Maranao language

Maranaoan
Mëranaw
Native to	Philippines
Region	twin provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur
Ethnicity	Maranao people
Native speakers	(780,000 cited 1990 census)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Mindanao Danao Maranaoan
Writing system	Latin; Historically written in Arabic
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mrw
Glottolog	mara1404
Area where Maranao is spoken

Maranaoan (Maranao [ˈmәranaw] Mëranaw) is an Austronesian language spoken by the Maranao people in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur in the Philippines, and in Sabah, Malaysia.

Iranun was once considered a dialect.

Phonology

Below is the sound system of Mëranaw including underlying phonetic features.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	ɪ		u
Mid		ə	o
Open		a

Consonants

		Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m		n		ŋ
Plosive	Voiceless						ʔ
	Voiced	b		d		ɡ
Fricative						(h)
Flap				ɾ
Lateral				l
Approximant		w			j

Velar fricative [h]

According to Lobel (2013), [h] only occurs in a select number of Malay loanwords:

• tohan 'God'
• tahon 'astrological sign'
• hadapan 'in front (of God)'

Consonant elongation

Consonants are also pronounced longer if preceded with a schwa ə. However, this process is not a form of gemination since consonant elongation in Mëranaw is not distinctive as seen in other Philippine languages such as Ilokano and Ibanag. Some of these are:

• tëpad [təpːad] 'get off a vehicle'
• tëkaw [təkːaw] 'startled; surprised'
• Mëranaw is spoken by the Maranao tribe.
• Solutan (Sultan) (Sultan of Gandamatu) Sultan sa Gandamatu.

See also

• Languages of the Philippines

External links

• Bansa.org, Maranao Dictionary