LESSON 3: The Letters D and R

       Bismillah. This is the 3rd lesson on “Tausug 101: Learning Bahasa Sinug” by Anak Iluh. For lists of lessons pleas go to: List of Lessons.

       Aside from the changing sounds of the letters /B/ and /G/ as we have learned in Lesson 2, there is yet another unique pair of letters having a unique style of variations. These are the letter /D/ and /R/.

Words beginning with /D/

       Tausug words beginning with the letter /D/ can either be written (or pronounced) with /D/ or /R/ depending on the syllables or the letter that comes before it. Take for example the word “Daig” (beside). It will always be pronounced and written with /D/ when it is preceded by a prefix or a word ending with (1) another consonant or (2) a glottal stop. Hence:

    Nag + Daig    =     Nagdaig            read as /nag-da-ig/ (p.t. of daig)
    Buli’ + Dagat    =    Buli’ Dagat    read:/bu-li’-da-(g)at/ meaning “in the deep sea”

       But when the letter /D/ is placed in between two vowel sounds, as when preceded by a prefix or word ending with a vowel sound, it will be transformed into /R/. It will be pronounced with the /R/ sound and will be written with the /R/ as well, thereby replacing the letter /D/. Study the example below:

    Ha + Daig    =    Ha raig (besides); /D/ is replaced with /R/

Same rule applies even in verbs as:
    Na + Da’pug     =    Nara’pug (Burnt too much)
    Ma + Dugtul    =    Marugtul (To bump)

Words with /D/ in the middle:

       Most Tausug words having the letter /D/ in the middle (excluding the prefixes) will always pronounce and retain the sound of /D/ whether it is preceded by a consonant, a vowel or a glottal stop:
    

        Sandig (lean)     and     Sa’day (slightly Leaning to one side)

Words ending with /D/

   

       Words ending with /D/ will follow these rules: 1) when inserted with a suffix starting with a vowel, change /D/ with /R/ and add the suffix; 2) when followed by another word (regardless if starts with a vowel or consonant), the letter /D/ would be retained. Examples are as follows:

With Suffixes:

     Ligad + an    =    Ligaran        (to fall with)
    Agad + un    =    Agarun        (to follow)
    Higad + an     =    Higaran        (To sew the sides)
    Lamud + an     =    Lamuran    (To mix with something)

With another words:
    Higad + atup    =    Higad atup     (side + roof = roof railings)
    Lamud + sabaw    =    Lamud sabaw     (mix + soup = Soup ingredients :-)

In summary…
•    When the letter /D/ is preceded by a consonant or a glottal stop, it retains its form and pronunciation, be it in the beginning, in the middle or in the end of the word.
•    When adding a prefix (ending with a vowel) to words beginning with /D/, change /D/ to /R/ and then attach the prefix.
•    When adding a suffix to words ending with /D/, change /D/ to /R/ and add the suffix.

This ends our third lesson. To listen to the correct pronunciation of these examples, please download the file prepared for this lesson. Just go to this link and click Download:

(Also included in the file above are more examples and more Tausug Words on this lesson.)

   Next Thursday we will discuss the fourth lesson and the last lesson for Part 1: the Vowel sounds. Keep in touch! Don’t forget to like our page and email me anakiluh@ymail.com.

Salam Kasilasa!
-Anak Iluh