a l consonants of

new added syllables. These r e g u l a r occurrences confirm there-

fore, the assumption postulated above.

°n the basis of the preceding discussions, the syllable

patterns of Tausug are s t a t e d here i n terms of permissible com-

binations of consonants (C) and vowels (V), I t has been noted

that only two basic patterns exist i n the language. The first

is a sequence of consonant-vowel (CV) found i n the front sylla-

bles o f a n a r u n [?a-'na-rUn]3. T h i s syllable pattern corresponds

to the •free* syllable discussed i n previous paragraph. The

second syllable pattern consists of consonant-vowel-consonant

(CVC) combination, i . e . ,the f i r s t , t h e second, and the third

syllables o f magsumpingfmag:-'sum-pia] ' t o b e a r f l o w e r s ' . The

(CVC) syllable pattern corresponds to the 'checked s y l l a b l e and

is the only syllable pattern that can stand alone as an

utterance. Hence, t h e words u [ ? u : h ] 'head , s a [sa:?]

1

'fault', d i [dl:h] 'here', s i n[si:n] 'money*, e t c . .

Sequences o f two o r more v o c o i d s , as i n t h e case of

diphthongs and triphthongs, a r e treated as combination of a

full vowel and semivowel ( S ) . On t h e b a s i s of the permitted

vowel-semivowel combinations i n t h e language, the following

are listed as secondary syllable patterns o f Tausug:

CSV - siukat ['syu-kat] 'was b e i n g demanded'

tiaun [*t»ya-?Un] 'was married'

ant u i l a s [?an-'twi-las] 'sequins'

pwasa ['p'wa-sah] 'fasting'

CVS - kaitan ['k*ay-tan] ' t o p u t a p i n o n . . .'

lainan ['lay-nan] 'you t r a n s f e r i t . . . '

kauna [*k»awnah] ' p u t i t ' ( t h e r e , b a c k , e t c . )

saura [-sawrah] 'catch i twith . . . •

or 'receive i twith . . . '

CSVC - siam [syom] 'nine'

tiadtad ['t'yadtad] 'split bamboos for w a l l i n g '

1

buad [bwad] 'to d r y '

mui [mwi?] ' t o g o home'

CVSC - kait ['k'ayt] 'safety p i n '

lain [layn] 'tot r a n s f e r '

baus [baws] 'to bargain'

taumpa ['t»awmpa?] 'shoes'

 65

CSVS - k i a i t a n ['k'yay-tan] 'was p i n n e d 1

siauran ['syaw-ran] 'catch something with receptacle'

t i a i k u r a n £ 't'yay-kuran] ' t u r n e d one.'.'s b a c k from . . . •

CSVSC - biaus [byaws] 'was b a r g a i n e d '

duaun [dwctwn] 1
by twos'

buaih [bwayh] 'to put rattan on . . . '

With the syllable pattern o f Tausug already established,

two important points relative to the interpretation of consonant

clusters will have t o be observed.' First, since consonants occur

only singly i n a syllable, no consonant clusters therefore exist

in t h e language e x c e p t -.across s y l l a b l e boundaries. A consonant

c l u s t e r which o c c u r s .-• a c r o s s a s y l l a b l e boundary i s always t o be

interpreted as sequences o f two c o n s o n a n t s w h i c h d i v i d e d into

the successive syllables a s i n taumpa ['t'awm-pa?] 'shoes'. To

classify [mp] i n t h e above c i t e d example as belonging t o either

of t h e two s y l l a b l e s would render i tforeign t o the language's

syllable-structure. Second, consonant clusters can occur only

in word m e d i a l p o s i t i o n , n o t anywhere else.

 5. T H E S E G M E N T A L PHONEMES

What constitutes a syllable a r e sequences of d i s c r e t e

functional units o f s p e e c h sounds known as s e g m e n t a l o r

linear phonemes. According to linguistic theory, t h e number

of s e g m e n t a l phonemes i n a g i v e n language i s r e l a t i v e l y small

in comparison with the total number o f p o s s i b l e sounds uttered

by a s p e a k e r . Only sounds which g i v e meaningful contrasts i n

a particular language are regarded as phonemes o f t h a t l a n g u a g e .

Even i f t h e same p h o n e m e s , o r t h e same g r o u p o f p h o n e m e s , a r e

found i n any two g i v e n languages, t h e s e phonemes w i l l not

necessarily have t h e same function. For instance, both Tausug

and E n g l i s h have t h e s o u n d s [ d] a n d [ r ] w h i c h are quite simi-

lar from the phonetic stand-point. However, t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p

of t h e two sounds t o each o t h e r i s very different i n t h e pho-

nological system o f Tausug as compared w i t h t h a t of English,

/ d / and / r / i n E n g l i s h are clearly i n contrast with each other,

in that they serve to distinguish meanings between words like

37
dust [ dAst 3 and rust [ rAst).. I n Tausug, however, t h e

situation i s d i f f e r e n t . [ d],and [ r ] a r e i n complementary

d i s t r i b u t i o n [ d ] being replaced by [ r ] when p r e c e d e d and

followed by v o w e l s . The c o n t r a s t i s shown i n t h e examples:

in dan[ ? i n ' d a n ] 'the road', a n d h a r a n [ h a »ra:nf] ' o n t h e

road*. The r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e two sounds i n Tausug does

-"A. S. H o r n b y , e t . a l . , T h e A d v a n c e d L e a r n e r ' s
D i c t i o n a r y o f Current E n g l i s h . Second E d i t i o n (London:
O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1964), p p . 312, 871,
 67

not parallel that of English.

Moreover, sounds which are variants o f one phoneme i n

one language may he two o r more d i s t i n c t phonemes i n another.

T h e v o c o i d s [ i ] a n d [l"] are variants o f t h e phoneme /!/ i n

Tausug. In English, however, t h e s e two sounds are distinct

phonemes as i n t h e m i n i m a l p a i r beat / b i t / and b i t / b i t / .

In general, phonemes are distinguished and characte-

rized by t h e i r defining attributes or so-called 'bundles of

features' which linguists term 'phonological components' o r

'distinctive features'. Jakobson, F a n t , and H a l l e say that

"any one l a n g u a g e code has a f i n i t e set of distinctive

features and a s e t o f r u l e s f o r g r o u p i n g them i n t o phonemes

and also f o r grouping the later i n t o sequences . . . . The

distinctive features are the ultimate distinctive entities

of a language since no one o f t h e m c a n be b r o k e n down into

38
smaller linguistic units."

The phonemic s y s t e m o f Tausug i s established on t h e

basis of these d i s t i n c t i v e features i n consonance with the

criteria o f phonemic a n a l y s i s set forth i n section 2.4.

So f a r , t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r h a s a n a l y z e d o n l y twenty segmental

phonemes o f Tausug. Such analysis discounts the claim of

Lois and Seymour A s h l e y t o twenty-one phonemes existing i n

the language. The / n / w h i c h the Ashleys' claim t o be a

separate phoneme cannot be e s t a b l i s h e d as such s i n c e sequences

-'Jakobson, Fant, and H a l l e , op. c i t . , pp. 3-^.

 68

of a consonant and a semivowel a r e permissible i nthe

language. By a n a l o g y , t h e i n i t i a l sounds o f f i u l i *a

singing bird* a n d nawa *life* pattern with the initial

sounds o f words l i k e piunung ['p'ytmtFi}} 'fainted*,

tiuran [ ' t ' y u r a n ^ j ' p u s h e d * , b i u s a n [ ' b y u s a n ] *borrowed»,

d i u g a l a n f d y U g a l a n l *was a n g r y * , m i u l a ['myuliah] , etc..

Null a n d n a w a may, t h e r e f o r e , be i n t e r p r e t e d a s [*nyullh3

and ['nyawah] , r e s p e c t i v e l y .

On t h e p h o n e t i c l e v e l , t h e speech sounds o f Tausug

are classified into v o c o i d s and c o n t o i d s . On t h e p h o n e m i c

level, the twenty s e g m e n t a l phonemes a r e c a t e g o r i z e d into

vowels and consonants depending on t h e i r phonetic characte-

ristics and t h e i r distributions. However, t h e r e a r e some pho-

nemes l i k e / y / a n d /w/ whose s t a t u s i s intermediate between

vowels and consonants, so that they are referred t o as either

semivowels or semiconsonants. I t i s their partaking of the

nature of or their sharing with the structural habits of

vowels and consonants which classifies them i n such an

ambivalent category.

Before starting to discuss each of the twenty segmental

phonemes a n d t h e i r corresponding bundles of distinctive

features, their variants, distributional as w e l l as oppositio-

nal relationship t o each other, i t i s • convenient t o establish

first the status o f the semivowels o r semiconsonants as they

stand i n the phonological system of the language.

 69

5.1 The I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e Semivowels o r

S emi cons o n a n t s

It has been mentioned i n the discussion of the syllable

that the status of the vowel-like [y] a n d [w] as consonants

or vowels i s determined p r i m a r i l y on t h e basis of their con-

textual function with reference to their position i n a given

syllable or utterance. I n other words, t h e determining cri-

terion i s pattern congruity (cf. section 2.3).

Because of the fact that i n Tausug (see section 4)

consonant c l u s t e r s do n o t o c c u r i n syllable initial or sylla-

ble final positions,the suspect sounds [ y j a n d [w] when

immediately f o l l o w i n g an i n i t i a l consonant or immediately

preceding a final consonant i s t o be i n t e r p r e t e d a s v o c a l i c .

Thus, t h e f o l l o w i n g examples of a l l possible sequences o f two

vocoids show i n s t a n c e s of [y] a n d [w] functioning vocalically:

liag [lyag ] 'was l o o k i n g for'

kait [k'ayt] 'safety pin'

siu [syuh ] 'who* ( i n t e r r o g a t i v e pronoun)

suat [swat ] 'to cultivate' (soil)

laum flawm ] 'inside*

mui [mwi? ] ' t o g o home*

Phonetically, there a r e sequences b f two d i f f e r e n t vocoids i n

each o f t h e w o r d s l i s t e d
( above. Although from a l i s t e n e r ' s

point of view, these sequences o f two vocoids give a 'monolithic

impression' ( d u e t o t h e r a p i d m o v e m e n t o r g l i d e made f r o m o n e
 70

sound t o another), t h e y a r e , however, interpreted as a combi-

nation o f a pure vowel and a semivowel, w i t h the semivowel

functioning a s a s e c o n d a r y o r s u b o r d i n a t e member t o t h e f u l l

vowel.

Such sequences o f two v o c o i d s cannot o t h e r w i s e be c o n -

sidered as two independent pure vowels since, normally, no

two such vowels c a n o c c u r i n sequence i n t h e language without

an intervocalic consonant coming between them. The examples

g i v e n above cannot be i n t e r p r e t e d as h a v i n g an intervocalic

[hj o r [ ? ] because they would contrast w i t h words such a s :

lian £ * l i ? < 5 i n ~] •senile*

kahig [ »k'«hlg] 'scratch* ( t h eground with

the feet)

siub [ »si?ub ] 'blanket'

suan [ »su?an "J 'to light something*

kaun [ »ka?Un ] 'will get*

Muin [ »mu?In ] tfa name o f a person)

Another possible interpretation o f t h e above examples

which show s e q u e n c e s o f two d i f f e r e n t vocoids i s that y or

w may b e u s e d t o separate the vowel c l u s t e r s , thus giving

rise to two-syllable words instead of one-syllable words:

[ lyag] > [ 'liyag ]

[syuh] > [ 'siyUh ]

[ s w a t ] > [*suwat J

[mwi?] > ['rnuwl? J

 71

This interpretation is,however, limited t o words where t h e

high vocoids Qi] and [ u ] are f i r s t i n the vowel clusters,

but n o t when t h e y come a f t e r another vowel as i n k a i t and

saum. I t i s not normal i n the language, even i n a r t i f i c i a l

slow s p e e c h t o s a y *['k'eDyIt] f o r[k'ayt] and * ['sawUmJ

for [sawm] , Besides, 'native reaction strongly resists

such interpretation'.

For consistency i n a n a l y s i s and i n c o n g r u i t y with

kait a n d saum, t h e f i r s t interpretation of l i a g , s i u , suat,

and mui w i l l be c o n s i d e r e d here. D i f f e r e n c e s between t h e

monosyllabic and d i s s y l l a b i c interpretation o f t h e examples

in question i s only a matter o f t i m i n g , i . e . , t h e speed i n

which t h e words a r e pronounced. I n normal r a p i d speech, the

most commonly h e a r d are the monosyllabic forms [lyagj ,

[syuh] , ["swot] , a n d [mwi?].

The limitation of the occurrences o f [ y ] a n d [w] i n

relation to kait a n d sawm g i v e n above b r i n g s into focus

another important point concerning the interpretation of

the semivowels. Where [yj i s present i n a given syllable,

the vocoid [ i ] i s absent, [ y ] '. a n d [w] are never i n

direct opposition with Qi] a n d [u] respectively. There

is no i n s t a n c e ; where [yj and [ i ] o r [w] and [ u ] shows,

contrast i n the language. Hence, i t i s j u s t i f i a b l e to

conclude that [y] and [ i] a r e n o t two s e p a r a t e phonemes

but positional v a r i a n t s , since they are non-contrastive,

 72

phonetically s i m i l a r , and c o m p l e m e n t a r i l y d i s t r i b u t e d , each

w i t h i t s own p a t t e r n i n the language, but f u l f i l l i n g the

same f u n c t i o n . S i m i l a r l y , [w] and [u] a r e t o be classed

t o g e t h e r as b e l o n g i n g t o t h e same phoneme.

Assuming t h a t t h e sequences o f v o c o i d s in liag, s i u ,

suat, a n d mui were t o be i n t e r p r e t e d as t w o - s y l l a b l e words

(which i s p o s s i b l e ) , [ y ] and [ w ] which s e p a r a t e t h e sequences

o f v o c o i d s no l o n g e r function as v o w e l s .

Distributionally, they are i n the p o s i t i o n of consonants.

In [*li-yagj and f'si-yUhJ , f o r instance, [yj becomes t h e

initial consonants o f the second s y l l a b l e s . A s i m i l a r phone-

menon i s t r u e w i t h £ w ] with regards t o ['su-wat] and

jjmu-wl?] . Both, [ y ] and [_w] thus s t r u c t u r e w i t h the vowels

and also enter i n t o t h e same f u n c t i o n as o t h e r consonants i n

s u c h s e r i e s as l i t a g jjlitagj 'bird's trap', kabit ['k'apit]

'to a t t a c h ' , s i k u Q'sikUhJ 'elbow', s u k a t f'sukcxt] ' t o demand',

kaun ['ka?Unj 'to g e t * , and muti [»mutl?3 ' t o become w h i t e , '

etc.

Further examples show [ y ] a n d [yjj functioning as

consonants. On t h e b a s i s of the s y l l a b l e patterns o f Tausug

established i n s e c t i o n 4, £ y ] a n d [w] when o c c u r r i n g word

initial a n d word f i n a l a r e t o be i n t e r p r e t e d as c o n s o n a n t s .

Hence t h e f o l l o w i n g sample listing:

Word initial

[y"J yaun £ ' y a ? U n "j 'that one'

yari [*yarlh] 'here*

 73

L l
w
walu ['walUh] 'eight*

waktu ['waktUh] 'time'

Word final

[ ] v
"bay -{bay] 'house'

inag-abay [mag'?apay} 'will go together*

[w] sabaw £*3a£aw1 *soup*

manaw [*nianaw] ' t otake a walk*

Since c l u s t e r s o f more t h a n t w o c o n s o n a n t s do n o t o c c u r

in t h e language, i nmedial syllable position, [y ] i n words

like Maimbung [*maymbUn] ( a name o f a p l a c e i nJolo, Sulu)

and kaiman [*k'ay?man] ' f i f t y ' , a n d [w] i n baumbang [*bawmbang])

' c h e c k e r e d ' a n d t a u m p a ['t'awmpa?J a r e t o be i n t e r p r e t e d as

vowels instead of consonants.

By analogy with t h e sequences of vocoids i n kait [kayt]

and laum lawm , [ y] and [w] a r e t o be i n t e r p r e t e d as

vowels i n words such as s a i t a n ['say-tanJ 'will removefwateer

from boat', l a i n a n ['lay-nan] 'will transfer something from',

saukun [*saw-kun] 'will fetch water', saurun [*saw-rUn] 'will

receive something with receptacle' *\rhich a r e d e r i v e d from base

words s a i t [saytj ' t o remove w a t e r from boat', l a i n [layn]

'to t r a n s f e r * , sauk [sawk ] ' t o f e t c h water', and saud [sawd]

'to catch or receive something with receptacle'.

|n t h e f i n a l analysis, therefore, [ y ] and [ w ] as variants

of t h e phonemes / i / a n d / u / a r e n o t i n c l u d e d i n t h e Vowel
 7k

Tra&ngle found on page 7.7 . Words l i k e l i a g [lyag] . kait

[ k ' a y t ] , suat [swat] , mul [mwi?] , s a i t an [1* s a y t a n j ,

lainan f'laynan] , saukun Q'sawkUn] , saurun [sawrUnJ ,

etc. a r e t o be i n t e r p r e t e d p h o n e m i c a l l y as / l i a g / , /kait/,

/ s u a t / , mui?/, / ' s a i t a n / , / ' l a i n a n / , /'saukun/, and / ' s a u r u n /

respectively. As consonants, however, / y / , and /w/ a r e

i n c l u d e d i n t h e s c h e m a t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f consonants on

page I'O^ . The f a c t t h a t t h e y b o t h show c o n t r a s t s w i t h

o t h e r consonants i n t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l system o f t h e language

and because o f t h e p r e s s u r e o f s y l l a b l e p a t t e r n d i s c u s s e d i n

the p r e c e d i n g c h a p t e r , means t h a t / y / and /w/ a r e g i v e n f u l l

phonemic s t a t u s .
 75

5.2 THE VOWELS

Earlier i n this s e c t i o n , i t has been mentioned that the

analysis o f t h e T a u s u g phonemic s y s t e m h a s shown i t t o have

t w e n t y s e g m e n t a l phonemes. Of t h e s e , three are categorized as

vowels and t h e r e m a i n i n g seventeen are c l a s s i f i e d as consonants.

The v o w e l phonemes a r e :

/ i / as i n b i d / b i d / *hill»

/a/ a s i n bat, / b a t i / 'sea cucumber*

/u/ as i n bud /bud/ 'mountain*

Those categorized as consonants are':'

A/ as in pula /pulah/ *red*

A/ as in tuba /tuba?/ *a kind of drink made from palm*
A/ as in kula /kula?/ *pleats *
/?/ as in ulan /?ulan/ •rain'
A/ as in bula Aula?/ •bamboo split*
/d/ as in dulan /dulan/ *to grant' (something)
/g/ as in gula /gula?/ •nectar*
A/ as in juba /juba?/ 'robe *
A/ as in mula /mulah/ *will become red*
A/ as in nunuk /nunuk/ •balete tree*
A/ as in ngan ./nan/ *name'
A/ as in sulab /sulab/
x
•blade'
A/ as in hula /hula?/ •place•
/!/ as in lura /lura?/ •sputum'
 /r/ as i n radju /r&djUh/ 'radio*

/w/ as i n walu /w£luh/ 'eight'

/y/ as i n yari /y&rih/ 'here'

The distinction "between v o w e l s and consonants cannot

be made t o r e s t p u r e l y on what goes on i n the o r a l cavity.

Differences are acoustic or i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c rather than strictly

articulatory. D e s c r i p t i o n and classification of both vowels and

consonants a r e made on a u d i t o r y judgment i n a d d i t i o n t o articula-

tory information. From the a u d i t o r y point of view consonants are

characterized by p l o s i o n or audible friction. From t h e articula-

tory point of view, vowels are produced by a f r e e passage of a i r

through the o r a l cavity. I n t h e c a s e o f some c o n s o n a n t s , there

is c o n s t r i c t i o n or complete obstruction of the breath stream or

current o f a i r a t one o r more p o i n t s on t h e way out from the

lungs, or i n the case of a group of consonants called somants

(l,r,y,w), t h e b r e a t h - s t r e a m i s c o n s t r i c t e d i n s u c h a way that

it fails t o produce friction.

In c h a r a c t e r i z i n g the segmental phonemes o f T a u s u g , our

first concern i s to describe the repertory of distinctive

features which serve to differentiate one phoneme f r o m another,

b e f o r e d i s c u s s i n g t h e i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i pof these contrasts

between t h e phonemes, as w e l l a s their distributional relation-

ship.
 77

5. 1.1 Description and Classification

Like the vocoids, on t h e p h o n e t i c level,' the vowel

phonemes a r e d e s c r i b e d and c l a s s i f i e d on t h e b a s i s o f two func-

tional factors: t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e tongue and t h e shape of

the lips. The p o s i t i o n o f t h e tongue w h i c h i s t h e more impor-

tant factor varies i n two d i m e n s i o n s ; t h e tongue height and

the tongue advancement. When c h a r a c t e r i z i n g the vowels of

Tausug according to theteight of the tongue, two c l a s s e s of

vowels a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d the high vowels and the low vowels.

But using as c r i t e r i o n t h e advancement o f t h e tongue, three

classes of vowels a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d : f r o n t , c e n t r a l , and back

which c o r r e s p o n d r e s p e c t i v e l y t o / i / , / a / , a n d /VL/. I f the

position of the three vowels and t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o each

other i s shown b y means of a schematic representation, the

resultant diagram i s a t r i a n g l e (See f i g u r e 7 below) which i s

knoxm t r a d i t i o n a l l y a s t h e 'Vowel Triangle'.'

