A Study on the Spelling Preferences of Surigaonon Speakers in Surigao Del Sur:Basis for the Development of a Spelling Guide and Manual

Abstract

This study aims to identify and describe the spelling preferences of speakers of the Surigaonon language in the province of Surigao del Sur, specifically in the municipalities of Carrascal, Cantilan, Madrid, Carmen, and Lanuza (collectively known as CarCanMadCarLan). The findings serve as the basis for the development of a comprehensive spelling guide and manual for the said language. The research employed a combined corpus-driven, practical, and theoretical approach deemed appropriate for analyzing the current state of the Surigaonon language and for proposing concrete steps toward standardizing its orthography. The study utilized consultative and participatory methods, conducted through extensive data collection from 1,791 participants who are active speakers of Surigaonon. A checklist-type survey questionnaire was used, containing Surigaonon words that exhibit more than one spelling variant. Based on the analysis, from a total of 500 base words included in Eliciting Material A: Word List by the UP Department of Linguistics, 127 words in the Surigaonon corpus were identified to have two or more spelling variants. Of this number, nineteen (19) words were found to have three variants, while the remaining 108 words had two variants. The data indicate that approximately 25.4% of the original word list reflects heterographic representation. One example is the Surigaonon word babaje (girl/woman), which had three variants: babaje, baje, and babaji. Among the 1,791 participants, 90.9% (1,628) selected babaje as the preferred spelling, while 7.2% (129) chose baje, and 1.9% (34) selected babaji. This demonstrates a clear community consensus in favor of babaje as the more widely accepted form in written discourse. In conclusion, a single preferred spelling was selected for each word to be used in the formal writing of the Surigaonon language.