Figure 7: The Vowel Triangle of Tausug

Front Central Back

High / i / M

Low
/a/
 7 8;

With t h e above diagrammatic r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , t h e two-

dimensional contrasts i n terms of tongue height and tongue

advancement a r e b e t t e r illustrated between the three vowels.'

/ i / i s shown above as a h i g h - f r o n t vowel which contrasts with

the low c e n t r a l / a / and the high-back vowel /u/.

Although vowel q u a l i t y i s chiefly dependent Gn t h e p o s i -

tion of the tongue, i ti s affected to a considerable e x t e n t by

the spreading or rounding of the lips, :

The h i g h - f r o n t vowel

/i/ i s articulated with the lips moderately spread and unrounded.

The p a r a l l e l vowel i n t h e high-back range, / u / , has a moderately

rounding of the l i p s , which a r e pursed and pushed a little for-

ward. The c e n t r a l l o w v o w e l / a / has a n unrounded,' n e u t r a l l i p

position. 1

The s t a t e of t h e tongue as regards muscular tension i s

another characteristic which i s t o be c o n s i d e r e d i n differentia-

ting as w e l l as determining vowel q u a l i t y . Vowels are either l a x

or tense. I n t h e case of the h i g h vowels / i / and / u / , a r t i c u l a -

tion i s made w i t h relatively s t r o n g muscle tension,' so t h a t they

are classified as tense vowels. On t h e o t h e r h a n d , the vowel of

the low c e n t r a l area, /a/.,i s a r t i c u l a t e d with the muscle of the

tongue held loosely and r e l a x e d , so that i t i s considered as a l a x

vowel.

The g e n e r a l i z e d summary d e s c r i p t i o n a n d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of

the vowel phonemes a c c o r d i n g to their distinctive qualities are

 7,9:.

listed below:

/ i / - high-front, tense, unrounded

/a/ - low-central, 1
lax, unrounded

/u/ - high-back, tense, rounded

5.'1.2 P h o n e m i c Contrast

Phonemes a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o m one a n o t h e r n o t o n l y i n

the light of their physical properties or features but a l s o as

elements which stand i n contrast with each other i n the phonolo-

gical system o f t h e language.' Hockett i n h i s book, A Course i n

39
Modern L i n g u i s t i c s , emphasizes this when he s a y s t h a t t h e

"sounds a n d d i f f e r e n c e s between them have one a n d o n l y one

function i n t h e language: t o keep utterances apart". The

essential quality of contrast or distinctiveness, therefore,

gives e a c h o f t h e v o w e l phonemes o f T a u s u g i t s phonemic iden-

tity.'

In e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e phonemic s t a t u s of the vowels of

Tausug,' m i n i m a l p a i r s o r p a i r s o f w o r d s ^ e a c h h a v i n g a different

meaning and d i f f e r i n g by o n l y one phoneme or i n only one feature

are c o n c l u s i v e and convincing evidence i n showing that two

sounds do n o t b e l o n g t o t h e same phoneme. Thus, the following

pairs o f words w h i c h show phonemic oppositions of front-versus-

back and h i g h versus-low vowels a r e hereby l i s t e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y .

The examples a r e arranged according t o the:. • o c c u r r e n c e s o f t h e

v o w e l phonemes i n u t t e r a n c e s :

—
Hockett, op. cit,' 1
p. 15.'
 80

A/ - A/
Word i n i t i a l position

iban /?iban/ ' companion*

uban /?uban/ 'white hair'

ig Aig/ 'to g e t o u t ' o r ' t o remove*

ug Aug/ *possessiveness *

inum /?inum/ *to drink*

unum /?unum/ *six*

ipat /?ipat/ *to take care*

upat /?upat/ 'four*

Isa /?isah/ *Jesus Christ'

us a /?usah/ *deer'

Word m e d i a l position

bid Aid/ *hill*

bud /bud/ 'mountain*

hi lug /hilug/ *to scrub t h e body'

hulug /hulug/ 'to fall' o r 'to drop'

kita /kita?/ •to see*

kuta /kuta?/ •fort'

'peso* (Philippine currency)

pilak /pilak/
or 'silver*

*abortion*
pulak /pulak/
 81

sibu /sibu?/ 'equal*

subu /su'bu?/ 'to feed' ( a person)

kapil /kapil/ 'heathen* (those outside the

Moslem faith)

kapul /kapul/ ' t o embalm'

lahi /lahi?/ 'a v a r i e t y of bamboo'

lahu /lahu?/ 'eclipse'

lanit /lanit/ ' t o remove by f o r c e something

that has been fastened'

lanut /lanut/ 'abaca*

sabil /sabil/ * t o r u n amuk*

sabul /sabul/ *dirty* or *sloven'

Word f i n a l position

kami /kamih/ 'we*

kamu /kamuh/ 'you' (2nd person p l u r a l number)

lahi /lahi?/ »a v a r i e t y of bamboo'

lahu /lahu?/ 'eclipse'

landi /landi?/ 'flirt'

landu /landu?/ 'very much*

tapi /tapi?/ *to d r y dock'

tapu /tapu?/ 'to alight dn'

 82

tlbl /ti.bi?/ *chip*

tibu /tibu?/ *to b o x someone on t h e chest

or back*

/ i / - /a/

Word i n i t i a l position

ibut /?ibut/ •verb implying 'please never

forget 1

abut /?abut/ 'to c a t c h up,' o r ' t o r e a c h '

is /?ig/ 'to g e t o u t ' o r ' t o remove'

ag /?ag/ 'considerateness'

ingat /?inat/ 'intelligence *

ang at /?anat/ «to l i f t '

ipu /?ipu?/ •to pick' (flower, fruit, etc.)

apu /?apu?/ a term f o r 'grandparents* or

•grandchildren*

ilu /?ilu?/ 'orphan *

alu /?alu?/
*dew* or'drough'
Word m e d i a l position

bilu /biluh/
•blue'
balu /baluh/
•widow' o r w i d o w e r 1

libut /libut/ •to go around'

labut /labut/ 'to serve*

pi l a /pilah/ •how m u c h *

pala /palah/ 'shovel*

 83

silat /silat/ 'Moslem s e l f - d e f e n c e dance simi

to 'judo'

salat /salat/ ' b a r e l y enough'

tilam /tilam/ 'mattress'

talam /talam/ 'tray*

Word f i n a l position

basi /basi?/ 'steel'

basa /basa?/ 'wet*

bati /bati?/ 'awake'

bata /bata?/ 'child* or 'young'

kami /kamih/ *we'

kama /kamah/ 'mattress' or 'bed*

lupi /lupi?/ ito fold*

lupa /lupa?/ 'soil'

mami /mami?/ 'will select*

mama /mama?/ «betei< nut with other mixture'

masi /masih/ 'still'

masa /masah/ 'time' or 'era'

saoi /sapi?/ 'cow*

sapa /sapa?/ 'lake'

tagj /tagih/ 'fondness'

taga /.tagah/ »you call'

 84

/u/ - /a/
Word i n i t i a l syllable

ubat /?ubat/ 'medicine'

abat /?abat/ 'bedevilled'

ubu /?ubuh/ 'cough'

abu /?abuh/ 'ashes'

us /?ug/ 'possessiveness *

ag /?ag/ •considerateness *

unud /?unud/ 'flesh'

anud /?anud/ 'to drift'

utas /?utas/ 'at t h e p o i n t o f exhaustion'

a t as /?atas/ 'responsible for* o r 'stand for*

Word m e d i a l position

kulang /kulan/ 'not sufficient*

kalang /kalarj/ 'to sing'

lubu /lubuh/ *an edible part of the intestine

of a seacucumber*

labu /labuh/ •gourd'

pus a /pusa?/ 'banana blossom*

pasu /pasu?/ 'heat'

sulat /sulat/ *letter* or 'to write'

salat /salat/ •barely enough'

tabu /tabu?/ 'market'

tubu /tubu?/ •to grow*

 85

dahun /dahun/ 'leaf*

- d a h a
B /dahan/ t w l n D r i n g f o r ,

gapus /gapus/ 'embrace'

gapas /gapas/ 'gauze'

kapul /kapul/ «to embalm'

iEapal Aapal/ 'thickness'

lubug /lubug/ 'disturbed water' (not clear)

lubag /lubag/ 'grime*

sabul /sabul/ 'dirty* or 'sloven*

sabal /sabal/ »stoic»
Word final position

b
*s" /bisuh/ «deaf»
b l s a
/bisah/ 'pain'

^aku /kaku?/ t m l n e i
kaka /kaka?/ 'appellation given to older sister
or brother*

kj
-ltt Ailuh/ «kilo»
kalu /kaluh/ 'quarrel'

lasu /lasuh/ 'ribbon'

las a /lasah/ 'love'

layu Aayu?/ 'farness'

lay^ /laya?/ tfi a t surface'
 86

11 su /lisu?/ haziness*
11 sa /lfsa?/ *egg o f l i c e *

pasu •flower p o t 1

pasa 'to s i g n divorce*

plsu /pisu?/ * sprain*

pisa /p£sa?/ »smashed*

pusu 'banana blossoms*

pusa *to smash* o r * t o h a t c h *

Some l i n g u i s t s r e f e r t o t h e s e r i e s o f o p p o s i t i o n s which

a r e based on t h e same f e a t u r e s ( l i k e t h e examples l i s t e d

above) a s a s e r i e s o f c o r r e l a t i o n * Hence, t h e vowels o f

Tausug a r e i l l u s t r a t e d t o show c o r r e l a t i o n s i n tongue

p o s i t i o n (front/back a n d h i g h / l o w ) n d l i p shape ( s p r e a d /
a

unrounded, a s w e l l a s l a x / t e n s e ) ,

5.2.3 Allophonic variation

A c l o s e e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e vowels o f Tausug a s

sounds r a t h e r than a s u n i t s ( i n the l i s t o f minimal

p a i r s above) r e v e a l s , m i c r o s c o p i c though t h e y may be,

t h a t t h e r e a r e q u i t e a number o f v a r i a n t s i n t h e i r

pronunciation. Even when r e p e a t e d by t h e same p e r s o n ,

no two r e a l i z a t i o n s o f a g i v e n phoneme, a c c o r d i n g t o
linguists and p h o n e t i c i a n s , a r e i n every respect identical,

A phoneme i s , t h e r e f o r e , viewed as a d i s t i n c t i v e unit made up

of s e v e r a l members (phones) which are technically referred to

as 'allophones*, a term coined from t h e Greek alio - ('other')

plus - phone ('sound') w h i c h means s o u n d s which f u n c t i o n as

41

members o f a phoneme".

With a three-point vowel system l i k e Tausug, i t c a n be

expected that t h e vowels of t h e language have wide ranges of

variation w h i c h make them a l l o p h o n i c a l l y complex. I t i s , how-

ever, often d i f f i c u l t t o demonstrate the entire range of variants

that occurs i n the language, although i tshould t h e o r e t i c a l l y •

be possible. A native speaker of the language u s u a l l y restricts

his actual usage within a certain range. Discussions of the

phonetic variants o f Tausug will, t h e n , be l i m i t e d only to exist-

ing a l l o p h o n e s o b s e r v a b l e among n a t i v e speakers of the language.

Some o f t h e a l l o p h o n i c variations o f t h e v o w e l phonemes

simply reflect individual differences among s p e a k e r s , o f t e n of a

dialectal nature. Primarily, however, they are the r e s u l t of

the influence of phonetic context, that is,' the production of

the sound i n question i s affected by i t s environment o r , more

precisely, t h e n a t u r e o f t h e sound which precedes or follows it.

I n o t h e r words, 1
the phonetic realizations o f each o f t h e vowel

phonemes o f T a u s u g results from d i f f e r i n g distributions i n given

utterances.
^A.C.Gimson, An Introduction t o the Pronunciation of
English ( London: A r n o l d L t d . , 1 9 6 2 ) , p.To".

^ H a l l , op. c i t . , p. 26.
 88 >

The [ i ] allophone of the high-front vowel normally

occurs i n stressed s y l l a b l e s as i n t h e examples b i d [ b i : d ]

'hill',' pil a ['p'ilah] f

h o w much',' i b a n [ '?igan] 'companion',

and lindung [ 'lindUrj] 'shade'. I n an unstressed syllable, a

more l a x a n d l o w e r e d variety, [ i ] , i s often heard such as the

vowel i n the second s y l l a b l e of sakit ['sakit] 'sickness', tagi

['t'aylh] 'fond o f , kubing [ 'k'uplrp 'beetle', and p i k p i k

['p'ikplk] 'wing'. P o r some T a u s u g s p e a k e r s , the complimentary

distribution of t h e [ i ] and [ i ] allophones i n stressed and un-

stressed syllable, respectively, i s consistent. Among other

speakers, h o w e v e r , t h e t w o a l l o p h o n e s may b e u s e d inter-

changeably or i n free v a r i a t i o n since t h e use o f e i t h e r one

for the other does n o t r e n d e r a person's speech unacceptable,

neither does i t a f f e c t t h e meaning-of a given word. A word

like inum 'to drink' may/ t h e n , be heard pronounced as ['?inUm]

o r C?InUm] w i t h equal a c c e p t a b i l i t y . Preference f o r the use

of e i t h e r one o f t h e a l l o p h o n e s depends on t h e h a b i t u a l pronun-

ciation of the speakers. A t times i t may be d i f f i c u l t to decide

whether a c e r t a i n pronunciation belongs to the [ i ] or [ i ] a l l o -

phone.

The s e m i v o w e l [ y ] , w h i c h has b e e n i n t e r p r e t e d a s one o f

the variants o f t h e v o w e l / i / , may occur i n either a stressed or

unstressed syllable follox^ing or preceding a full vocoid as i n

kait [k'ayt] 'safety p i n ' and b i a [bya?] 'as i f , :

Because of i t s

nature as a g l i d e , i t functions only a s a s e c o n d a r y member t o a

 89
-.'•6

full v o w e l and n e v e r as a syllabic center.

Parallel to the allophonic variants of the high-front

vowel are the allophones of the high-back vowel, /u/. Like

[i] and [ i ] , the [u] and [ u ] variants of the /u/ occur respective-

ly i n stressed and unstressed syllables. Typical examples are

words s u c h as bukug ['bukUg] 'bone', s u b u l [ su(3Ul]

f
'young man'

or 'bachelor',- pukpuk ['p'ukpUk] 'to hammer , and 1

tubu ['t'ugU?]

'to grow'. The a l l o p h o n e [ u ] may be replaced occasionally by

the variant [u], 1

or vice versa, in certain idiolects and dialects.

Except f o r the considerably more l i p - r o u n d i n g for [u] than [ u ] ,

distinction between the two variants i s not necessarily great,

so that one may be used freely i n place of the other in actual

usage. T h u s , manghud 'younger b r o t h e r or s i s t e r ' may be heard as

['maijhud] o r 'manhUd], Sometimes a sound close t o [v] as in the

unrounded p r o n u n c i a t i o n of the vowel i n book [ b v k ] as occasio-

nally heard i n North American English, or [A] i n the English word

cup [ k A p ] , - o r [©] as i n the many u n s t r e s s e d vowels of E n g l i s h may

be heard i n some t y p e s of informal rapid pronunciation. The

e x a m p l e m a n g h u d may, then, be h e a r d as [ m a n h i r d ] , manhAd], or

[manhsd].

The [w] variant of /u/ behaves in like manner t o the [y]

allophone of /i/. I t functions only as a s e c o n d a r y member t o a

full vocoid as i n the words baus [baws] 'to b a r g a i n ' , mui [mwi?]
'to go home', b u a d [ b w a d ] 'to dry'," e t c .

Among some T a u s u g s p e a k e r s o f STP of Gimbahanun origin

or influence,' a c e n t e r e d [ i ] and an unrounded [ u ] are heard as

a realization of / i / and /u/ respectively. ;

These sounds are

s y m b o l i z e d as Qi] and [ui] respectively. The [*i] i s made w i t h

a less spread l i pposition than [ i ] , while [w] has an unrounded 1

lip position as compared w i t h [ u ] . These vowels occur i n words

like pisu ['p'lsw?] 'sprain', b i h u n ['b'ihwnQ 'will buy , 1

igun

['?'ivwn] 'will r e m o v e ' , b u k u n ['bmkmn] ' n o t ' o r 'no' (negation)V

b u k u g ['brakrag] 'bone',' a n d m a i s u g [ma'?'iswg] 'brave'.'

In the case of the low central vowel, a more front

v a r i e t y ; " [ a ] , has been observed to occur following a bilabial

or d e n t a l consonant and a more b a c k and lower variant [a] i s

found to occur following either a velar or a g l o t t a l sound. A

raised central allophone, which p a t t e r n s w i t h any consonants

may be heard i n some t y p e s of informal speech, so that words like

basu ['basUhl 'drinking glass', dagan ['dayan] 'to r u n ' kalang

['k'alan] 'to s i n g ' or'gravel', and abu [ ' ? a p U h ] ' a s h e s ' may be

heard as ['b&sUh], [''d*?ye.n]['JfeLSn], a n d

: 1
['?SgUh] respectively.'

In this respect; 1
the variants [ a ] and [a] are said t o be in

c o m p l e m e n t a r y d i s t r i b u t i o n , ' w h i l e [&~| i s i n f r e e variation with

either o f t h e two a l l o p h o n e s , [ a ] and [ a ] .

3.'2.4 Distribution

In a g i v e n language, some p h o n e m e s a r e o f frequent

 91

occurrence, some a r e n o t . Some o c c u r i n a l l p o s i t i o n s , while

others are restricted. Sometimes d i s p a r i t y i n relative frequency

is great. S o m e t i m e s a phoneme o c c u r s i n o n l y a f e w isolated

words. With v o w e l s , hoxvever, the frequency of occurrence i s

usually greater than with certain consonants, as vowels a r e

the sounds d i r e c t l y concerned i n forming s y l l a b i c centers.

The vowels o f Tausug have u n r e s t r i c t e d distribution.

They occur both i n open s y l l a b l e , CV, ( a s i n p i l a /p£-lah/

'how m u c h ' , p a l a / p a - l a h / ' s h o v e l , 1

and p u l a / p u - l a h / 'red')

and i n closed syllable, CVC, (i.e., tinda /tin-dan/ 'store',

tan-da /tanda?/ ' p r o o f , and punda / p u n d a h / ' p i l l o w case*).

Except f o r/y/, the high-front vowel / i / follows a l l

consonants o f the language. I n t h e same w a y , t h e h i g h - b a c k

vowel /u/ occurs following a l lother consonants, except /w/.

The low central vowel / a / has u n r e s t r i c t e d occurrence. I t

structures with a l l consonants o f t h e language (cf. section 3.1).

5.2.5 The Diphthongs

In connection with the semivowels, a brief description

has been g i v e n o f t h e diphthongs o f Tausug. I t has been p o i n t e d

out that when t h e s e m i v o w e l [ y ] o r [w] structures with a full

v o w e l , w i t h i n t h e same s y l l a b l e forming a complex n u c l e u s , t h e

resultant c o m b i n a t i o n o f two sounds i s interpreted as a diph-

thong. On t h i s premise, the following are classified as

diphthongs o f Tausug:
 /ia/ biak /biak/ 'was met 1

siam /siam/ 'nine'

/ai/ lain /lain/ 'to transfer'

kait /kait/ 'safety pin'

/ua/ buad /buad/ •to d r y '

luan /luan/ 'cargo'

/au/ baus /baus/ 'to bargain'

maun /maun/ •to go there'

/iu/ slud /siud/ 'entered'

tlud /tiud/ 'was pushed'

/ui/ huis /huis/ 'judge'

mui /mui/ 'go home'

Phonemically, a l lthe diphthongs o f Tausug a r e t o be

interpreted as consisting o f two s e p a r a t e s i n g l e vowel phonemes,

a pure vowel (V) a n d a g l i d e phoneme o r s e m i v o w e l ( S ) , thus

resulting i n complex n u c l e i : S + V a n d V + S. These clusters

of vowel could have been i n t e r p r e t e d as s i n g l e phonemic units

because of their close-knit nuclei which make d i s t i n c t i o n b e t -

ween t h e sequences o f sounds h a r d l y noticeable. In addition,

from the l i s t e n e r ' s point of view, such close-knit nuclei give

a monolithic effect. However, w i t h s i m p l i c i t y as the working

principle i n this analysis, such an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s not

advisable. A monophonematic interpretation of the diphthongs

of Tausug would mean a d d i n g s i x a d d i t i o n a l phonemes t o t h e

phonological inventory of the language. M o r e o v e r , a new s e t o f

s y m b o l s to r e p r e s e n t t h e s i x phonemes w o u l d also be needed to

distinguish them f r o m t h e s i m p l e v o w e l s . " I t cannot be said",

however ( t ou s e Swadesh'swords)" t h a t the unit treatment i s

basically wrong o r inadequate,' y e t there i s a difference which

can be d e s c r i b e d a s one o f s i m p l i c i t y . "

An alternative interpretation o f t h e sequences o f two

sounds ( d i s c u s s e d above a s a d i p h t h o n g ) would be t o t r e a t them

as a c o m b i n a t i o n o f a consonant and a vowel (i.e., C ,+; V o r

V + C ) , so that t h e consonant element forms a c l u s t e r , instead,

with t h e m a r g i n a l consonant that precedes o r follows it. :

Such

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , ' however, i snot possible, since the syllable

structures of the language ( c f . s e c t i o n 4) d o n o t p e r m i t clusters

of consonants i n s y l l a b l e initial or syllable final positions.

It should be m e n t i o n e d at this point that t h e biphonema-

tic interpretation o f t h e d i p h t h o n g s does n o t mean t h a t t h e

combination of vocalic sounds a r e made u p o f p u r e v o w e l phonemes.

Such combination i s impossible i n t h e language without an inter-

vocalic consonant r e s u l t i n g ( c f . p. 8 5 ) .

Since i n Tausug a syllable carries only one s t r e s s , t h e

syllabic center i n a diphthong i s t h e pure vowel while the glide

which functions only as a secondary element i s non-syllabic.

With regards t o the s y l l a b i c and n o n - s y l l a b i c parts of a

diphthong,' a d i s t i n c t i o n i s made b e t w e e n so-called ' r i s i n g ' and

'falling' diphthongs. According to Francis, " t h e terms refer to

 l
9k

the position i n time of the stressed, syllabic part.'of the

diphthong in relation to that of the g l i d e . " Thus i n Tausug,

diphthongs which consist of preliminary 'on-glides' are called

•'rising d i p h t h o n g s . 1
They are r e f e r r e d t o as s u c h , due to the

relative increase i n intensity of stress as the s y l l a b l e progress-

es. On the contrary, diphthongs which consists of syllabic

vowels plus off-glides are called falling diphthong, because of

42

the decrease i n intensity of s y l l a b l e stress. On the strength

of these d i s t i n c t i o n s , Tausug diphthongs are grouped as follows

with the stress mark showing the s y l l a b i c center:

Rising diphthongs

1& itf.

uS- ui

Falling diphthongs

&1

au

As shown i n t h e above listing of diphthongs, stress is

predictable. I t falls on t h e more open v o w e l , /a/, i n the case

of /!&/, Al&/, /3d./, and /du/. But where there are two high

vowels as i n /ui/ and /in/, the stress falls on the second com-

ponent of the diphthongs.

To some e x t e n t , a l lvowels o f . T a u s u g may be d i p h t h o n g i z e d ,

although the r e s u l t i s a somewhat a f f e c t e d style of speech.

Unlike the true diphthongs d i s c u s s e d above, a d i p t h o n g i z e d vowel

Francis, op.cit., p. 106.

is non-distinctive o r non-phonemic, i n t h e sense that when i t

replaces a pure vowel o f t h e same c a t e g o r y a s f o r i n s t a n c e , / u /

becoming [ulj] o r [ U A ] i n bud [ b u d ] [buUd] o r [bUAd]'mountain',

there i s no change i n meaning involved. I n the case of the high-

front vowel, diphthongization sometimes results i n /if becoming

[ i l ] or [is] as i n s i n [ s i n ] [siln] or [sisn]'money', With

the low central vowel, / a / , possible diphthongized forms a r e

[aa] o r [aA] i n laic [ l a k ] [lask] o r [ l a A k ] ' m u s c l e s '. I t has

been observed that the various diphthongized forms of the vowel

phonemes r e s u l t from lengthening of the vowel sounds. The

transition f r o m one phoneme t o t h e n e x t u s u a l l y results i n a

central or centralized glide sound.

5,3. The T r i p h t h o n g s

A triphthong i n Tausug c o n s i s t s c f a p u r e v o w e l a n d two

0

semivowels occurring w i t h i n one s i n g l e syllable. Thus, the f o l -

lowing combinations of vowel phonemes a r e l i s t e d as triphthongs

of the language:

/ i a i / kiait /kiait/ 'was p i n n e d '

siait /siait/ ' w a t e r was r e m o v e d from the boat'

/uau/ duaun /duaun/ •by t w o ' s '

buaun /buaun/ 'will rock to sleep'

/uai buaih /buaih/ 'place rattan' (on something-

request or command)

kuaih /kuaih/ 'wind i t ' (request or command)

/iau/ biaus /biaus/ 'bargained'

siaud /siaud/ 'to receive something with

receptable'
 96

Although, from a l i s t e n e r ' s point of view, there seems

t o be a n i n d i v i s i b l e movement f r o m one v o w e l t o the other i n a

triphthong, so that i t i s sometimes difficult t o a n a l y z e t h e com-

plicated n u c l e u s a s made u p o f i n d e p e n d e n t v o w e l s , however,

basically this sequence o f sounds consists of three separate

vowel phonemes. For instance, / i a u / i s a combination of the

vowels / i + a + u / , a l t h o u g h i t s h o u l d b e made c l e a r here that

the peripheral vowels / i / and / u / f u n c t i o n as semivowels b u t

not as a pure vowel.

As obviously shown i n t h e above l i s t , the central element

in all the triphthongs o f Tausug i s the low central vowel / a / .

Since the low central o r 'open' vowel i s more s o n o r o u s than the

high or close vowels, and since a syllable i n Tausug carries only

a single peak o f prominence, i ti s predictable that the vowel

p h o n e m e , /a./ f o r m s
t the syllabic center of a triphthongal nucleus,

while t h e marginal vowels / u / a n d /!/ i n /uau/, /iau/, and/ u a i /

function a s s e c o n d a r y members. Thus, t h e words k a i t . duauan,

siaud, and buaih a r e r e s p e c t i v e l y transcribed as / k i a i t / , /duaun/,

/siaud/, and/buaih/ with t h e a c c e n t mark showing t h e prominent

sound,

5.3 The Consonants

The process of finding out and formulating t h e phonemic

system o f Tausug consists i n applying the criteria of distribu-

tion, phonetic similarity, identity of function, and p a t t e r n con-

gruity t o a l lt h e phone-types of the language, thus combining the

 m

latter whenever circumstances allow into functional units. In

other words, the classificatory process involves subsuming certain

phones under t h e c a t e g o r y o f one phoneme a s , f o r i n s t a n c e , [p^] i n

pais [ ' p » a ? I s ] ' s k i n ' a n d [ p ] i n a t u p [<£?atup] 'palm l e a f roofing'.

Both sounds a r e grouped under t h e consonant p h o n e m e , /v/ t i n view

of t h e i r being phonetically similar,' complementarily d i s t r i b u t e d ,

and having an i d e n t i c a l function. On t h e s a m e organizational pro-

cedure, contoids [V..] - [ t ] , ' [ k ' G - [ k ] , [ b ] - [g], [gi] - [y],

and [ r ] - [ii] are c l a s s i f i e d i n t o consonant phonemes / t / , / k / ,

/b/, / d / , / g / , and / r / r e s p e c t i v e l y . As a whole, the contoids on

p a g e 5^ a r e c o n v e n i e n t l y grouped i n t o seventeen consonant phonemes

,('cf.' s e c t i o n 5.2), ;

5.3*1 Description and Classification

While t h e v o w e l phonemes o f T a u s u g a r e d e s c r i b e d , classi-

fied, and contrasted according t o the p o s i t i o n of the tongue and

the shape o f t h e l i p s , description, classification, and d i f f e r e n -

tiation of the consonants (like the contoids of the language) a r e

made m a i n l y on two d i m e n s i o n a l criteria: point and manner o f

articulation. I n the case of stop consonants, there i s a further

contrast made i n t h e a b s e n c e o r p r e s e n c e of voicing.

Normally, the contrastive features that characterize as

well a s d i f f e r e n t i a t e one c o n s o n a n t from another a r e grouped

together i n 'bundles' of several features a t a time such as the

following:
 /p/ - voiceless bilabial stop

/t/ - voiceless dental stop

A/ - voiceless velar stop

/?/ - voiceless glottal stop

A/ - voiced bilabial stop

A/ - voiced dental stop

/g/ - voiced velar stop

/ j / - voiced d e n t a l a f f r i c a t e d stop

A/ - voiceless dental . .fricative

/h/ - voiceless glottal fricative

/m/ - voiced bilabial nasal

/n/ - voiced dental nasal

/»/ - voiced velar nasal

/ l / - voiced dental lateral

/r/ - voiced dental flap

A/ - voiced labio-velar semiconsonant

/y/ - voiced palatal semiconsonant

In surveying the l i s t of Tausug consonants above, a two-

way distinction i n voicing i s observable among t h e s t o p s . ' Voice

less stop consonants /p, t , k/ show c o n t r a s t w i t h their voiced

counterparts /b,d,g/ i n pairs such as:

pilu /piluh/ 'tightly rolled'

bilu /biluh/ 'blue'

 99

tagUH /ta'gun/ 'will call'

dagun /dagun/ 'will climb'

- . . . . . . . , ^

kila /k'ilah/ 'to recognize'

'r ^

gila /gi'lah/ 'careless'

In e a c h case,' t h e v o i c e d - v o i c e l e s s distinction a p p e a r s a s one

which sets up Tausug s t o p s i n opposed p a i r s , one member o f each

pair differing from the other only i n the absence o r presence

of voice.' w
i t h the other consonants - the affricated stop / j / ,

the nasals /m, n y n/?.i t h e t l a t e r a l : / l / , t h e f l a p / r / , and the

semivowels /y,w/ w h i c h a r e n o r m a l l y voiced, the voice feature

ceases t o be d i s t i n c t i v e i n other words. The l a t t e r g r o u p do n o t

have corresponding v o i c e l e s s consonants which would a l l o w us t o

set them up i n c o n t r a s t i v e p a i r s . T h e same i s t r u e w i t h t h e

voiceless consonants /w/ a n d / h / w h i c h have no c o n t r a s t i v e voiced

counterparts.'

In regard t o manner o f a r t i c u l a t i o n , there i s a seven-

dimensional contrast among T a u s u g consonants:

1. ' S t o p s : /p,t,k,?/

/b.d.'g/

A stop i s a consonant produced with the air-stream

completely blocked a t some p o i n t i n the speech tract by

closure of t h e passage through which the a i r flows.

2. Affricated Stop:/ j /

This i s a consonant a r t i c u l a t e d like the stop /d/

above b u t immediately followed by a r e l a t i v e l y slow

 100

release which allows t h e a i r t o escape slowly

producing audible friction.

3. Fricatives: /s,h/

When a c o n s o n a n t i s made b y c o n s t r i c t i n g t h e

passage so that the current of a i r escapes with

audible friction, t h e r e s u l t a n t sound i s called a

fricative.

4. Nasals: /m,n,n/

A nasal consonant i s made w i t h the oral cavity

completely c l o s e d , and t h e velum lowered t o allow

the air-stream t o escape through the nasal passage,

thus producing nasal resonance.

5. Lateral: /!/

This i s a consonant made w i t h complete closure

at t h e f r o n t and i n t h e middle l i n e of the oral

cavity, i . e . by t h e contact o f t h e tongue t i p against

the middle part of t h e a l v e o l a r r i d g e , but l e a v i n g an

opening a t one o r b o t h s i d e s o f t h e tongue t o allow

the escape of the a i r .

6. Flap: / r /

A flap i s a consonant articulated by t h e very

rapid contact o f t h e tongue t i p against the alveolar

ridge, often repeated t o produce a t r i l l , sometimes

restricted t o a very short flap-like stop.

 iol

7. Semiconsonants: /y,w/
The semi cons onants a r e intermvi&iiate between a

consonant and a vowel partaking i n the nature of

both. They a r e v o i c e d sounds g e n e r a l l y articulated

without friction a n d made r a p i d l y - n e v e r sustained.

Their articulation corresponds to that of the high

vowels, / i / and / u / r e s p e c t i v e l y , but they have

shorter d u r a t i o n and a r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by constant

movement o r t r a n s i t i o n ^ r i s i n g or falling f r o m one

point t o a n o t h e r with s w i f t f r e q u e n c y change.'

A six-way d i s t i n c t i o n would have been a n economical

analysis, having /i/ grouped along with the other stop sounds.

Such classification, however, i s not possible since contrast

between / j / and the dental stop /d/ exists i n words like Ja

/jah/ (a native c a k e made f r o m r i c e f l o u r ) v s . da /dah/ 'to

carry' o r 'to bring*,' jaga /jagah/ 'guard' v s . daga /d^gah/

•female', jabul /j3bul/ ' t o do m i s c h i e f v s . dabul /dSibul/

'moro d a n c e p e r f o r m e d by stamping the feet'.' Both / j / and / d /

share relatively t h e same; p o i n t of articulation as w e l l as the

voiced feature. 1
The o n l y distinguishing characteristic i s the

manner i n which each i s produced, i.e. / j / i s made w i t h slight

affrication, while /d/ i sarticulated without it. ;

In addition,

like a l l other consonants o f t h e language, / j / clusters with the

semivowel v a r i a n t o f / i / i n words like j i u w a l a n /jiuwa'aan/ 'was

fried' ( o f banana) w h i c h i sdifferent from t h e word .juwalan

 102

/juwalan/ 'fried banana* (noun). The / j / sound cannot be

interpreted as a / d / plus the semivowel v a r i a n t of / i / since

contrast between /d + i / + V and / j + i/+ V are found i n

such words as d i a n d i / d i a h d i h / 'cotton fabric' and jianji

/jianji?/ *was p r o m i s e d to ,1
diahan /diahan/ 'brought something

for' and j i a h a n / j i a h a n / 'made 'ja' for* ( f o r ' j a ' see l a s t

paragraph o f preceding!-page).

When d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g consonants according to articula-

tory p o s i t i o n s , a four-way distinction i s observable among t h e

voiceless stops /p,t,k,?/. From f r o n t t o back, d i s t i n c t i o n i s

made between b i l a b i a l , dental ( i n c l u d i n g a l v e o l a r ) , v e l a r , and

glottal positions. Such c o n t r a s t s a r e found i n s e r i e s o f words

like pilu /piluh/ 'tightly rolled', tilu /tilu?/ 'to throw',

kilu /kiluh/ 'kilo', and i l u / ? { l u h / 'orphan,-*. With the voiced

stops /b,d,g/, there i s a three-xmy contrast involving bilabial,

dental, and v e l a r a r t i c u l a t i o n observable i n words l i k e bula

/bula?/ 'bamboo s p l i t ' , dulang /dulan/ 'a t r a y o f f o o d ' , and

gula /gula?/ 'molasses*.

The / j / consonant i s phonetically categorized as an

alveopalatal sound, but s i m p l i c i t y i s one o f t h e w o r k i n g p r i n c i p l e s

in phonemic a n a l y s i s and t o a v o i d skewness i n patterning, the pro-

blem has been solved by c l a s s i f y i n g / j / a s a phoneme among t h e

dental stops. I t i s believed that such classification does not

in a n y way ( t o paraphrase Hall) do v i o l e n c e t o the phonetic facts

of the language; neither does i tforce completely disparate

43
elements into artificial parallelism.

43
Hall, op. c i t . , p, 97.
 103

like the voiced stops, the nasal c o n s o n a n t s /m,n,n/ h a v e

the three-way d i s t i n c t i o n i n point of articulation, /m/ being a

bilabial, /n/, a dental, a n d / n / , a v e l a r i n examples l i k e mabi

/mabih/ »can b u y , n a b i
1
/nabih/ 'prophet*, a n d n g a n i /qanih/

•give a name*.

With fricative consonants / s / and / h / and t h e semi-

c o n s o n a n t s / y / a n d /w/, there i s a two-way c o n t r a s t i n articu-

latory position. The f r i c a t i v e s / s / and / h / a r e r e s p e c t i v e l y

dental and g l o t t a l , while /y/ i s generally described as f r o n t

o r more p r e c i s e l y a s o u n d starting from the front p o s i t i o n

on o r near the vowel l i m i t , a n d t h e /w/ i n like manner c a n

be described as s t a r t i n g from t h e back p o s i t i o n l i k e w i s e on

or near the vowel l i m i t . T h e r e a r e no f i x e d positions f o r /y/

and /w/, although sometimes they are classified as a l v e o p a l a t a l

and labiovelar respectively. With simplicity again as t h e work-

ing principle, /y/ i s classified under dentals, while /w/ i s

categorized with bilabials.

I n t h e case o f t h e a f f r i c a t e d stop / j / , lateral / l / , and

flap / r / , point of articulation does n o t f u n c t i o n as a contrast-

ing feature since they do n o t have contrasting counterparts.

I n t h e above d i s c u s s i o n s o f Tausug consonants^ i t has

been p o i n t e d out that they a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o m one a n o t h e r by

a relatively few a r t i c u l a t o r y differences or contrastive features.

These features are arranged i n s u c h a way t h a t each consonant

phoneme s h a r e s some c o n t r a s t i v e f e a t u r e with other consonants

 r 104

although each o f them i s s e t o f f f r o m every other consonant by

a difference i n a t l e a s t one d i s t i n c t i v e quality. Contrast

between t h e consonant phonemes a c c o r d i n g to their contrastive

features gives a diagrammatic arrangement as shown i n F i g u r e 7

(see next page).

Although i t i s not of the essence o f phonemic analysis,

the schematic representation i s useful i n understanding better the

functional r e l a t i o n s h i p s between the consonant phonemes i n terms

44
of their relevant features. Figure 7 conveniently illustrates

a series of i n t e r s e c t i n g c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s according t o the absence

and presence of voice, point of articulation, and manner o f arti-

culation. As shown i n t h e d i a g r a m , Tausug consonants differ by

one o r more o f t h e s e c o n t r a s t i v e features. To make s u c h d i f f e r e n -

ces evident, l i n e s a r e drawn a l o n g each dimensions o f phonemic

contrasts, pointing out the differences b y means o f d i a g o n a l lines

(slanting l i n e s ) i n t h e case of voiced-voiceless distinction (i.e.,

the voiceless stop /p,t,k/ as r e s p e c t i v e l y opposed to their voiced

counterparts /b,d,g/), v e r t i c a l lines f o r contrast i n manner o f

articulation (i.e., from stop, a f f r i c a t e d stop, fricative,' nasal,

lateral, flap, t o s e m i c o n s o n a n t ) , a n d h o r i z o n t a l l i n e s t o show

differences i n articulatory positions, (i.e., from b i l a b i a l to

Cental, v e l a r , and on t o g l o t t a l ) .

Unlike the vowel system, i ti s relatively difficult and

rare t o find..._t.he e n t i r e c o n s o n a n t system t o be p e r f e c t l y symmetri-

 105

F i g u r e : 8 i The Consonant Diagram f o r Tausug

 106

cal throughout. Some g a p s - or 'holes' as linguists term

them - e x i s t i n the system. The stop consonants, f o r instance, 1

h a v e a p e r f e c t " b a l a n c e "between t h e v o i c e l e s s a n d voiced stops

from b i l a b i a l t o d e n t a l , and to v e l a r . However, s i n c e a corres-

ponding voiced glottal stop i s an a r t i c u l a t o r y impossibility,

the voiceless glottal consonant i s unmatched, thus,' a h o l e is

said to exist i n t h e system. 1

With the v o i c e l e s s /h/ consonant,

h o w e v e r , i n t h e same a r t i c u l a t o r y p o s i t i o n as /?/, the problem

of symmetry i n p a t t e r n i n g is solved.

5.3.2 Phonemic Contrast

It has been a l l u d e d to i n previous discussions that a

phoneme a s a linguistic phonemenon d e r i v e s i t s function from

being i n qppposition with other comparable phenomena i n t h e sound

system of the language. Thus, 1

/p/, for instance, obtains i t s

special f u n c t i o n from the fact that i n the matter of v o i c i n g , i t

c o n t r a s t wifch / b / i n words like pais /pa?is/ 'skin' versus bais

/b3?is/ 'f l i r t i n e s s ' . ' I n manner o f a r t i c u l a t i o n , /p/ is i n

opposition t o /m/ i n a pair like pasa /p&sah/ 'swear' and masa

/m£sah/ 'period of time' or 'era',' w h i l e i n point of articula-

tion, i t i s opposed t o / t / , /k/,/and /?/,i.e., pilu /pfJLuh/

'rolled tightly', tilu /tilu?/ 'threw', k i l u /kiluh/ 'kilo',

and i l u/?ilUh/ 'orphan'. In short, contrast is.the fundamental

criterion i n giving a consonant phoneme i t s f u n c t i o n a l o r phonemic

status.' De S a u s s u r e went even as f a r as t o say t h a t what really

 107

matters i n a l a n g u a g e a r e t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n one language

entity and another.

To differ distinctively, two consonant phonemes must be

able t o occur i n t h e same p o s i t i o n and environment. Again, this

is where t h e d i s c o v e r y of minimal pairs, which d i f f e r i n only

one phoneme o r f e a t u r e , i s a c o n v i n c i n g piece of evidence. The

minimal pairs are listed and arranged below i na l p h a b e t i c a l

order according to their position i n an utterance and according

to the three fundamental criteria used i n differentiating them.

Voiceless Vs. Voiced

/p/ - /b/

Word i n i t i a l position

pay /pay/ 'unhusked rice'

bay /bay/ 'house 1

pais /pa?is/'skin'

bais /ba?is/*f lirthiess 1

pilu /piluh/*tightly rolled'

bilu /biluh/«blue«

puad /puad/ «to c u t d o w n ' ( a t r e e , p o s t , e t c . )

buad /buad/ 'to dry*

Word medial

apas /?apas/ 'to run after'

abas /?abas/ 'a k i n d o f i r r i t a t i o n of the

skin'
 108

sapal /sapal/ •by product of a grated coconut*

sabal /sabal/ •stoic*

saput /saput/ ' l i n e n used f o r wrapping the dead*

sabut /sabut/ 'to comprehend'

tapil /tapil/ •side by side*

tabil /tabil/ •iguana*

Word f i n a l position

kutup /kutup/ •to b i t e * (one*s l i p or tongue)

kutub /kutub/ *beating* (of the heart)

lukup /lukup/ 'to s c r a p t h e mossy substance

on the sides of a boat'

lukub /lukub/ 'cover* (of a thing)

silap /silap/ 'crazy*

silab /silab/ 'sudden flame*

A/ - /d/
Word i n i t i a l position

tabul /tabul/ *germ o f a coconut fruit*

dabul /dabul/ *moro d a n c e * (stamping of the feet)

taga /tagah/ 'you call* (him or her)

daga /dagah/ •has r e a c h e d age of puberty 1

tahun /tahun/ »>h e a r '

dahun /dahun/ 'leaf

 109

ti /tih/ 'tea'

di /din/ •here'

tilam /tilam/ 'mattress *

dilam /dilam/ 'precious stones'

tung /tun/ (a term used i n gambling set aside

as rent f o r c a r d , mahjong, e t c . )

dung /dun/ 'the front part of a ship'

tungug /tunug/ 'tan bark'

dungug /diinug/ 'to listen'

Word f i n a l position

labut /labut/ 'to serve*

labud /labud/ •millipede'

lahut /lahut/ •a k i n d o f knife'

lahud /lahud/
'mark l e f t after one h a s b e e n whipped'

s abut /sabut/
•understand'
sabud /sabud/ 'to throw something i n spray*

A/ - /g/

Word i n i t i a l position

kaban /kaban/ •coffin*

gaban /gaban/ 'to come u p 1

katas /katas/ 'paper'

gatas /gatas/ •milk'

 110

kila /kilah/ •to recognize'

glla /gilah/ 'careless 1

kula Aula?/ 'pleats' (on a curtain, dress, etc.)

gula /gula?/ 'molasses'

kulung /kulun/ ..'curl' o r 'curly'

gulung /gulun/ 'wheel'

Word m e d i a l position

ikut /?ikut/ •selfishness *

. \

igut Aigut/ •oil gland of a chicken'

sukal /sukal/ 'sugar*

sugal /sugal/ 'playing card'

tukas /tilkas/ 'to find out*

tugas /tugas/ •hardness'

tukun /tukun/ 'to press down' (something)

tugun /tugun/ •order*

Word f i n a l position

pulak /bulak/ 'unripe'

bulag /bulag/ •a d i s e a s e o f t h e e y e s ' (a white spot)

sulak /sulak/ 'to refuse'

sulag /sulag/ 'piece*

 I l l

Manner of Articulation

Voiceless s t o p vs. Voice fricative

A/ - / s /

Word initial position

talam /talam/ 'tray f o r serving 1

s a l am /salam/ 'hand shake 1

tapal /tapal/ •protection*, *shield*

sapal /sapal/ 'by-product from grated coconut*

tibi /tibi?/ •chip'

sibi /sibi?/ 'smallness'

tud /tud/ 'to push'

sud /sud/ 'a s p e c i a l kind o f comb u s e d f o r

removing lice'

tung /tun/ (gambling term f o r money s e t a s i d e

as r e n t f o r c a r d s , mahjong, etc.)

sung /sun/ *to move forward*

Word m e d i a l position

batu /batuh/ •stone'

basu /basuh/ 'drinking glass'

patu /patu?/ 'goose'

pasu /pasu?/ 'heat

 112

patung /patun/ 'bamboo'

pasung /pasun/ 'a k i n d of native cake wrapped

in banana l e a f

Word f i n a l position

kaput /kaput/ •to hold'

kapus /kapus/ 'not enough', 'lacking'

lanut /lanut/ 'abaca'

lanus /lanus/ 'withered'

laput /laput/ 'thin' (sauce, starch, etc.)

lapus /lapus/ •all around 1

(filled with something)

panit /panit/ 'tuna fish'

panis /panis/ 'has become acidic' or'spoiled 1

(food)

/?/ - A/
Word i n i t i a l position

abal /?abal/ •whirlpool'

habal /habal/ •news•

atud /?atud/ •to look a t *

hatud /hatud/ 'to escort* or 'to return*

ilu /?iluh/ *orphan *

hi-lu /hiluh/ 'dizzy *

ug /?ug/ 'possessiveness'

hug /hug/ *change' (money)

 113

Word m e d i a l position

dayaan /daya?an/ 'put s u r f a c e up*

dayahan /dayahan/ ' r i ch'

nailu /na?iluh/ 'become orphan*

nahilu /nahiluh/ 'got drunk* o r 'become dizzy*

paa /pa?ah/ •thigh*

paha /pahah/ 'band* ( f o r navel)

Word f i n a l position

badju /badju?/ •dress *

badju /badjuh/ •storm*

dugu /dugu?/ 'blood'

dugu /duguh/ 'corner*

Voiced stop vs. Voiced affricated stop

/d/ - / j /

Word i n i t i a l position

da /dah/ *to carry'

ja / j a h / •a n a t i v e c a k e made f r o m rice flour*

' a m o r o d a n c e made b y s t a m p i n g of
dabul /dabul/
the feet'

•to make m i s c h i e f *
jabul /jabul/

aaga /dag a h / 'has reached age o f p u b e r t y '

jaga /jagah/ 'guard'

jahan /jahan/ 'will make 'ja* (a native cake)

dahan /dahan/ 'will bring f o r '

 114

Voiced a f f r i c a t e d stop vs. Voiced nasal

/ j / - /n/

Word i n i t i a l position

ja /jah/ 'a n a t i v e c a k e made f r o m r i c e flour*

na /nah/ (an expression implying that you have

done something wrong)

jaga /jagah/ 1
guard 1

nag a /nagah/ •dragon 1

janap /janap/ •a k i n d of bolo'

nanap /nanap/ 'crawl 1

Voiced nasal vs. Voiced lateral

/n/ - / I /

Word initial position

nag a /nagah/ •dragon'

laga Aagah/ 'flame 1

nara /narah/ •narra' (tree} • ,

lara /larah/ •peper'

nunuk /nunuk/ •balete tree 1

lunuk /lunuk/ •softness'

Word m e d i a l position

manas /manas/ •beriberi' or 'swellin;

malas /malas/ 'out of luck'

sanam /sanam/ 'ant'

salam /salam/ 'handshake'

 115

Word f i n a l position

lpun /?ipun/ f
teech

ipul /?ipul/ •leper*

sabun /sabun/ 'soap'

sabul /sabul/ 'dirty'

Voiced lateral vs. Voiced flap

A/ - A/
Word i n i t i a l position

ladju /laiijiU.^'/ 'farness 1

radju /ra'djuh/ 'radio'

latag /latag/ 'search around'

Ratag /ratag/ 'a name o f a p l a c e i n Siasi,Sulu'

Word m e d i a l position

balan /balan/ •steel'

baran /baran/ •body*

pala /palah/ 'shovel'

para /parah/ •stop'

palang /palaq/ 'multicolored mat*

parang /paran/ •grass'

pali /pali?/ *wound'

pari /pari?/ 'priest *

Point of A r t i c u l a t i o n
 116

/p/ - A/
Word i n i t i a l position

palang /palan/ 'multicolored mat'

talang /talan/ 'a k i n d o f game d o n e b y tossing

2 coins*

pas a /pasah/ 'swear'

tasa Aa'sah/ 'drinking cup'

pinda /pindah/ 'change' (of place o r appearance)

tinda /tindah/ 'store'

pukul /pukul/ 'fingerless', 'armless'

tukul /tukul/ 'hammer'

pulak /pulak/ 'abortion'

tulak /tulak/ 'to push*

Word m e d i a l position

apas /?apas/ •to run after*

a t as /?atas/ 'to guarantee f o r '

gapas /gapas/ 'guaze'

gatas /gatas/ 'milk'

sapal /sapal/ 'by-product from grated

satal /satal/ 'to sew a mattress'

Word f i n a l position

silap /silap/ • crazy

silat /silat/ •a moro d a n c e s i m i l a r t o judo*

 117

lukup /lukup/ *moss o n t h e s i d e o f a boat*

lukut /lukut/ 'an edible sea product'

Voiceless Bilabial vs. Voice Velar

/P/ - A/
Word initial position

palang /palan/ 'multicolored mat'

kalang /kalan/ •to sing'

panit /panit/ •tuna fish'

kanit /kanit/ 'to unfasten something fastened

or pasted'

patu /patu?/ •goose'

katu /katu?/ • ours'

pilu /piluh/ •rolled tightly'

kilu /kiluh/ •kilo'

pula /pulah/ •red'

kula /kulah/ 'to bleach'

kutu /kutuh/ •lice'

putu /putuh/ 'a k i n d o f n a t i v e food'

Word m e d i a l position

bapa /bapa?/ 'a t e r m used to call an uncle, as

a sign of respect*

baka /baka?/ 'tartar*

sapat /sapat/ •something not thrown i n t h e r i g h t

place

sakat /sakat/ •to go up*

 118

suka /suka?/ •venigar'

supa /supa?/ •to chew'

tapu /tapu?/ 'to alight'

taku /taku?/ 'chin'

tupas /tupas/ 'cake or c o o k i e s t h a t goes with

coffee or t e a '

tukas /tukas/ •to reveal'

Voiceless Bilabial vs. Voiceless Glottal

/p/ - /?/

Word i n i t i a l position

pasu /pasuh/ 'flower pot'

asu /?asuh/ »smoke'

pat a /patah/ 'one bundle' (of firewood)

at a /?atah/ •slave*

/pilah/ •how m u c h '

i l a /?ilah/ •birth mark*

pilu /piluh/ 'rolled tightly'

ilu /?iluh/ 'orphan'

punung /punun/ 'faint*

unung /?unun/ 'will f o l l o w w h e r e v e r one goes'

(come what may)

putang /put an/ 'dried coconut*

utang /?utan/ 'credit*

 119

Word m e d i a l position

kaa /ka?ah/ 'get i t '

kapa /kapah/ 1
axe'

lapus /lapus/ 'all around f i l l e d with gold teeth'

laus /la?us/ 'continue' or 'extend'

sapat /sapat/ •something thrown not i n proper

place•

saat /sa?at/ •proper timing'

Word f i n a l position

alup /?alup/ • h a r m made o n t h e s k i n d u e t o t h e

wind and t h e sun'.

alu /?alu?/ •dew*

kulap /kulap/ •a k i n d of skin diseas'

kula Aula?/ 'pleats' o r 'shearing on a dress

or curtain'

Voiceless dental vs. Voiceless velar

A/ - A/
Word i n i t i a l position

tabang /taban/ 'help'

kabang /kaban/ 'spotted'

talang /talan/ 'a k i n d o f game t o s s i n g coin*

kalang /kalan/ •to sing'

tapa /tapah/ 'to roast'

kapa /kapah/ 'axe *

 120

tapal /tapal/ 'protection' or 'shield'

kapal /kapal/ •thickness'

tula /tula?/ 'a n a t i v e recipe'

kula /kula?/ 'pleats' o r 'shears' (on dress

or curtain)

bati /bati?/ 'awake'

baki /baki?/ •a k i n d of

katas /katas/ •paper'

kakas /kakas/ •ringworm*

katu /katu?/ • ours'

kaku /kaku?/ •mine *

Word f i n a l position

kaput /kaput/ 'to hold*

kapuk /kapuk/ 'kapok'

laput /laput/ 'thin' ( o f sauce, starch, etc.)

lapuk /lapuk/ •crispiness'

silat /silat/ 'a moro s e l f - d e f e n c e dance s i m i l a r

to 'judo'

silak /silak/ •radiance•

Voiceless Velar vs. Voiceless glottal

A/ - /?/
 121

Word i n i t i a l ^position

kapa /kapah/ 'axe 1

apa /?apah/ 'thin wafer'

k a t as /katas/ •paper'

a t as /?atas/ 'will guarantee'

kila /kilah/ •to recognize'

ila /?ilah/ •birth mark'

kilu /kiluh/ 'kilo'

ilu /?i'luh/ 'orphan•

kug /kug/ •joy' or 'happiness'

m /?ug/ •possessiveness'

kulung /kiilun/ 'curl' or 'curly'

uluns: /?ulun/ 'pity'

Word m e d i a l position

makug /makug/ 'happy'

maug /ma?ug/ 'selfish'

nakilu /nakiluh/ 'was weighed'

nai l u /na?iluh/ •became orphan'

Word f i n a l position

bulak /bulak/ 'unripe'

bula /bula?/ 'bamboo split'

sapak /sapak/ 'an expression implying

"It i s just fitting and proper".'

sapa /sapa?/ 'lake•

 122

sipak /sipak/ 'to split (something) to pieces'

sipa /slpa?/ 'kick*
Voiced bilabial stop vs. Voiced labio-velar semiconsonant
/b/ - /w/

balu /baluh/ 'widow*

walu /waluh/ 'eight*

bay /bay/ •house 1

way_ /way/ 'none'

Word medial position
laba /la'bah/ •salable•
lawa /lawah/ •left* (hind, side, etc.)

labay /labay/ 'to pass by'

laway /laway/ •saliva 1

sabay /sabay/ •to go together*

saway /saway/ 'to give c r i t i c a l comment'

suba /suba?/ •inlet*

suwa /suwa?/ * oranges *
Word final position
lanab /lanab/ •delicious*, 'palatable'
lanaw /lanaw/ 'lake• or 'canal *

sabab /sabab/ 'cause' or 'because'

sabaw /s^ibaw/ 'soup*
 Voiced b i l a b i a l nasal vs. Voiced labio-velar semiconsonant

M/ /w/

Word initial position

may. /may/ •why'

way. /way/ 'none 1

Word m e d i a l position

kamas /kamas/ 'to scratch*

kawas /kawas/ •sudden and s t r o n g rain*

lamay /lamay/ •viand'

laway /laway/ •saliva'

Word final position

sanam /sanam/ *ant«

sanaw /sanaw/
'to grope'

sulam /sulam/
•sliver'
sulaw /sulaw/
*a b r a c e l e t made f r o m a s e a shell'
Voiced dental s t o p "\
Voiced dental nasal
/d/ -

Word initial position

daga /dagah/ •has r e a c h e d age o f p u b e r t y '

nag a /nagah/ 'dragon'

daug /da'?ug/ 'to w i n '

naug /na?ug/ 'to go down'

datu /datu?/ •daty* or a 'chieftain*

natu /natu?/ •ours'

 124

diyat /diyat/ 'to p a y f o r a damage done t o a

person'

niyat /niyat/ 'desire' or'ambition'

dunuk /dunuk/ •strong flow of water from the

mountain a f t e r raining'

nunuk /nunuk/ 'balete tree 1

Word final position

lagud /lagud/ •slime•

lagun /lagun/ •will look f o r '

sabud /sabud/ •to throw something i n spray*

sabun /sabun/ 'soap'

tagad /tagad/ •to wait'

tagan /tagan/ •will call'

tahud /tahud/ 'spines on t h e r o o s t e r ' s legs*,

tahun /tahun/ 'year*

tikud /tikud/ *heel»

tikun /tikun/ *gizzard*

tukud /tukud/ •to guess*

tukun /tukun/ 'to press down'

;uud /tu?ud/ •to do s o m e t h i n g deliberately'

"cuun /tu?un/ 'a w a g e r ' o r 'bet*

Voiced dental stop vs. Voiced dental lateral

/d/ - /!/
 125

Word I n i t i a l p o s i t i o n

daga /dagah/ •has r e a c h e d age o f puberty'

laga /lagan/ 'flame'

dagun /dagun/ 'will climb'

lagun /lagun/ 'will look for ...»

dasu /dasuh/ 'an e x p e n s i v e kind of fabric'

lasu /la'suh/ 'ribbon'

daya /daya?/ 'surface up'

laya /laya?/ •flat surface'

duhul /duhul/ 'end' or 'edge'

luhul /luhul/ •a w i d e p i e c e of c l o t h hand above

a bed t o keep d i r t from falling'

dupa /dupah/ 'the length from f i n g e r t i p t o

finger t i p when hands are stretched.'

lupa /lupah/ 'appearance'

Word f i n a l position

alud /?alud/ •cry baby' o r 'irritable*

alul /?alul/ 'raft'

luhud /luhud/ 'to kneel'

luhul /luhul/ 'wide p i e c e o f c l o t h hang above a

bed t o keep d i r t from falling.'

 126

sabud /sabud/ 'to throw something i n spray*

sabul /sabul/ 'dirty* or *sloven*

tukud /tukud/ *to guess *

tukul /tukul/ *hammer'

Voiced dental stop vs. Voiced high-front semiconsonant

/d/ - /y/

Word f i n a l position

anad /?anad/ *to learn*

anay /?anay/ 'termites'

buad /buad/ 'to d r y '

buay /buay/ 'rattan'

,7

labad /labad/
' t o wave s o m e t h i n g rapidly'
labay /labay/
•to pass by'

subad /subad/ 'mackerel•

subay . /subay/ 'it should be'

Voiced dental affricated stop vs. Voiced dental lateral

/ j / - /!/

Word i n i t i a l position

.jaga /jagah/ 'guard*

laga /lagah/ 'flame'

.jakat /jakat/ 'money p r t h i n g s g i v e n as tithe*

lakat /lakat/ 'mess* ( o f water, sticky substance,

 127

juba /juba?/ •divine curse 1

luba /luba?/ •much m o r e *

jukup /jukup/ •complete*

lukup /lukup/ * t o s c r u b mossy s u b s t a n c e on t h e

sides of boats.'

Voiced dental affricated stop v s . Voiced h i g h - f r o n t semiconsonant

/ j / - /y/

Word i n i t i a l position

jari /ja'rih/ *then . . . *

yari /yarih/ *here*

jabutan /jabutan/ 'filbrousj' ( o f seed after pulp has

been removed)

yabutan /yabutan/ 'was reached'

Voiced dental nasal vs. Voiced h i g h - f r o n t semiconsonant

/n/ - /y/

nari /na'rih/ •has b e e n p l a c e d here 1

yari /yarih/ 'here'

natud /natud/ •has b e e n pushed*

yatud /yatud/ •was b e i n g stared at*

Word m e d i a l position

anad /?anad/ *to learn*

ayad /?ayad/ 'to be c a r e f u l * or to

lana /lanah/ •oil*

laya /layah/ 'fishing net*

 128

lanu /lanu?/ 'fineness' or 'cleanliness'

layu /layu?/ 'farness'

luuna /lu?una/ 'to put i n . . . *

luuya /lu?uya/ 'ginger'

Word f i n a l position

indan /?indan/ •marker* or 'reminder'

inday /?inday/ (an e x p r e s s i o n of negation

implying-*I do n o t know')

katan /katan/ 'all*

katay /katay/ 'one who goes f r o m one h o u s e t

another - no f i x e d place to s

luun /lu?un/ 'content'

luuy /lu?uy/ 'pity' o r 'sweet* ( o f song)

pantan /pant an/ •wharf*

pantay /pant ay/ 'plain'

panun /panun/ •friend'

panuy /panuy/ •will relate' or 'will gossip*

Voiced dental lateral vs. Voiced high-front semiconsonant

/!/ - /y/

Word i n i t i a l position

labut /labut/ 'to serve'

yabut /yabut/ 'to reach f o r '

 129

lubu /lubuh/ •edible part inside a seacucumber*

yubu /yubuh/ *is having a cough 1

Word m e d i a l position

kalug /kalug/ *ascaris*

/kayug/
•thinness* or *slimness*

slla /silah/
»they»
/siyah/ •he* o r •she*

talum /talum/ * eggplant *

tayum /tayum/ *a v a r i e t y of sea u r c h i n with long

spines*

Word f i n a l position

a tal /?atal/ •lipstick*

a tay /?atay/ *heart*

kapal /kapal/ * thickness*

kapay /kapay/ *rudder *

sampal /sampal/ 'measles*

sampay /sampay/ * t o han£» (of clothes e s p e c i a l l y )

Voiced bilabial vs. Voiced dental stop

/b/ - /d/
Word i n i t i a l position

baus /baus/ 'to bargain'

daus /daus/ ' c l o s e t o * (some f a c i l i t i e s )

basu /basuh/ 'drinking glass'

dasu /dasuh/ *a k i n d o f c l o t h *
 130

bi /bih/ ' t o buy*

di /dih/ 'here'

bihun /bihun/ 'will buy 1

dihun /dihun/ •will put i t here'

bulang /bulan/ 'cockfight *

dulang /dulan/ 'a t r a y of food*

bung /bun/ *a k i n d of fish 1

dung /dun/ 'front part of a boat*

Word f i n a l position

lub /lub/ 'unredeemed'

lud / l u d / 'to come d o w n t o w n f r o m t h e rural

area'

/"

'fond o f (a kind of food)

3iiasub /masub/
'can be entered'
masud /masud/

taub /ta?ub/ 'high tide*

taud /ta?ud/ 'quantity'

Voiced bilabial vs. Voiced velar

/b/ - /g/

Word i n i t i a l position

baran /baran/ 'body'

garan /garan/ 'a k i n d of gun'

bata /bata?/ 'child'

gata /gata?/ 'coconut mild'

 131

baus /ba?us/ to bargain*

gaus /ga?us/ can afford to*

bula /bula?/ bamboo *

gula /gula?/ molasses *

butas /butas/ to make a hole*

gutas /gutas/ starving*

Word m e d i a l position

baba /baba?/ the lower part* ( o f something)

baga /baga?/ lung'

iban /?iban/ companion*

igan /?igan/ to remove' o r ' t o t r a n s f e r *

ibut /?ibut/ never forget t o *

igut /?igut/ back part of the chicken where

the o i l i s stored.*

laba /labah/ salable'

laga /la'gah/ flame'

labut /labut/ to serve'

lagut /lagut/ to stab*

sabu /sabun/ while *

sagu /saguh/ sap'

sabul /sabul/ dirty* or 'untidy*

sagul /sagul/ to mix things together*

(a kind of native recipe)
 132

Word f i n a l position

lab / l a b / •a d i s e a s e w h e r e i n the skin

becomes redish*

lag /lag/ 'to look f o r '

sub /sub/ 'fondness f o r ' (something t o eat)

sug /sug/ 'current'

sulab /sulab/ 'blade*

sulag /sulag/ 'piece*

Voiced dental vs. Voiced velar stop

/d/ - /g/

Word i n i t i a l position

dabul /dabul/ moro d a n c e * (stamping the feet)

gabul /gabul/ haziness *

daan /da?an/ old' (of things)

gaan /ga?an/ weight *

daran /daran/ often* or * frequent*

garan /garan/ a kind of fun*

daus /da?us/ close to' (facilities)

gaus /ga?us/ can affort t o do something'

Word f i n a l position

ad /?ad/ fence'

ag /?ag/ considerateness *

pad /pad/ instead'

ad /?ad/ fence'
 133

sua /sua/ 'to enter' o r 'a s p e c i a l kind

of comb f o r r e m o v i n g lice'

sug_ /sug/ 'current'

tuhud /tuhud/ •knee *

tuhug /tuhug/ •to string'

ud /?ud/ 'worm*

m Aug/ 'possessiveness'

Voiceless dental vs. Voiceless glottal

/s/ - A/

Word i n i t i a l position

sabal /sabal/ 'stoic'

habal /habal/ * news *

sabul /sabul/ •dirty* or *untidy*

habul /habul/ •blanket *

subu /subu?/ •to feed' (someone)

hubu /hubu?/ 'naked*

sug /sug/ •current•

hug /hug/ 'change' (money)

sula Aula?/ 'divine punishment'

hula /hula?/ 'place' or 'country*

sulat /sulat/ 'letter*

hulat /hulat/ •plug*

Word m e d i a l p o s i t i o n

basa /basa?/ *wet'

baha /bafta?/ *maybe'

 134

kasig /fcasig/ •a s p e c i e s of fish*

kahig /kahig/ •to remove something from'

lusa /lusa?/ 'to subside' (of diseas like

c h i c k e n pox)

luha /luha?/ 'tears' ( o f eyes)

pas a /pasah/ 'to sign' (of divorce)

paha /pahah/ •band* ( f o r the navel)

pisak /pisak/ •mud'

pihak /pihak/
•ancestry' or 'race'
Word final position

apas /?apas/
'to run after'
apa /?apah/

'ice cream cone' o r 'a k i n d o f

cookies'
a t as /?atas/
'to guarantee for*
at a /?atah/
'slave'

paus /pa?us/ 'to chew s u g a r cane*

pau /pa?uh/ 'the head part of something'

kakas /kakas/ 'ringworm'

kaka /kakah/ 'to make r h y m i c a l sound on t h e

side o f a boat w i t h a wand*

Voiced bilabial vs. Voiced dentalrMasal

/m/ - /n/
 135

Word i n i t i a l position

mabi /mabih/ 1
c a n be b o u g h t 1
ft

nabi /nabih/ 'prophet'

mag a /nag a h / * dawn 1

naga /nagah/ 'dragon'

makawa /makawa?/ 'can be taken'

nakawa /nakawa?/ 'was taken*

masakit /masakit/ 'painful*

nasakit /nasakit/ 'was sick'

maug /ma?ug/ 'selfish'

naug /na?ug/ 'to go down'

Word m e d i a l position

guma /gumah/ 'rubber'

guna /gunah/ 'has u s e f o r '

mamis /mamis/ 'a v a r i e t y of coconut*

manis /manis/ •charm' (when s m i l i n g , talking

etc.)

sumud /sumud/ 'will enter*

sunud /sunud/ *to follow*

uma /?umah/ *farm*

una /?unah/ •first*

Word f i n a l position
alum /?alum/ 'bruise'

alun /?alun/ 'wave' ( o f t h e s e a )

 136

Voiced bilabial v s . Voiced velar nasal

M - /*)/

man /man/ (a p a r t i c l e u s e d t o mark an

adjective)

ngan /nan/ 1
name»

manga /marjah/ (a p a r t i c l e marking a plural

nganga /natrjah/ 'to open wide t h e mouth'

Word m e d i a l position

mama /mama?/ 'beetle nut*

manga /mana?/ 'will g e t ' (something)

mami /mami?/ 'will select*

mangi /magi?/ •bad*

tuma /tumah/ *a specie of lice that are usually

found i n clothes *

tunga /turjah/ 'to s t i c k one's Those o u t o f t h e

water'

Word f i n a l position

itum /?itum/ 'black'

itung /?iturji/ •to count'

palam /palam/ 'a k i n d of native recipe'

palang /palan/ ' m u l t i c o l o r e d mat'

t a l am /talam/ 'tray'

talang /talan/ 'a game p l a y e d by t o s s i n g up 2 coins'

 137

tikam /tikam/ 'a s m a l l card with Chinese

character*

tikang /tikan/ •stop*

Voiced b i l a b i a l vs. Voiced velar nasal

/n/ - A,/
Word medial p o s i t i o n

mana /manah/ •to inherit 1

manga /marjah/ (a particle marking p l u r a l noun)

nana /nana?/ •pus 1

nang a / nana?/ •got' (something)

lanaw /lanaw/ •stagnant water'

. i
1 ang aw /larjaw/ •housefly'

manug /manug/ 'will sleep i n someone's house'

mangug /manug/ •to admire' o r 'to c o u r t '

suna /sunah/ 'to i n q u i r e i m m e d i a t e l y '

sung a /surjah/ 'to blow o n e ' s n o s e *

Word f i n a l position

agum /?agun/ •to feel l i k e ' ( d o i n g something)

agung /?agun/ •going'

kaban /kaban/ 'coffin'

kabang /kaban/ 'spotted'

sampan /sampan/ 'Chinese junk*

sampang /sampan/ ' t o meet'

 138

taban /taban/ •to r o b someone's property'

tabang /taban/ •help'

bagun /bagun/ •vine'

bagung /bagun/ 'a k i n d of vegetable*

lawan /lawan/ 'to play with a baby*

lawang /lawan/ *door*

Voiced high-back vs. Voiced high-front semiconsonant

M - /y/

Word m e d i a l p o s i t i o n

lawa /lawa?/ *spider*

laya /laya?/ *flat* (of plate)

7 pawas /pawas/ 'one who always lose something* or

'careless'

payas /payas/ »a s h e l l of a clam'

sawa /sawah/ •ppython'

>aya /sayah/ 'skirt'

Word f i n a l position

lanaw /lanaw/ 'stagnant water'

lanay /lanay/ 'satin cloth'

sabaw /s abaw/ 'soup*

sabay /sabay/ 'to go together*

sangbaw /sanbaw/ 'a s p e c i e of crab'

sangbay /sarjbay/ 'to give compliment'

 It has already been seen i n the above l i s t of minimal

pairs that the essence of a phoneme i s c o n t r a s t or distinctive*

ness. The consonant system of Tausug has been e s t a b l i s h e d by

reference to the environment of maximal c o n t r a s t . However, not

all oppositions b e t w e e n one consonant and another operate i n

all phonological environments. For instance, contrasts between

/d/ with e i t h e r /b/,< /g/, /n/, or /1/occur only i n word initial

and final p o s i t i o n s but not i n intervocalic position. In the

case of / d / v s . /y/, opposition seems t o be found only i n word

final p o s i t i o n , while contrast between / j / v s . / I / o r /y/ i s

observed to occur i n i n i t i a l position. The consonant /n/ con-

trasts with /n/ i n word m e d i a l as w e l l as final positions but

not initially.'

Except f o r the p a i r pakid /pSkid/ 'to the s i d e * v s . pakir

/p5kir/t'moslem religious leader , 1

contrast between /d/ and / r /

does not seem t o o c c u r i n p u r e Tausug words. Between vowels or

semivowels, the / r / consonant phoneme o c c u r s , but never /d/, so

that t h e two sounds could p o s s i b l y be i n t e r p r e t e d as variants of

the same phoneme, / d / . However, s i n c e "the borrowings from Arabic

i n t o Tausug" to quote the Ashleys', " a r e numerous enough and so

generally used by a l l T a u s u g s p e a k e r s as to warrant their accep-

t a n c e as a new Tausug p a t t e r n " ,< t h e t w o sounds a r e regarded as

independent phonemes. The i m p o r t a n c e of t h i s consideration i s seem

 140

i n t h e a t t i t u d e o f Tausug speakers t o t h e i n c o r r e c t use of

e i t h e r sound f o r the o t h e r i n c e r t a i n words. Using /d/

i n s t e a d of / r / i n words l i k e r u k u / r u k u h / ' p o s i t i o n f o r p r a y -

ing , 1
makru /makruh/ t a b o o , J a b u r / j a W r / 'book of Moses',
1 1

etc, would be f e l t t o be u n u s u a l . So i s t h e use of / r / f o r / d /

i n words such as p a h i d / p a h i d / ' t o wipe', l u b l d / l u b i d / 'rope',

l u h u d / l u h u d / ' t o k n e e l ' , bud /bud/ 'mountain*, e t c .

Subminimal p a i r s occur l i k e Jabur / j a b u r / 'book of Moses'

vs. sabud / s a b u d / ' t o throw something i n spray*, ruku /rukuh/

' p o s i t i o n f o r p r a y i n g * v s . dugu /duguh/ * c o r n e r * , murka /murka?/

* c u r s e * v s . sud kaw /sud kaw/ 'come i n * , e t c .

5.3.3 Allophonic Variation

A phoneme as shown i n p r e v i o u s d i s c u s s i o n s i s a group

of one o r more phone-types t h a t a r e p h o n e t i c a l l y s i m i l a r , a r e

i n complementary d i s t r i b u t i o n , and perform an i d e n t i c a l function.

These phone-types, o r a l l o p h o n e s by which term they a r e b e t t e r

known, a r e a c t u a l i z e d i n d i f f e r e n t ways a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r

v a r y i n g p h o n e t i c environments, so t h a t they a r e r e f e r r e d t o

sometimes as p o s i t i o n a l v a r i a n t s .

I n s y l l a b l e i n i t i a l , the v o i c e l e s s /p/ has a slightly

a s p i r a t e d r e l e a s e d allophone fP*] found i n words l i k e padpad

[»p»adp»adS] * i n s t e a d * o r *a k i n d o f m e d i c i n a l p l a n t * , p a s u

( [*p»asUh] * f l o w e r p o t * , k a p a l [*k»ap»alj ' t h i c k n e s s * , e t c . v

( I t s h o u l d be mentioned h e r e , however, t h a t i n word m e d i a l , a

 lfti;..

syllable initial Cp'] i s l e s s a s p i r a t e d than one i n word

initial position). An u n r e l e a s e d v a r i e t y i s found i n word

final p o s i t i o n as i n l a t a p [ ' l a t ' a p ] ' f l o o d ' a n d when

followed by a n o t h e r s t o p c o n s o n a n t a s i n dapdap [ ' d a p d a p ]

'fire tree'.

The voiceless d e n t a l s t o p / t / has a l l o p h o n e s [t»,t]

in much t h e same d i s t r i b u t i o n a l p a t t e r n as t h e s i m i l a r

allophones o f / p / i n words s u c h a s t a d t a d [ ' t ' a d t ' a d ] 'badly

mutilated', t a h u n ['t»ahUn] 'year', suntuk ['sunt'Uk] 'box',

kilat ['k'ilat] 'lightning', and k a t k a t [ ' k ' a t k ' a t ] '^saw'

(carpenter's tool).

The voiceless velar s t o p / k / has a s e t o f a l l o p h o n e s

parallel t o / p / a n d /t/i [k', k] i n similar distribution, i . e . ,

k i t a [ ' k ' i t ' a ? ] 'saw' ( v e r b ) , k a g k a g [ ' k ' a g k » q g ] ' t h i n n e s s ' ,

alak ['?alak] 'wine', a n d p i k p i k [ ' p ' i k p ' I k ] 'wing'. In the

company o f t h e f r o n t v o w e l , i t has b e e n o b s e r v e d that the

allophone [k»] i s
c o n s i d e r a b l y f r o n t e d , a n d w i t h t h e back v o w e l ,

it i s retracted.

Unlike the other three v o i c e l e s s stops [ p , t , k ] , the

voiceless glottal s t o p , / ? / , has t h r e e p r i n c i p a l allophones:

r e l e a s e d , which i s found i n prevocalic position like atup

[«?atUp] 'palm l e a f roofing', i l u ['?ilUh] 'orphan', ud [ ? u : d ]

'worm'; u n r e l e a s e d [ ? ] f o u n d i n words l i k e bata ['bata?] 'child',

 142

kita[ 'k'ita? 1 'saw' ( v e r b ) , t u k a [ 't»uka? ] ' b i l l * (of bird)

45
and a weakly but completely articulated glottal stop which

occurs only i n intervocalic p o s i t i o n as i n l i a n [ *li.?a ] n

•senile*, maas [»ma?as ] * o l d ' , oiun[ 'p'i?Un] 'will select'.

The voiced bilabial stop / b / has two principal

allophones,[ b ] which occurs i n p r e v o c a l i c and p o s t - v o c a l i c

position, i . e . , bata ['bata?] 'child' and sabab ['sabab]

'because* o r 'cause', a n d [ p ] Ttfhich o c c u r s only i n intervocalic

position like i n t h e e x a m p l e s u b a t [ '?uB a t 1 'medicine', sibu

[ *sipU?,] 'equal' and tubu ['tufjUh] 'tube' or 'sugarcane'

Like the voiced b i l a b i a l stop, the voiced dental stop

has two p o s i t i o n a l variants with similar distribution. Pre-

ceding and f o l l o w i n g a vowel sound t h e [ d ] v a r i a n t i s heard

as i n dahun ['dahUn] 'will carry* or 'leaf* a n d lubid[»lupid]

'rope'. When o c c u r i n g between vowels, t h e [ r ] v a r i a n t i s obser-

vable. This observation i s made evident when a n a f f i x i s

added t o t h e root words b e g i n n i n g o r ending i n /d/,i.e.,

pa dahun parahun [p'a'rahUn] ' w i l l send' o r ' w i l l have i t

carried', lubid. an lubiran [lu'giran] ' w i l l put a rope on*.

In t h e case o f t h e v o i c e d v e l a r stop /g/, there are

two main a l l o p h o n i c v a r i a n t s , [ g ] which occur i n prevocalic

and postvocalic positions like gad.ia [ ' g a d j a h ] 'elephant* and

tubig ['t'upigD ' w a t e r ' , a n d [y] , a v a r i a n t found only i n

intervocalic environment a s i n a g a r u n [ja'yarUh] 'will follow',

b u g a ['buya?] ' f e a r * , i g a n [ * ? i y n ~ | ' w i l l

a remove', e t c .

^ The i n t e r v o c a l i c ? i s s a i d t o be c o m p l e t e l y arti-
culated i n t h a t i t i n c l u d e s both t h e 'catch' (onset) as w e l l as t h e
 \143

A number of the c o n s o n a n t phonemes l i k e the vcoiced

affricated stop / j / , the voiceless fricative / s / , the voiced

nasals /mSh.n/, a n d the voiced lateral / l / have each only

one allophone.'

The voiceless fricative glottal /h/ has the voiceless

variant [ h ] when p r e c e d i n g or f o l l o w i n g a v o w e l as in habul

['hapUl] 'blanket*, !
lupa ['lupah] 'appearance',- and a voiced

variety [ h ] when f o u n d in intervocalic p o s i t i o n as in the

w o r d s a h a d [ *?ah<xd] 'Sunday'," b i h u n [»bihUn] ' w i l l buy',

duhal [['dunal] 'to hand o v e r 1

and u h a n [ '?uhccn] ' t o p u t a head

on'.

It has been observed that the dental-alveolar flap / r /

has three allophones.' Generally the [ r ] v a r i a n t may appear

as i n ruku [*ruk*uh] ' p o s i t i o n f o r p r a y i n g ' m a k r u ['mak»ruh]

•taboo'/ parang ['paran] 'grass',' and Jabur ['japUr] 'book of

Moses'. The second a l l o p h o n i c v a r i a n t of / r / , i . e . , [ u ] has

been observed to occur with the following nasal consonants,

£m.n],' t h e v o i c e d and v o i c e l e s s v e l a r stops / g / and /k/ as in

karna £ 'k^'ocma?] ' t h a t i s why',' w a r n a [ •wa.ma?] ' c o l o r , p a r m a n 1

['p'auman] 'message*, 1
surga Q'suaga?] 'heaven' and murka

['mu-xka?] ' c u r s e * . A third v a r i a n t o f / r / i s /!/ which freely

alternates with allophones [ r ] i n word final position, i.e.,^

pakir [*p'akir] ^ [ ' p a k l l ] and [u] i n words l i k e warna ['wcuna?]

^ ['walna?!,- s u r g a [ *su^ga?] [ *sulga?], :

etc. .

• r e l e a s e ' (code) a r t i c u l a t i o n , while the allophone i n

word i n i t i a l has o n l y t h e • r e l e a s e ' . The a l l o p h o n e i n w o r d
f i n a l has o n l y t h e ' c a t c h ' .
 144

The labiovelar semiconsonant /w/ has a l l o p h o n e s

w h i c h may he d e s c r i b e d a s h a v i n g more l i p r o u n d i n g i n t h e

case where t h e r e i s a preceding or following high-front .

vowel / l / and l e s s l i prounding following a low central

vowel / a / . A parallel case i s observable w i t h the f r o n t

semiconsonant /y/. There i s more l i p s p r e a d i n g when

preceding and f o l l o w i n g a front vowel and r e l a t i v e l y less

when p r e c e d i n g a n d f o l l o w i n g a low central vowel.

5.3.4 Distribution.

It i s clearly shown i n t h e l i s t of minimal pairs i n

section 5.3.2 that some consonants o f Tausug are unlimited

in their distribution, i . e . ,they occur i n i t i a l l y , medially,

and finally, while others are restricted only to certain

positions or environments. I n word initial and m e d i a l

position, a l lconsonants are without limitation of occurrence.

Except for/ j / , a l lconsonants appear i n word final position.

Every o n e o f t h e m e x c e p t w i t h /w/ and / y / s t r u c t u r e s w i t h any

of t h e t h r e e v o w e l phonemes o f t h e l a n g u a g e . The semiconsonant

/w/ structures only w i t h / i / and / a / , never w i t h /u/. On t h e

o t h e r hand, /y/ structures w i t h /VL/ a n d / a / , n e v e r w i t h /i/.

A sample listing o f words showing the possible distributions of

each of the consonant phonemes i s p r o v i d e d below:

Word i n i t i a l position

pila /pilah/ »how much*

 tinda /tihda/ 'store'

kalu /kSluh/ 'trouble' or 'quarrel'

ugab /?ugab/ 'coconut shell'

«

bisu /bisuh/ 'deaf

dagat /dagat/ 'sea

gabun /ga"bun/ 'clouds'

Juba /jftba?/ 'robe'

sulat /sftlat/ 'letter'

habal /h3bal/ 'news'

manis /ma"nis/ 'charm'

niyug /niyug/ 'coconut palm'

nguya /nuya?/ ' t o chew'

lupa /lupah/ 'appearance'

r a d .ju /rSdjuh/ 'radio'

yubus /yubus/ 'was consumed'

Word m e d i a l position

kapul /kapul/ ' t o embalm'

bata /b&ta?/ 'child'

lakit /lfikit/ 'rock'

taas /ta7as/ 'height'

tabu /tdbu?/ 'market'

lindung /lindun/ 'shade'

baga /bagah/ 'ember'

panji /panjih/ 'flag'

pans til /pansul/ 'faucet'
mahaba /mahaba/ •long'
kama /kamah/ 'mattress'
lanut /lanut/ 'abaca'
mangi MS.nl? / 'bad'
kalas /k£las/ 'pink'
laring /l&rin/ 'knife'
layu /lfiyu?/ ' fames s'
pawas /p5was/ 'one who always loses things'
final position
la tap /lfltap/ 'flood'
kilat Aflat/ 'lightning'
balik ASlik/ •return 1

layu /layu?/ ' fames s '

lei tab /k£tab/ •bible'
luhud /Iflhud/ •to kneel'
kabig /ka*big/ 'crooked'
gatas /gStas/ »milk«
kula /ktflah/ 'to bleach'
sanam /sanam/ •ant' • •
baran /baran/ 'body'
parang /pa"ran/ 'gross'
kappal /kappal/ 'boat'
gabur / j^tbur/ 'book of Moses•
sabaw /sa'baw/ •soup'
bay_ /bay/ •house 1
 Reduplicated words such as the following illustrate

"better the occurrence o f some c o n s o n a n t s i n w o r d i n i t i a l and

medial positions:

padpad /pSdpad/ 'instead 1

o r *a k i n d o f

medicinal plant'

tastas /tastas/ 'to untangle'

kabkab /k£bkab/ 'far'

lid-lid /?Ud?ud/ 'worm' (diminutive)

bug bug /bfigbug/ 'porridge'

dugdug /dagdug/ •to b o x someone o n t h e c h e s t

or back'

gisgis /gifsgis/ 'toothbrush'

jag jag /jagjag/ 'to d i s a r r a n g e ' or to 'scatter*

sadsad /saMsad/ 'to feel' or'to grope'

hud hud /hfldhud/ 'to pour something out on*

mugmug /mugmug/ 'to gargle'

naknak /naknak/ 'running c a r '

nganga /n&nah/ 'to open w i d e t h e mouth*

_l _u b_ l_ u_b /lflblub/ • t o w a l l o w i n t h e mud'

The following reversals also show i n i t i a l and f i n a l

distribution o f some c o n s o n a n t s l i k e :

padpad /p5dpad/ 'instead' or'a kind of medicinal

plant.

dapdap /d&pdap/ 'fire tree'

 149

tudtud /tudtud/ 'to push'

dutdut /dutdut/ 'to suck 1

kadkad /kadkad/ •to u n e a r t h '

dakdak /dakdak/ •to wash' (clothes)

ad-ad /?ad ?ad/

; 'sulking'

dada /da?da?/
'fence' (diminutive)

bukbuk /bukbuk/
•termite'
kubkub /kubkub/ 'to b i t e something' (fruit)

dubdub /dubdub/ 'grumbling'

budbud /budbud/ •miniature mountain*

gasgas /gasgas/ •faded*

sagsag /sagsag/ *will be t o r n apart'

sapsap /sapsap/ *to t r i m rough edges'

paspas /paspas/ 'to shake off dirt from'

mugmug /mugmug/ 'to gurgle'

gumgum /gumgum/ 'to gurgle'

nisnis /nisnis/ 'becoming thin*

sin-sin /sinsin/ 'money' (dimunitive)

ngit-ngit /git-rjit/ 'always smiling'

tingting /tintin/ 'ringing of the bell'

lublub /lublub/ •to wallow i n t h e mud'

bulbul /bulbul/ 'hair o f t h e body'

 5.3.5 Consonant C l u s t e r s

A c l u s t e r as d e f i n e d by A r c h i b a l d H i l l i s a sequence

of two o r m o r e phonemes o f t h e same class without the inter-

v e n t i o n o f a phoneme of another class. A consonant cluster

is, t h e r e f o r e , ' a sequence o f two o r more c o n s o n a n t s without

a vowel o r j u n c t u r e phoneme intervening.

With reference to the permitted syllable patterns of

T a u s u g d i s c u s s e d i n s e c t i o n 4, t h e language has no consonant

clusters s i n c e consonant phonemes o c c u r only singly i n initial

and final syllable positions. Groupings o f c o n s o n a n t s may be

said t o occur only aacross syllable boundaries o r morpheme

boundaries, b u t t h e y a r e t o be i n t e r p r e t e d a s s e q u e n c e s o f two

consonants which divide into the preceding and following

syllables, although i n some cases t h e r e seem t o be a l o s s of

syllable divisions between consonants, t h u s m a k i n g them seem-

ingly appear l i k e real clusters as i n t h e word iklug /?>fklug/

'egg ,' i s k u l
1
/?'f'Skul/ ' s c h o o l ' m a k r u / m a ' k r u h / ' t a b o o , e t c .
1

Among t h e p o s s i b l e g r o u p i n g s o f consonants across syllable

boundaries, -
the following has been observed i n Tausug:

/-•ptr-/ taptap /tdptap/ 'always'

/-pkr-/ kupkup /kftpkup/ 'to hold tight'

/-p?-/ ap-ap /?5p?ap/ 'a s k i n diseas

scientifically

known as r'inea

flava'
 151

/-Pd-/ sapda /sapdahV 'to curse*

/-pg-/ /pugpug/ 'soften by too much pressure'
/-ps-/ supsup /supsup/ 'to suck'
/-tp-/ ;c: ..putput /putput/ • the sound of a machine'
(of boat)
/-tt-/ patta / pattaf/ ' picture'
/-tk-/ katkat /katkat/ •saw*
/-tw bitbit /bi'tbit/ 'to carry with the hand*
/-td-/ dutdut /dutdut/ 'to suck*
/-ts-; sutsut /sutsut/ ' a way of calling somebody?
attention*
/-tn-/ ngitngit /nftnit/ 'always smiling'
/-tl-/ sutla /sutlah' / 'silk'
/-kp-/ pikpik /pikpik/ 'wing'
/-kt-/ tiktik /tiktik/ 'to strike something with...*
/-kk-/ maakkal /matJ&kal/ 'wise *
/-kb-/ bukbuk /bukbuk/ 'termite'
/-kd-/ dakdak /dakdak/ 'to wash 1

/-kg-/ /hsgfei-k/ 1
todf tiff'

/-ks-/ saksl /saksi?'/ 'witness»

/-kh-/ hikhik /h£khik/ •small pieces of cloth left

after cutting a dcess'
/-km-/ takmayun' /takmayun/'help a person by holding
him on the elbow,arms,etc.
/-kn-/ sukna /sukna?/ 'curse'
/-kl-/ lukluk /lukluk/ 'owl*

nagtata /nagta?ta?/ •walking on something

with bare feet'

/-?w magkaka /magka?ka?/ • t o g e t some t h i n g s habitually'

/-?d-/ dada /datdar/ 'to sulk'

/-?s-/ gaga /§a?ga?/ •to t a l k i n anger»

/-?s-/ nagsasa /nagsa?sa?/ •committing mistake d: I i b j j r v " e

:

deliberately*

/-?n-/ kanu /ka'?nuh/ 'when'

/-bt-/ sabtu /sabtu?/ 'Saturday*

/-bk-/ kabkab /kabkab/ ' fan*

/-bb-/ abbuhan //abbuhan/ 'proud*

/-bj-/ abjan //abjan/ 'to mind'

/-bs-/ magslbsib /magsibsib/ 'peeping'

/bh-/ hJibhub /hubhub / 'influenza'

/-bl-/ lublub /lublub/ 'to wallow'

/-dp-/ padpad /padpad/ 'instead'or'a kind of

medicinal plant'

/dt-/ tadtad /tadtad/ •badly, mutilated---- 1

/-dW kadkad /kadkad/ 'to unearth'

/-d?-/ ad-ad //ad?ad/ •fence'(diminutive)

/-db-/ badbad /badbad/ •raveled 1

/-dd-/ addun //addun/ •the m i x i n g of ingredients'

/-dg-/ / gi'dgid/ 'to r u b 1

/-dj-/ /gadjah/ • elephant'

/-ds-/ sadsad /sadsad/ 'to grope f o r something 1

 153

/-dh-/ hudhud /hudhud/ to pour something out on'

/-dl-/ adlaw /?adlaw/ day'

/-SP-/ tug pa /tugpa?/ to jump•

/-gt-/ magtu /magtu?/ is leaking'

/-gk-/ nagkugkug /nagkugkug/ was admiring at*

mag-ad /mag?ad/ will put a fence'

/-gj-/ n a g .1an.il /nagjanjl?/ promised'

/-gs-/ nagsihil /nagsihil/ announcement o f a man's

intention t o marry a girl'

/-gh-/ taghuy /taghuy/ whistle'

/-gm-/ mugmug /mugmug/ to gurgle'

/-gn-/ tagna /tagna?/ to start'

/-gn-/ pagnganan /f»af n a n a n / 'named '

/-gb-/ tigbas /tigbas/ 'to s t a b w i t h a b l a d e d weapon*

/-gd-/ sagda /sagdah/ ' t o c o m m e n t o n . . .'

/-ss-/ sagga /sagga?/ 'quarrel* o r 'misunderstanding'

/-si-/ sigla /sigla?/ 'fastness'

/-gw-/ sagwa /sagwaJ?/ 'but'

/-sp-/ naspasan /pyaspasan/ 'hurried i t up'

/-st-/ yastulan /yastulan/ 'was angry*

/-sk-/ iskutan /?iskutan/ 'selfish'

 /

154 ;

/-sb-/ tasbi /tasbih/ •beads u s e d when

praying'(moslem rosary)

/-sg-/ gisgis /gfsgis/ •toothbrush'

/-ss./ bassa /bjfssah/ •to read'

/-sh-/ hashas /ha"shas/ 'snake* (diminutive)

/-sn-/ nisnls /nfsnis/ 'becoming thin'

/ - s i - / maaslag /ma?5slag/ •large'

/-mp-»/. ampun /?5mpun/ *forgiveness'

/-ait-/ tumtum /tumtum/ 'to remember'

/-kn-/ sukna /sukna?/ *curse *

/-kl-/ lukluk /lfikluk/ 'owl*

/-?t-/ nagtata /nagta">?ta?/ •was t a m p e r i n g something

with one's feet'

/-?k-/ magkaka /magk5?kat/ •to get something

habitually'

/-?*W dada /dStfda?/ •sulking•

/-?g-/ gaga /gaV?ga?/ 'to speak t o someone

sarcastically i n anger'

/-?s-/ nagsasa /nags5?sa?/ •has p e r m i t t e d m i s t a k e '

/-?n-/ kanu /kaV?nuh' / 'when 1

/-bt-/ sabtu /satotu?/ 'Saturday*

/-bk-/ kabkab /kabkab/ 'fan'

/-bb-/ abbuhan /?abbl5han/ 'proud *

/-bj-/ ab j a n /?3bjan/ •to mind'

/-bs-/ m a g s l b s i b /mags-fbsib/ 'peeping'

/-bh-/ hubhub /hflbhub/ 1

influenza•
 155

/-bl-/ lublub /lublub/ •to w a l l o w *

/-dp-/ padpad /pSdpad/ 'instead' or'a kind of

medicinal plant 1

/-dt-/ tadtad /ta*dtad/ •badly mutilated'

/-dk-/ kadkad /kSdkad/ 'to unearth'

/-a?-/ ad-ad /?aa?ad/ 'fence (diminutive)

/-ab-/ badbad /bddbad/ •raveled *

/-dd-/ addun /?3ddun/ •the m i x i n g o f a cake*

/-dg-/ gidgid /gfdgid/ •to r u b 1

/-dj-/ gad j a /g5d j a h / •elephant'

/-ds-/ sadsad /sacLsad/ •to feel something o r

'to grope f o r 1

/-mk-/ kumkum /kdmkum/ •to h o l d something thightly

inside the f i s t 1

/-mb-/ lambung /lambun/ 'shadow 1

/-ma-/ dumdum /dumdum/ 'every night'

/-mg-/ gumgum /gumgum/ •to gurgle*

/-ms-/ sumsuman /sumsuman/ •meat 1

o r 'any f o o d that

goes w i t h wine'

/-mm-/ malamma /mal5mma/ •weak'

/-ml-/ lumlumun /lumlumun/ 'to swallow'

/-mr-/ samra /samrah/ 'a n a t i v e blouse worn

ordinarily b y m o s l e m women

/-np-/ punpun /punpun/ 'sea worm u s e a s bait'

/-nt-/ suntuk /suntuk/ 'to box'

 '156

/-nk-/ kinkin /fcfnkin/ •to raise s k i r t u p when

wading i n the s e a 1

/-rib-/ bianban /bianban/ 'a n a t i v e f o o d made from

©assava'

/-nd-/ masandal /masandal/ • enduring'

/-nj-/ jamji /janji?/ •promise'

/-ns-/ lansang /lansarj;.;/ •nail»

/-rm-/ bunnal /btinnal/ •It i s true 1

/-ny-/ s inyal /slnyal/ 'signal•

/-np-/ hangpu /hatjpu?/ •ten'

/-nt-/ malangtu /mal^ijtuh/ •the t a s t e o f cassava when

it has been d r i e d of i t s

juice

/-nk-/ tangkay / tS-nkay/ •handle'

/-nb-/ sangbay /s^nbay/ 'to g i v e a d m i r i n g comments'

/-nj-/ pang j u r i /panjurih/ •something uset o teasing

a person 1

/-ns-/ angsa /?ansa?/ • swan•

/-nh-/ manghud /manhud/ •younger b r o t h e r o r s i s t e r 1

/-nn/- bangngas /bannas/ 'a k i n d of crab usedas

medicine f o r asthma'

/-nl-/ sianglag /syanlag/ 'tapioca'

/-lp-/ palpal /palpal/ 'deaf

/-It-/ sultan /saltan/ 'sultan' o r 'king*

/-lk- mulka .mfllka?/ 'curse»

 157

/-l?/ ul-ul /?u-l?ul/ •the p a i n f e l t f r o m wound*

/-lb-/ salban /s51ban/ 'thread 1

/-Id-/ diuldulan /dyuldulan/ 'has b e e n pampered'by

allowing h e r t o do what

she likes'

/-lg-/ sulga /sfllga?/ 'heaven *

/-Is-/ palsu /paUsuh/ 'fake'

/-Un-/ kulma /kulma?/ 'a k i n d . o f n a t i v e recipe*

/-In-/ walha /w3lna?/ 'color'

/ - l l - / gallang /gSllan/ 'bracelet•

/-rk-/ murka /mllrka?/ 'curs e 1

/-rs-/ surga /sdrga?/ •heaven 1

/-rm-/ pafman / pa^rman/ •message* or 'word of God'

/-m-/ karna /karna?/ •that i s why'

/-yt-/ mayta /mdyta?/ 'why'

/-hk-/ taykud /taykud/ 'back«

/-yb-/ baybay /baybaty/ 'miniature house or 'toy

house 1

/-is-/ pajigu /pdygu?/ 'to take a bath'

/ - y s - / mays a /maysah/ 'black peper'

/-yh-/ bauhu /bdyhu?/ •face'

/-ym-/ it'ayma /tayma?/ 'to accept• .

/-yn-/ tuyna /tdyna?/ •immediately'

 158.

/-pd-/ sapda /sapdah/ 'curse'

/-pg-/ pugpug /pugpug/ 'soften by t o o much

pressure*

/-ps-/ supsup /slips up/ 'to suck'

/-tp-/ putput /pfttput/ •the sound o f a machine

(of boat)

/-tt-/ patta /patta?/ •picture'

/-tk-/ katkat /katkat/ 'waw' (carpenter's tool)

/-tb-/ bitbit /bfitbit/ •to c a r r y ' (with the hand)

/-td-/ dutdut /dfltdut/ 'to suck*

/-ts-/ sutsut /stltSUt/ •a w a y of c a l l i n g somebody's

attention'

/-tn-/ ngitngit /n£tnit/ •always smiling'

/-tl-/ sut l a /sfltla?/ 'silk'

'-kp-/ pikpik /pfkpik/ •wing'

/-kt-/ 'tiktik /tiktik/ 'to s t r i k e something with'

/-kk-/ maakkal /ma?akkal/ 'wise•

/-kb-/ bukbuk /bukbuk/ 'termite'

/-kd-/ dakdak /dakdak/ 'to w a s h ' (clothes)

/-kg-/ hagikgik /hagfkgik/ 'dandruff

/-ks-/ saksi /s5ksi?/ •witness'

/-kh-/ hikhik /hfkhik/ 'small pieces of clothes

left after cutting a dress'

/-km-/ takmayun /takmayun/ 'help someone by allowing

her to hold on t o one's

arms '
/-yl-/ nagpaylu /nagpayluh/ •denied 1

/-yr-/ wayruun /wayrftTun/ 'There i s none .1

/-wp-/ sawpama /sawp5maK/ •to suppose'

/-wk-/ sawkat /sawkat/ 'just because'

/-wb-/ tawbat /taVbat/ •repentance'

/-VTS-/ kawsun /kawsun/ •brown'

/ - S h - / kawhaan /kawhaV?an/ 'twenty'

/-wa-/ s a w n u /sSwnu?/ 'immediately attended t o '

/-va-/ bawlu /bawluh/ 'a n a t i v e cake'

/ - W W - / sawwal /sa*wwal/ \trousers'

 6. SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES

Up t o t h i s point discussions o f t h e sound system of

T a u s u g h a s b e e n made o n t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t the stream of

speech i s divided into segments, each of which c a n be a s -

signed t o a g i v e n phoneme. In this connection, therefore,

the term 'segmental phoneme' h a s b e e n u s e d when referring

to the relevant units of speech which seem t o f o l l o w each

other i n linear sequence.

Speech, on t h e whole, i s , however, a continuum, not

a series of individual sounds p l a c e d a l o n g s i d e each other

like the letters i n a printed sentence s u c h as t h o s e found

in this page. The f u n c t i o n a l v a l u e o f t h e phonemes o f a

language i s realized only as a r e s u l t of their relationship

to one a n o t h e r and b e c a u s e of c e r t a i n important features of

speech which do n o t emerge u n t i l a purposeful contrast i s

made b e t w e e n m e a n i n g f u l u t t e r a n c e s . R e f e r e n c e i s made t o t h e

variables of speech which extend c l e a r l y over a series of

several segmental groupings which a r e known l i n g u i s t i c a l l y as

suprasegmental features. They a r e c a l l e d by t h i s name because

they seem t o be l i k e an extra layer of structure superimposed

on t h e s e g m e n t a l phonemes. A synonymous t e r m w h i c h some lin-

guists u s e when r e f e r r i n g t o suprasegmental features i s

LLC.

prosodic f e a t u r e s . -*
LLC
-'The u s e o f ' s u p r a s e g m e n t a l f e a t u r e s ' feather t h a n ' p r o -
sodic features' i n t h i s analysis i s just a matter of choice. For
p u r p o s e o f p a r a l l e l i s m w i t h t h e t e r m ' s e g m e n t a l ' phonemes, t h e
use o f suprasegmental' i s p r e f e r r e d here.
 161

The s u p r a s e g m e n t a l f e a t u r e s include variables of stress,

pitch, length, and juncture. Any complete u t t e r a n c e , monosyl-

labic o r p o l y s y l l a b i c , has these f e a t u r e s of speech. I t should

be made c l e a r h e r e , h o w e v e r , 1
that the absolute measurements o f

these features are less useful than an assessment of the rela-

tive f u n c t i o n o f each o f them. For instance, i ti s irrelevant

to attempt t o measure t h e p r e c i s e absolute pitch since linguis-

tically i t i s less important than the p i t c h r e l a t i o n s h i p s . In

the following analysis of the suprasegmental features of Tausug,

therefore, the notation will present only functional categories

abstracted from concrete expressions.

6.1 Stress

In this analysis, stress (which i s better k n o w n t o many

as accent) refers to the intensity or significant force or loud-

ness with which a s y l l a b l e i s a r t i c u l a t e d within an utterance. A

stressed sound or syllable i s said to involve relatively great

effort and muscular energy, r e s u l t i n g i n great i n t e n s i t y and i s

thus perceived by t h e l i s t e n e r as greater loudness.

T h e r e a r e two d i s t i n c t i v e degrees of stress recognizable

in Tausug: the primary stress which i s the stronger i s marked by

a superior vertical tick, ['] , on t h e phonetic level and by a n

acute accent, /'/» on t h e phonemic l e v e l , and t h e secondary o r

weak s t r e s s w h i c h i s left unmarked. Phonetically,the primary

stress i s marked immediately preceding the stressed syllable as

 162

as i n sabal *sa(3al 'stoic ; 1

p h o n e m i c a l l y , however, the stress

mark i s p l a c e d j u s t above t h e vowel phoneme o f t h e s t r e s s e d

syllable.' Thus, t h e word s a b a l i s phonemically transcribed

as /sabal/.

The two degrees of stress just mentioned are non-contras-

tive i n t h e sense t h a t t h e y do n o t c o n t r a s t w i t h each other.

Ifoonly one o f them o c c u r s (as i n a l lmonosyllabic words), i t

is always the primary stress. When b o t h , however, occurs i n

words o f more t h a n one s y l l a b l e , the stronger stress i s always

observed to fall on t h e penultimate (second to the last) syllable.''

It i s predictable that the syllable which follows and those which

may precede the stressed syllable h a v e t h e weak s t r e s s . The

very fact of the automatic occurrence of stress accounts f o r

its non-phonemic s t a t u s i n t h e language. And f o r s t r e s s t o be

phonemic, a c c o r d i n g t o H a l l , t h e r e should b e " c o n t r a s t s based on

48
the p o s i t i o n of the intensity". This i s not so i n Tausug. At'

times some i n d i v i d u a l w o r d s may seem t o have t h e primary stress

on t h e p e n u l t and sometimes on t h e u l t i m a . T h i s does n o t , however,

change t h e meaning o f words.

The predictability of the occurrence of stress i n the

dialect o f STP s e r v e s r a t h e r as a marker t o i n d i c a t e word boundary.

Each time a heavy s t r e s s i s heard one c a n a n t i c i p a t e t h a t t h e word

is'" going t o end i n t h e n e x t syllable.

— 4 7

This observation i s true of the dialect of the investiga-

tor. O t h e r d i a l e c t s may h a v e d i f f e r e n t s t r e s s p a t t e r n l i k e t h e
d i a l e c t o f Parang which a c c o r d i n g t o t h e A s h l e y ' s has t h e s t r e s s
p r e d i c t a b l y f a l l i n g o n t h e l a s t s y l l a b l e o f a w o r d . ( o p . c i t . ,.p.l4)
^ H a l l , op. c i t . p. 109.
8
 163

In the normal pronunciation of polysyllabic Tausug

words, t h e r e f o r e , i t c a n be s a i d t h a t there i s an inherent

stress pattern i n that one a n d t h e same s y l l a b l e , i.e., the

penult, always has t h e stronger stress than the other or

others. A rough representation of this s t r e s s p a t t e r n may be

/ x / i n w h i c h /ity r e p r e s e n t s the stressed syllable and / x /

the unstressed one. This basic stress pattern c a n be b e t t e r

illustrated and c o n s i s t e n t l y observed i n t h e f o l l o w i n g words

which are derived f o r m s o f a s i n g l e b a s e morpheme.

Base word: d a g a n /da"gan/ ' t o r u n 1

nagdagan /nagd^gan/ ' r a n 1

n a g d a r a g a n / n a g d a r a g a n / 'was running 1

nagdaganan / nagdaganan/ ' r a n away'

nagdagandaganan /nagdagandag&nan/ 'has b e e n

running & running' (more o f a

game)

In s p i t e of a f f i x a t i o n , i t i s obvious i n t h e examples

given above t h a t the basic p a t t e r n /*' x / r e m a i n s constant,

although a change of syllable where t h e primary stress £alls

and an a d d i t i o n of unstressed syllables preceding the stressed

one a r e e v i d e n t .

6.2 Pitch and I n t o n a t i o n

Closely allied t o s t r e s s i s one o f t h e o t h e r important

suprasegmental features of an utterance, pitch. Normally, i n

Tausug, t h e highest pitch falls on t h e s y l l a b l e with primary

stress. Nevertheless, although this kind of correlation

 164

beti\reen p i t c h and stress i s common, i t i s n o t - according to

Hill - a b s o l u t e , so that i t remains necessary to treat each

of them independently.^

Pitch i s o f t e n d e s c r i b e d i n terms of high or low tones

which are p r o d u c e d by v a r y i n g the rapidity of the v i b r a t i o n of

the v o c a l bands. I t i s - according.to Mario Pei-"the frequency

of M ' b r a t i o n i n the nmsical sound of the voice"?? 0

Pitch has t o be thought of as relative. Each individual

person has a characteristic pitch range f o r h i s v o i c e . However,

the relative levels of p i t c h are found t o be more o r less

parallel f o r a l l speakers. As there are varieties i n the range

of pitch, there are also varieties within certain pitch ranges.

However, o n l y r e l a t i v e p i t c h and changes in pitch that influence

meaning are considered important here.

Four significant levels of p i t c h are recognizable in

Tausug. They can be most s i m p l y represented i f one imagines

a four-line s t a f f whose l i n e s a r e n u m b e r e d one to four (1-4)

from the b o t t o m up, i . e . , number 1 r e p r e s e n t s the lowest pitch

level,' 2 - normal,3 - h i g h , and 4 - extra high. These numbers

placed above the s e g m e n t a l phonemes a r e used i n phonemic trans-

cription to indicate as s i m p l y and unambiguously as possible the

span covered by each p i t c h level. Hence, the examples:

^Hlll, 1
op. c i t . , p. 2?.

5°Pei,' o p . c i t . , p. 208.
 165

mallngkat /malinfeat/ 'beautiful*

Mallngkat i n badju /malinkat i n BacLju?/

(beautiful the dress) 'The dress i s b e a u t i f u l ' .

In normal speech such as the above examples, one seldom

says an utterance without any change i n p i t c h . The s h i f t i n

pitch i s p r i n c i p a l l y among the f i r s t three levels. 1

The extra

high p i t c h , l e v e l 4, Is usually reserved f o r emphatic and emo-

t i o n a l speech, so that the above examples when expressed em-

p h a t i c a l l y w i l l have the / 2 4 l / pitch pattern Instead of /231/v

Pitch i s phonemic i n Tausug. Although i t does not

change the inherent or r e f e r e n t i a l meaning of a word, l t gives

added meaning usually i d e n t i f i e d with attitude and emotion;*

The example mallngkat 'beautiful' which normally has the /231/

pitch pattern when expressed with the /121/ pattern, that i s ,

/malinia^/ would mean 'beautiful and there i s no doubt about

it*. This may be an answer to a person questioning or arguing

about the beauty of some persons or things.

The contrastive significance of the r e l a t i v e p i t c h

l e v e l s of Tausug are best analyzed as belonging to a larger

meaningful l i n g u i s t i c unit, rather than just to a single word.

It i s , therefore, assumed here that the pitch l e v e l s are

arranged i n contours which are combined with the terminal

junctures (which w i l l be discussed i n section 6.4) to form what

may be c a l l e d intonation patterns.

 166.

I n t o n a t i o n as defined by P i k e , *constitutes the

abstracted characteristic sentence melodies which every

sentence, every word, and every s y l l a b l e i s g i v e n when i t

is spoken'. ' I ti s the r i s e and f a l l i n pitch of the speak-

ing voice, the modulation of voice, the tone q u a l i t y and

melody of speech particularly Mhen u s e d t o make syntactical

and emotional d i s t i n c t i o n ' according t o Blochand Trager^

No a t t e m p t i s made h e r e to provide a f u l l analysis of

the intonation contours of Tausug, but i t i s f e l t desirable to

give enough i n f o r m a t i o n of the role of i n t o n a t i o n and the range

of the contour types i n the language. T h e s i m p l e s t way t o do

this i s to discuss the intonational possibilities of a fexf

ordinary sentences such as:

1. Yari h i Inda. /yari h i ?inda?/

(here (article) Inda) "Inda i s here'

2. P a k a i n kaw? / p a k a ? i n kaw/

(where g o i n g you)'Where a r e you g o i n g ? '

In normal Tausug speech, a mat1fcer-of-fact statement

like, f o r instance, the f i r s t sentence

2 3 1
/yari h i?mda? I / 'Inda i s here'

has a /2 3 1 I / i n t o n a t i o n pattern. The v o i c e starts from the

average normal pitch (2), g o e s u p t o t h e h i g h p i t c h level (3)

on the second to the last syllable, and f i n a l l y drops o f f to the

'Pel, op. c i t . p. 131.

 167

low pitch (1) on t h e l a s t syllable. This type of intonation

contour signifies finality of thought and i s , t h e r e f o r e , the

most commonly h e a r d i n ordinary conversation. I t i s referred

to as f a l l i n g i n t o n a t i o n and has a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c fall of the

voice at the very end o f t h e p a t t e r n , g r a p h i c a l l y represented

above as /!/.

When t h e v o i c e i s sustained on p i t c h level three i n

the above g i v e n sentence, a non-final intonation pattern results,

i.e., / 2 3~*/:

/yari h i?inda?/ 'Inda i s here', (and so . . .)

(but . . ., e t c . )

This i s known a s ' s u s t a i n e d i n t o n a t i o n , /*"*/, w h i c h i s normal

at t h e end o f a n m e d i a l breath group, but not i n utterance-

final position. This type of intonation gives the l i s t e n e r a

feeling of incompleteness, suspense,- and sometimes hesitation.

T h e same s e n t e n c e without changing a n y w o r d may be

converted i n t o a q u e s t i o n by making a marked rise i n pitch at

the end o f t h e f i n a l syllable, thus:

/yari h i inc?a?/f / 'Is Inda here?'

This i s r e f e r r e d t o as the r i s i n g i n t o n a t i o n , / t / , and i s

commonly h e a r d with questions answerable by 'yes o r 'no*, a

geniune question i n particular needing an answer. I f the

speaker needs only c o n f i r m a t i o n frmm t h e l i s t e n e r , the/-232f/

intonation contour i s likely t o be h e a r d , i . e . :

 1.68

2 3 1
/yari hi Inda?t/

•Is Inda here?* ( I j u s t w a n t t o make sure)

The speaker p r o b a b l y has already a notion that Inda is around,

but h e j j u s t wants t o make s u r e o r just wants assurance.

When t h e s p e a k e r a s k s the above q u e s t i o n w i t h surprise

or fear, t h e /2 4 t / o r t h e /Z k Z f/ pattern i s heard i n place

of /2 3 t / o r / 2 3 2 t / .

The second sentence which i s a question initiated by an

interrogative word has n o r m a l l y t h e /2 3 1 \ / intonation pattern:

•2 31 ,52
/paka?in kaw I / 'Where a r e y o u going? *

like any ordinary matter-of-fact sentence. A speaker,' however,

who seems t o be curious or interested as t o where a person i s

really bound f o r .because he i s probably interested to join him

or send something through him, or f o r any other similar reason,

would likely used a /3 1 21/ intonation contour:

/iaka?in kawty Where a r e you going?'

But when a s p e a k e r w o u l d like to reiterate the question because

t h e a n s w e r was not clear t o him, he will use a / l 3 t/ intona-

tion pattern"
1 3 .
/Paka?in kaw T/ "Where d i d y o u say you are

going 1

Any of the i n t o n a t i o n p a t t e r n s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e may have

'pitch-displacement depending on what word the speaker would like

. 52j n i g r e e t i n g , among a c q u a i n t a n c e s , t h e a b o v e
c a s u a

s e n t e n c e w i t h t h e f a l l i n g i n t o n a t i o n /Z 3 I V i s o f t e n h e a r d .
I t i s e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e E n g l i s h ' H i ' o r 'How a r e y o u ? ' . A
T a u s u g s p e a k e r when a s k i n g t h e q u e s t i o n d o e s n o t mean t o be
nosy about other people's b u s i n e s s .
 169

t o c a l l t h e a t t e n t i o n of h i s l i s t e n e r t o . By pitch-displacement

i s meant t h e t r a n s f e r e n c e of the h i g h e s t p i t c h of a sentence t o

some s y l l a b l e o t h e r t h a n the one on which i t i s most customary

f o r the p i t c h t o be h i g h e s t . T h i s means t h a t the p i t c h p r o m i -

nence i n a g i v e n sentence i s a l w a y s on t h e s y l l a b l e on which

t h e r e i s a p o t e n t i a l change of p i t c h .

From the p r e c e d i n g d i s c u s s i o n s i t i s c l e a r t h a t sentences

i t j Tausug may be spoken w i t h s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t c o n t o u r s , each of

w h i c h has an i d e n t i f i a b l e range o f semantic v a l u e s . I n some

c a s e s the c o n t o u r s and t h e i r meanings d i f f e r s t r i k i n g l y so t h a t

they can be c o n v e n i e n t l y a r r a n g e d in pairs. As such, i n t o n a t i o n

i s s a i d t o have c o n t r a s t i v e s i g n i g i c a n c e i n Tausug.

6•3 Length

A n o t h e r f a c t o r of speech, c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s t r e s s

and p i t c h ( i n t h a t t h e y a l l c o n t r i b u t e t o make a sound or

s y l l a b l e p r o m i n e n t ) i s l e n g t h , w h i c h i s sometimes r e f e r r e d t o

o r equated w i t h • d u r a t i o n 1
or •quantity '. 1
I t i s d e f i n e d as the

r e l a t i v e amount of t i m e d u r i n g w h i c h the v o c a l organs s t a y i n

the p o s i t i o n r e q u i r e d f o r a r t i c u l a t i o n i n q u e s t i o n .

I n Tausug, r e l a t i v e d i f f e r e n c e s i n vowel l e n g t h a r e

observable i n s t r e s s e d and u n s t r e s s e d s y l l a b l e s . Normally,

vowels i n s t r e s s e d s y l l a b l e s a r e r e l a t i v e l y l o n g e r than those

i n unstressed syllables.- T h i s i s c l e a r l y shown i n r e d u p l i c a t e d

forms l i s t e d below where the r e l a t i v e l y l o n g vowel i s symbolized

by /./.
 •170.

bang bang [-ba.nban,] 'cookies*

katkat ['k'a.tkat] 'saw' ( c a r p e n t e r * s tool)

pispis ['p'i.spls] 'small pieces of cloth

left after cutting a

dress*

sinsin £*si.nsin] ' t o y money'

budbud ['bu.dbUd] 'to pour on'

kupkup ['k»u.'pkUp] ' t o embrace tightly'

Comparatively longer vowels than those given above a r e

found i nmonosyllabic words w h i c h w i l l be p h o n e t i c a l l y transcribed

here with the f u l l length sign [ s

] , Thus,

bang [ba:rj] 'earrings'

kat [ka:t] «a s p e c i e s of fish*

pis [pi:s] 'a p i e c e o f c l o t h used by

moslem men a s h e a d piece'

sin [siifn] 'money'

bud [bui'd] 'mountain'

kup [ku:p] 'early'

The d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t»7- a n d / : / a r e b e t t e r observed i f the

two s e t s o f examples above a r e s a i d i n p a i r s such a s :

[ba:n] - [ba.nban]

[kast] - [ka.'tkat]

[pi:s] i - [pi.spls]

[si:n] - [si.nsln]

[bu:d] - [bu.dbUd]

[ku:p] -[ku.pkUp]
 171;

Vowel length i s non-phonemic i n Tausug. Contrast does

not exist between, for instance, [ba:n] with [ba.n] or [ban].

A v o w e l may be lengthened or shortened i n an utterance without

semantic significance, a l t h o u g h i f s o a l t e r e d , ' i n some c a s e s ,

t h e p r o n u n c i a t i o n may be felt t o be unnatural.

In t h e case of consonants, lengthenihg-;occurs i n word-

medial p o s i t i o n as i n t h e words a k k a l [»?akkal] •wisdom' assang

[•?*ssan] 'dove', kappal ['k'appal] 'boat' and patta [*p»atta?]

•picture' and i s produced by prolonging of the'hold' (tenue)

or complete closure preceding the release of each consonant.

The interpretation of t h i s phenomenon, however, involves the

theory of geminate consonants, i . e . , sequences o f two identical

consonant phonemes w h i c h d i v i d e into the p r e c e d i n g and the fol-

lowing syllables respectively. The above consonants cuuld be

conceivably interpreted as lengthened rather than geminated,which

would establish /:/ as a phonemic feature since contrast bet-

ween words like a k k a l [ ' ? a k k a l ] and akal [*?akal] 'by-product

from c o c o n u t - o i l making , 1
as sang [ ?assai!j] and as ang
f
['?asaij]

'gills'ikappal [ ' k * a p p a l ] and kapal ['k'apal] •thickness', and

p a t t a [ ' p ' a t t a ? ] and pata ['p'ata?] 'serves him right* exist.

But f o r purposes of s i m p l i c i t y and economy o f a n a l y s i s , and

because syllable patterns d o rot a l l o w the lengthened consonants

to belong to just one of the s y l l a b l e s - t h e y must b e l o n g t o b o t h -

the interpretation of the consonant as geminates i s maintained.

 6.4 Juncture

Although speech i s observed t o be c o n t i n u o u s floxi

and not a series of distinct sounds grouped into clearly

distinguishable morphemes o r morpheme sequences, some slight

p a u s e s o r r e t a r d a t i o n s odfritempo a r e n o t i c e a b l e . These pauses

or t r a n s i t i o n s b e t w e e n morphemes a r e what a r e t e r m e d here

junctures. They c o n t r i b u t e greatly to better understanding of

utterances. E v e n when a l l t h e phonemes ( v o w e l s a n d consonants)

and t h e s t r e s s and p i t c h patterns of a given utterance have

been i d e n t i f i e d , i ti s s t i l l occasionally, necessary, for.

intelligibility, 1
to recognize the boundaries between words,

phrasesj^and sentences.

• Two significant junctures, which are often referred to

as terminal j u n c t u r e s ,< a r e r e c o g n i z e d i n Tausug: a short pause

which i s marked by a s i n g l e b a r , / }/, a n d a l o n g e r pause

represented b y a d o u b l e b a r , /(I /.

The single-bar juncture usually occurs w i t h i n utterances

and i s used i n introducing an idea or i n emphasizing an idea

that follows as i n t h e examples below:

1. Kitaa i n dung s i n k a p p a l , naghihibal.

/kita?ah i n dun s i n k a p p a l I n a g h i h i b a l /

'See the front part of t h e b o a t , i t i s moving.'.

2
» Way k a s u s a h a n , h a surga

/Way kasusahan!hah surga?/

•There i s no s o r r o w , i n h e a v e n '
 173

T h i s j u n c t u r e i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n Tausug s i n c e a d i f f e r e n c e i n

meaning would r e s u l t i f t h e / \ / were o m i t t e d i n the above

examples. Thus:

1 . ' / k l t a ? a h i n dun s i n k a p p a l | n a g h i h i b a l /

•See t h e f r o n t o f t h e b o a t , i t i s moving*/

vs.

/ k i t a ? a h i n dun s i n k a p p a l n a g h i h i b a l /

*See the f r o n t of t h e boat moving*.

2. /way kasusahan \ hah s u r g a ? /

*There i s no sorrow, i n heaven.*

vs.

/way kasusahan hah s u r g a ? /

»There i s no sorrow i n heaven*.

A t t h e end o f sentences i n which t h e speaker l a p s e s

i n t o s i l e n c e , t h e d o u b l e b a r j u n c t t f r e , /|| /, i s f o u n d . It is

used t o s i g n a l the end o f an u t t e r a n c e as i n :

1/ / k i t a ? a h i n dun s i n k a p p a l | n a g h i h i b a l / ) ! /

or

/ k i t a ? a h i n dun s i n k a p p a l n a g h l h i b a l / l l /

2. /way kasusahan \ hah surga ? l l /

or

/way kasusahan hah surga

A l t h o u g h t h e suprasegmental f e a t u r e s do n o t change t h e

l e x i c a l meaning of ah u t t e r a n c e , they do add c o n c o m i t a n t i n f o r -

m a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e i r c o n v e n t i o n a l a c c e p t a n c e by Tausug s p e a k i n g

p e o p l e - i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d by t h e i r emotive, a t t i t u d i n a l ,

and d i r e c t i v e u s e s .
 7, Morphophonemics

Thepphonemes of a l a n g u a g e as has already been stated

are more t h a n s i m p l y individual units to be individually iden-

tified and. d e s c r i b e d ; i t i s rather an element i n the system

of a language (like Tausug, f o r instance) having a characteris-

tic set of interrelationships with each of the other elements

in the system.' These i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s are of v a r i o u s kinds ?

one of w h i c h may be r e f l e c t e d i n morphophonemic changes.

The term 'morphophonemics 1

i s defined by some linguists

as the field of linguistic analysis which bridges the gap bet-

ween t h e morphological and the phonemic l e v e l s . It is essen-

tially concerned with phonemic changes or phoneme a l t e r n a t i o n s

w i t h i n morphemes. In i t s broadest sense, i t includes a l l alter-

nations of phonemes, w h e t h e r t h e y a r e predictable or not, or

whether they are meaningful or not.

By the p r e d i c t a b l e a l t e r n a t i o n s of a phoneme i s meant

an automatic or formal a l t e r n a t i o n which i s determined by the

p h o n e m e s sff t h e accompanying form, which can be described in

terms of p h o n e t i c m o d i f i c a t i o n , and which applies t o a l l morphemes

in general when t h e y occur i n that particular conditioned ejavi-

53

roiament. For a sample i l l u s t r a t i o n of this idea, reference is

made t o a n earlier discussion (cf. section 5*3) of a change in

'Pel,- o p . c i t . , pp. 25-26.

 175

speech sound brought about by e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n s . The

consonant / d / , f o r i n s t a n c e , when o c c u r r i n g i n intervocalic

position, whether w i t h i n words or across morphome boundaries,

automatically becomes / r / . Thus:

ma 4 d a g a n maragan /maragan/ •fast runner*

p a + jdahun parahun /para*hun/ 'will send'

tagad* an tagaran /tagaran/ 'will wait f o r '

ha+ ddiuhul haruhul /harifthul/ 'at t h e end*

h a * dagat • haragat /haragat/ *in the sea'

pa + dugu parugu /paruguh/ 'to the corner'

From t h e above examples, / d / and / r / a r e s a i d t o be'in

alternation' with each others i . e . , /d/~->/r/. The / ~ / symbol i s

used here t o mean 'in alternation with' or 'alternates with'.

In continuous r a p i d speech there are c e r t a i n combinations

of sounds which a r e quite d i f f i c u l t t o pronounce i n sequence

because of the a r t i c u l a t o r y adjustments involved. The general

tendency i s therefore to avoid such d i f f i c u l t i e s by a l t e r i n g or

modifying one o r more o f t h e sounds so that the speaker can

move f r o m one s o u n d t o a n o t h e r more q u i c k l y a n d w i t h a minimum

of effort. This phenomenon i s o b s e r v e d , f o r i n s t a n c e , w i t h / n /

moving t o / k / a s i n d a i n k a n i l a ' f r o m %em*. The tongue could

not move r a p i d l y f r o m the / n / t o t h e /k/ because the former i s

made w i t h t h e t i po f t h e tongue against the teeth while the

latter i s produced with t h e back part against the velum. I ti s

much e a s i e r t o go f r o m / n / t o / k / s i n c e b o t h sounds are velars,

so t h a t the n a t u r a l tendency o f a Tausug speaker i s to say

 17'6

/dain kanilah/ instead of /dain kanilah/. A similar condi-

tioned a l t e r n a t i o n i s observed with t h e f o l l o w i n g phonemes:

/n/~/m/ before bilabials /p,b,m/V

in pula / i n pula/ > /im pula/ 'the r e d '

sin pilak / s i npilak/ >/simpilak/ ' i t was money*

in badju / i n ba'dju?/>/ira b a d j u ? / *the dress*

tagun bata / t a g u n bata/>/tagum bata?/ 'young'

in manghud / i n manhud/>/im manhud/ 'the younger'

brother or sister*

sin malagu / s i n malaggu?/ >/sim roalaggu?/ 'Its's

big*

/n/^/n/ when f o l l o x ^ i n g v e l a r /k,g,h,w/:

in kusug / i n ku*sug/>A*} k u s u g / 'the strength*

lain kamu /dain kamu?/> / d a i n kamu?/ 'from us*

in gabun / i n gabun/>/in gabun/ 'the cloud'

lain gula /lain gula?/>/lain gula?/ 'different type

of molasses'

d a i n habud /dain ha bud/ >/dain ha bud/ *from t h e

mountain'

sin haba / s i n h a b a ? / >>&in h a b a ? / *the length*

in waktu / i n waktuh/>An waktuh/ 'the time*

s i n walu / s i n w a l u h / >/3in w a l u h / ' i t i s eight*

The phenomenon o f a sound ( o r sounds) acquiring a

characteristic i n common w i t h t h e neighboring^ s o u n d ( o r sounds)

is o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o as a s s i m i l a t i o n . I n the preceding examples,

assimilation i s s a i d t o be r e g r e s s i v e s i n c e t h e sound which i s

being i n f l u e n c e d f o l l o w s that which causes t h e i n f l u e n d e .

 17 7

The r e v e r s e i s t r u e with p r o g r e s s i v e a s s i m i l a t i o n , i . e . , the

sound which i s being i n f l u e n c e d f o l l o w s t h a t which causes

the i n f l u e n c e as i n the d i a l e c t a l p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f / b i k i n / f o r

/bikin/ 'a v a r i e t y o f clams*. The /n/ pronunciation r e s u l t s A

as an i n f l u e n c e o f the preceding v e l a r consonant, /k/. This

l a t t e r a l t e r n a t i o n of phonemes i s , however, not p r e d i c t a b l e

(non-automatic), neither i s i t distinctive i n T a u s u g . I t is

l i m i t e d only t o a few words.

T h e r e a r e other non-automatic morphophonemic a l t e r -

n a t i o n s which are o f more f u n c t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e such as those

which are manifested as f e a t u r e s of d e r i v a t i o n and i n f l e c t i o n .

V e r b s d e r i v e d from nouns, f o r i n s t a n c e , show such types o f

alternation,

/p/ *~Vm/

/pulah/ 'red* ~Vmulah/ ' w i l l become r e d '

/puti?/ 'white *<~/muti?/ ' w i l l become white'

/b/ ^ /m/

/bahu?/ 'bad odor' ^ /mahu?/ ' w i l l s m e l l bad*

/buga?/ 'fear' ^ /miiga?/ ' w i l l be a f r a i d *

O t h e r f u n c t i o n a l non-automatic a l t e r n a t i o n are observa-

ble among some verbs such as t h e a l t e r n a t i o n between the initial

consonant o f t h e i n f i n i t i v e form a n d the f u t u r e tense:

/p/~/m/

/panaw/ *to x<ralk* ^/manaw/ 'will take a walk'

/patay/ 'to k i l l ' ^ / m a t a y / 'will die*

/pusa/ 'to hatch'^/musa?/ 'will hatch'

 178

Some m o r p h o p h o n e m i c a l t e r n a t i o n which occur without

accompanying changes i nmeaning a r en o t e d i nthe examples below:

/Ciy/ ~ /Cy/

/miyuga?/ /myuga?/ 'was afraid*

/siyam/ /syam/ 'nine*

/tiyan/ /tyan/ 'stomach*

/Cuw/ /Cw/

/huwis/ /hwis/ *judge *

/muwi?/ /mwi?/ 'to g o home*

Vsuwat/ /swat/ •to d i g ' (the soil)

The loss o f a v o w e l phoneme a s i n t h e e x a m p l e s enumerated i s

termed syncope. The i n s e r t i o n o f a vowel on the other hand,

to break up troublesome consonant cluster i s known a s a n a p t y x i s

and t h evowel inserted i s called an anaptyctic vowel. This

i " —
—~~"~~————
i

phonemenon o f a n a p t y x i s i s commonly o b s e r v e d w i t h foreign

words adopted i n t o t h e language such as truck, cross, school,

etc., which a r epronounced respectively as /tarak/, /kurus/

and / t i s k u l / b y many T a u s u g speakers, t h euneducated ones i n

particular.

There a r e some a l t e r n a t i o n s o f phonemes w h i c h a r e

considered stylistic, i nthat they a r erepresentative of certain

dialects. They a r ehowever, non-linguistic, non-distinctive, as

well as non-functional variations i nspeech. Examples of this

kind of alternation are / n / ^ / ? / a s i n /bukun/<^/buku?/ 'no'

(negation) and / 1 / ^ / h / , i . e . /bakul/~/baku#/, 'basket*. This

alternation i s characteristic o f t h eGimbahanun dialect.

 8. SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

A synchronic analysis of the phonological system of

Tausug has been the main concern of t h i s thesis. An attempt

has been made to provide a s u f f i c i e n t l y detailed description

of the phonetic raw material of the language, to i d e n t i f y

and c l a s s i f y i t according to relevant functional l i n g u i s t i c

units. 1
As a necessary complementary addition to the phonolo-

g i c a l analysis, discussions of the suprasegmental features

and the morphophonemics of the language have been Included.

The phonemes of Tausug have been established on the

basis of the c r i t e r i a of phonetic s i m i l a r i t y , complementary

d i s t r i b u t i o n , pattern congruity, and i d e n t i t y of function which

are applied to a l l phone-types of the language. As a r e s u l t ,

an inventory of twenty segmental phonemes has been drawn up:

three vowels, / i , a , u / , and seventeen consonants, /p,t,k,?,

t>,d,g, j,s,h,m,n,n,l,r,w,y/;' The c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of /w,y/ as

consonant phonemes depends on their contextual function with

reference to t h e i r position within the s y l l a b l e . Whenever

their d i s t r i b u t i o n i s the same as that of the other consonants

of the language, they are treated as such; otherwise, i n other

positions, they are interpreted as semivowels. 1

Tausug has two basic s y l l a b l e patterns: CV and CVC.

With permitted combinations of pure vowels and semivowels, how-

ever, such as the diphthongs / i a , a i , ua, au, i u , u i / and the

triphthongs / i a i , uau, i a u , u a i / , other secondary s y l l a b l e

patterns are added: CSV, CVS, CSVC, CVSC, CSVS. and CSVSC.
 180

The most prominent sound, w h i c h n o r m a l l y corresponds

to a pure vowel, constitutes the syllabic nucleus. There a r e

certain factors, besides the inherent sonority, which contri-

butes t o t h e prominence of a sound. Such factors involve the

correlated suprasegmental features of s t r e s s , p i t c h , and

length.

S u p r a s e g m e n t a l l y , Tausug has two d i s t i n c t , but non-

phonemic levels of stress: primary /*/ a n d weak (unmarked) ,

four contrastive levels of pitch, / l 2 3 4/, i . e . , low, normal,

highjand extra high and n o n - s i g n i f i c a n t lengthening of vowels

and consonants (thelatter being treated as gemination). In

addition, two i m p o r t a n t terminal junctures are recognizable: the

single bar juncture. /!/, w h i c h i s found a t t h e end o f a breath

group w i t h i n an utterance, a n d t h e d o u b l e b a r / |j / , w h i c h i s

usually found i n utterance final position.

Although a-llii o f t h e t w e n t y s e g m e n t a l phonemes o f

Tausug have t h e i r phonemic i d e n t i t y , there are instances, how-

e v e r , w h e r e some s o u n d changes o r phoneme a l t e r n a t i o n s a r e

o b s e r v a b l e w i t h i n morphemes o r a c r o s s morpheme boundaries.

Such changes o r a l t e r n a t i o n o f sounds have been r e f e r r e d to

under the heading o f morphophonemics. They a r e t h e r e s u l t s

of phenomena s u c h a s a s s i m i l a t i o n , s y n c o p e , a n a p t y x i s , e t c .

Among t h e morphophonemic changes or alternations observed

in t h e language are: / d / ^ / r / , /n/^/m./, / n / < ~ / n / ,

/p/Vm/ , / b / ~ / m / , / c i y A y C y / , a n d /Giw/^/Cw/. T h e f a c t
:

that some phonemes u n d e r g o m o d i f i c a t i o n s does n o t diminish,.

 181

or a l t e r t h e i r functional values as i n d i v i d u a l phonemes once

t h e i r phonemic status has been established.

I t has already been pointed out i n previous discussions

that speech Is a continuum. Therefore, the best way to observe

the l i n g u i s t i c elements that make up the phonological system

of Tausug i s to have them i n normal operation i n a running

text l i k e the Tausug version of the l i n g u i s t i c a l l y popular

t a l e of the *The Northwind and the Sun' provided below i n both

phonetic and phonemic t r a n s c r i p t i o n s . The transcribed text

also serves as a general summary of Tausug phonology.

Phonetic t r a n s c r i p t i o n

?In honln 't'imUl ?ipan 'suyoh ^

5

The wind north and sun

2 3 2___ .2
> 3 2
hctmbu?Uk *?adlaw I hlnapUh nagsaggatf?In hanln 't'imUl
One day . while disputing the wind north
3 2___ > 2
?i£an 'suyah | hambu?Uk t*a?Uh llmagay ?ipan k'ctmmUt
and sun one man passed by and overcoat

55
The Tausug version of the above text i s based on the
IPA manual, page 21.

"The northwind and the sun were arguing one day about
which of them was stronger, when a t r a v e l l e r came along wrapped
up i n his overcoat. They agreed that the one who could make the
t r a v e l l e r take his coat off would be considered stronger than
the other one. Then the northwind blew as hard as he could, but
the harder he blew, the t i g h t e r the t r a v e l l e r wrapped his coat
around him, and at l a s t the northwind gave up t r y i n g . Then the
sun began to shine hot, and right away the t r a v e l l e r took his
coat o f f , and so the northwind had to admit that the sun was
stronger than he was."
 182.

3 1 ...2
•niyah+ll k'yapagmawpakkatan nilah nah hlsiyUh ?Im
his i t was agreed upon them that whoever the

3, 2->
makapa?Ig sin k'ctmmUt sin »t'a?Uh ?amllh nah ?Im
one who can the overcoat the man that (ligature) the
take off
3 1 2
makusUg hah k'ccnilah 111 t'ImiyUp nah ?In honln t'imUl
strong of them blow then the wind north

3 2_» 2
hah k'akUsuyan 'niyah I sagawa? gam k'Usuyan niyah ?in
in strength his but the more w i l l stronger he the

3 2 2
•t*iyU$ j gam ?lsab k'Upkupan sin t*a?Uh ?in k'ammUt
blowing the more also hold tightly the man the overcoat

3 1 . „ 2 3 2__ i 3 1
, II
niyah i l l hah hU lihan I hlmundUq ?In honln
>
1
't'imUl'ill
his at end" stopped the wind north

2 3, 1 , „ 2 3 2_ >

t'yagna?an sin suyah ?Im *p asU? \ \\ bukUn 'mawyay

the sun the heat not long time

3 1
?Iniyon nah sin t*a?Uh ?In k'ammUt •niyah I 11 ?inlh
remove then the man the overcoat his this

suyah I |
3 1

?In t'anda? k'usUg sin nagsabunnal nah ?In

the proof strength the sun believe already the

hanln t'imUl nah ?In suyah t'akdll makusUg dayn

wind north that the sun really strong than

. 3 1
k a'niyah I
him
 183

Phonemic transcription

2 3 2 3 1
?in hanin timul iban sugah

2 3 2 ,2
hambu?uk ?adlaw I hinabuh nagsagga? ? i n hanin

3 2 3 2 2
timul iban sugan j hambu?uk ta?uh limabay

3/1 ill 2

iban kammut n i y a h l\\ k y a p a g m a w p a k k a t a n nilah na

hisiyuh ?im makapa?ig s i n kammut s i n

?'2_> i 2 D 3,1 ii
ta?uh 1 amuhh nah ?im makusug hah kanilah|||
2
timiyup nah ? i n hanin timul hah kakusugan

3'2_* I 2 3/2 .
niyah 1 sagwa? gam kusugan niyah i n tiyup |

2
gam ?isab kupkupan s i n ta?Uh ? i n kammut

3/1 ,11 2 3'2_* , 2

niyah \ \\ hah hulihan I himundun ? i n n a n am

3'1 »l| 2 3/1 i

t i m u l | ll tyagna?an s i n sugah ?im pasu *
2
3/ 2^ 2

bukun maugay I ?inigan nah s i n ta?uh ? i n

3/ 1
, II 2

kammut n i y a h 4-11 ?inih ? i n tandah kusug

timul 3 '1
n a h i l ? li n
2

sugah takdil makusug dayn

sin s u g a h + 11 nagsabunnal nah ? i n hanin)
3/1
kaniyah ill
 184,

The system of three vowels and seventeen consonants

which has been presented i n this analysis i s shared virtually

by a l ldialects of Tausug. I f there are differences between

the dialects, they are principally variations i n the nature and

distribution of the allophones of the different phonemes though

there i s some v a r i a t i o n i n the distribution of the phonemes

themselves. The intervention of f o r e i g n sounds i n t o some dialects

like those of the educated speakers may also account for dia-

lectal differences. Otherwise, virtually a l ldialects of

Tausug seem t o use the same s e t o f t w e n t y segmental phonemes.

This study of Tausug phonology does not presume t o be

exhaustive, or complete, although thoroughness and accuracy has

been aimed at in-the analysis. With language c o n s t a n t l y chang-

ing, i t i s d o u b t f u l t h a t any definitive work can be attained.

Further, with the influx o f new knowledge and discoveries in

linguistic theory, better and improved techniques of linguistic

investigation as w e l l as refinements i n the interpretation of

data can be expected.

The primary purpose of t h i s study i s to provide a

basic understanding of Tausug phonology. I f this intention has

been a t t a i n e d here, the attempt has not been i n v a i n . With

the dearth of linguistic m a t e r i a l s on t h e language, this analysis,

although i t i s not a complete description, helps to cope w i t h an

urgent present need. The public p r e s e n t a t i o n of the data as

well as the c o n c l u s i o n s makes i t p o s s i b l e f o r others to conduct.

 165.

further investigations on t h e language and check on t h e

accuracy of the analysis.

Concomitant w i t h the pedagogical help which i s t o be

derived from this study i s i t s social significance. In the

•preface* of t h e Papers on P h i l i p p i n e L a n g u a g e s , No. 1, A l f r e d o

T. M o r a l e s , a Philippine educator, has t h i s to say:

" . . . They [ t h e l i n g u i s t i c papers] a r e new data

about Philippine culture. With more d a t a of this

kind, we foster not only improved linguistic science

but a l s o a deeper F i l i p i n o consciousness, i n terms

of more m a s t e r y over o u r own P h i l i p p i n e m a t e r i a l

for scholarly study, and b e t t e r p r e p a r a t i o n f o r a

geniune understanding of a l l the peoples, especially

the neglected communities, t h a t makes up t h e F i l i p i n o

nation.

With the present linguistic investigations, i t i s hoped that

increased interest, not only i n Tausug,but i n Philippine lin-

guistics, i n general, w i l l continue.

-^Hockett, op. c i t . , p. Ill,

56 S I L , op. c i t . p. I V .
 1863

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. BOOKS

Allen, Harold B. T e a c h i n g E n g l i s h as a Second Language. New

YorJt: M c G r a w - H i l l B o o k Company, 1965

Bloomfield, Leonard. Language. New York: Henry H o l t and

Company, 1933*
B r o o k s , Nelson;' Language and Language L e a r n i n g . New York:

Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1964.

Carrell, James and W i l l i a m R. Tiffany.. Phonetics: Theory and

Application t o Speech Improvement. London: McGraw-

Hill Book Company, I n c . , i960.

C o h e n , A. The Phonemes o f E n g l i s h . The Hague: Martinus

hijhoff, 1952.

Finocchiaro, Mary. T e a c h i n g E n g l i s h as a Second Language.

New York: Harper and Brothers, 1958.

Francis, Nelson w
. The Structure of American English. New

York: Ronald Press Company, 1953.

G i m s o n , A. C. An Introduction to Pronunciation of English.

London: Edward A r n o l d Ltd., 1962

G l e a s o n , H e n r y A. An Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics.

Second edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart and

Winston, 1955-

Gregg, Robert J. A S t u d e n t » s M a n u a l of French Pronunciation.

Toronto: The M a c m i l l a n C o m p a n y of Canada Limited,i960.

 18ft

G u r r e y P. T e a c h i n g E n g l i s h as a Second Language. London:

Longmans, G r e e n , a n d Go. L t d . , 1959.

Hall, R o b e r t A., J r . I n t r o d u c t o r y L i n g u i s t i c s New York:

Chitton Company, 1964.

Hill, A r c h i b a l d A. Introduction to Linguistic Structures.

New Y o r k : Harcourt, B r a c e a n d Company 1958.

Hockett, Charles. A Course i n Modern L i n g u i s t i c s . New York:

Macmillan, 1962.

J a k o b s o n , Roman C , G u n n a r N. F a n t , and M o r r i s Halle.

Preliminaries t o Speech A n a l y s i s . Cambridge, Mass.:

Acoustic Laboratory, MIT, 1952.

Jones, Daniel, An O u t l i n e of E n g l i s h Phonetics. Cambridge:

W. H e f f e r and Sons, L t d . , 1962.

Katz, Jarrold and J . Fodor. Readings i n the Philosophy of

Language. Englewood C l i f f s : Prentice-Hall, 1964.

Kurath, Hans. A Phonology and Prasody of Modern E n g l i s h .

Ann Harbor: The U n i v e r s i t y o f M i c h i g a n Press, 1964.

Malmberg, B e r t i l . Phonetics. New Y o r k : Dover P u b l i c a t i o n s ,

Inc., 1963.
Martinet, AndrS . Phonology as F u n c t i o n a l Phonetics. London:

Oxford University Press, 1949.

P i k e , Kenneth L. Phonemics: A Technique f o r R e d u c i n g I-^n

Language t o W r i t i n g . N i n t h printing. Ann Arbor: The

University of Michigan Press, 1964.

 188

Phonetics. Ninth printing. Ann Arbor: The

University o fMichigan Press, 1964.

Robins, H. General Linguistics: An Introductory Survey.

Second p r i n t i n g . London: Longmans, I965.

Sapir, Edward. Language. New Y o r k : Harcourt, B r a c e and Company,

1921.

Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course i n General Linguistics. New

York: P h i l o s o p h i c a l L i b r a r y , 1959.

Ward, I d a C. ThePhonetics o f E n g l i s h . Cambridge: W. Heffer

and S o n s L t d . , 1952.

W i s e , C l a u d e M. Introduction t oPhonetics. Third printing.

Englewood C l i f f s , N.G.: P r e n t i c e - H a l l , I n c . , I962.

B. ARTICLES and ESSAYS

Bloch, Bernard. "A S e t o fPostulates f o r Phonemic A n a l y s i s , "

Language. V o l . 23. N o . 4, Oct. - Dec, 1947.

C o n n e r , G.D. a n d L.M. Trim. "Vowel Consonant, S y l l a b l e . . .

A Phonological Definition," Word. V o l . 9. pp. 103-22,

1953.

H a a s , W. "Relevance i n Phonetic Analysis," Word. Vol. 15.

1957, PP. 1-18.

Halle, Morris. "On t h e Bases o f Phonology" TheS t r u c t u r e o f

Language Readings i n the Philosophy o f Language.' N.J.:

Prentice-Hall Inc., 1964, p p . 324.'

 18$

"On t h e R o l e o f S i m p l i c i t y i n L i n g u i s t i c D e s c r i p t i o n , "

P r o c e e d i n g s i n Symposia i n A p p l i e d Mathematics. 1961,

pp. 84-94.

"The S t r a t e g y o f Phonemics," Word. V o l . 10 1954,

pp. 197-209.
Haugen, E i n a r . "The S y l l a b l e i n P h o n o l o g i c a l Description,"

F o r Roman ffakobson. Essays on t h e O c c a s i o n o f H i s

S i x t i e t h Birthday.- Cambridge, Mass.: Mouton and Co.,

1956.'
Hjelmslev, L. "The S y l l a b l e as a S t r u c t u r a l U n i t " Proceedings

of t h e TBirid I n t e r n a t i o n a l congress o f P h o n e t i c s Sciences.

Gant, 1938.

H o c k e t t , C h a r l e s F. "A System of D e s c r i p t i v e Phonology,"

Language.« V o l . 17, No. 4. O c t . - D e c , 1941, pp. 3-21.

H o u s e h o l d e r , F.W. "The D i s t r i b u t i o n a l D e t e r m i n a t i o n o f E n g l i s h

Phonemes", Lingua;^ V o l . 11. 1962, pp. 186-191.

Kohler, K.J. " I s the S y l l a b l e a Phonological Universal?"

Journal of L i n g u i s t i c s . V o l 2. No. 2. Oct., i960

p. 207.

Lyons,' J . "Phonemic and Non-Phonemic Phonology: Some T y p o l o g i c a l

Reflection. " I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o u r n a l of American L i n g u i s t i c s .

V o l . 28, 1962, pp. 127-33.

Malone K. "On Symmetry i n Phonemic A n a l y s i s " , Language. V o l . 38.

1962, pp. 142-146.

 19.0

M a t h e w s , W.K. "Phonetics and Phonology i n Retrospect".

Lingua. V o l . ? . 1958, p p . 254-68.

M o i , ' H. "On t h e P h o n e t i c D e s c r i p t i o n o f Phoneme", Lingua.

Vol. 11. 1962, p p . 2 8 9 - 9 3 .

Swadesh, Morris. "The P h o n e m i c I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f Long

Consonants," Language. Vol.XIII. J a n . - M a r . , 1937,

pp.' 1-10.

"The Phonemic P r i n c i p l e " L a n g u a g e . V o l X , 1934,

pp. 117-129.

S o m m e r f e l t , A l f . ' "The I m p o r t a n c e o f t h e Phonemic P o i n t of View

i n Guide t o Pronunciation," Linguistics. The Hague,

1964.

S o r e n s e n , H.T. "The Phonemes a n d t h e Phoneme V a r i a n t , " Lingua

Vol. 9. I960, p p . 68-88.

Trager, Smith and Bernard Bloch. "The S y l l a b i c Phoneme o f

English/" Language V o l . V X I I I . N o . 5. 1941, p p . 2 2 3 - 2 4 6 .

« ••

T w a d d e l l , W i l l i a m F. "On D e f i n i n g t h e Phoneme," Language

M o n o g r a p h N o . 16,1935.

"Phonemes a n d A l l o p h o n e s i nSpeech A n a l y s i s " Journal of

Acoustical Society of America. V o l . 24. 1952, p p . 607-610.

Voegelin, C.P. "Shawnee Phonemes", L a n g u a g e . V o l . X . N o . 4.

Dec. 1934, p p . 23-37.

V o y t , H. " P h o n e m e C l a s s e s a n d Phoneme C l a s s i f i c a t i o n " , W o r d .

Vol. 10.' 1954. p p . 28-34.

 101i

c. " "PAMPHLETS

H e m p h i l l , R. J. Background Readings i n Language Teaching.

PCLS Monograph S e r i e s , No. 1. Quezon C i t y : Phoenix

Publishing House, 1962.

Institute of Language T e a c h i n g of the University of the

Philippines and Summer I n s t i t u t e of Linguistics

Philippine Branch. Papers on Philippine Languages

No. 1. Manila. 1963.

International Phonetic Association. The Principles of the

International Phonetic Association. London: Depart-

ment of Phonetics, University College, Reprinted 1965.