Iranun language explained

Iranun
Nativename:	إيراناونساي
Map:	Iranun language map.png
Mapcaption:	Areas where Iranun is spoken
States:	Philippines Malaysia
Region:	Southwest Mindanao Sabah, Malaysia
Ethnicity:	Iranun
Speakers:	250,000
Date:	1981
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Austronesian
Fam2:	Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:	Philippine
Fam4:	Greater Central Philippine
Fam5:	Danao
Fam6:	Maranao–Iranun
Script:	Jawi Latin
Lc1:	ilp
Ld1:	Philippine Iranun
Lc2:	ilm
Ld2:	Malaysian Iranun
Glotto:	iran1262
Glottorefname:	Iranun

The Iranun language (Jawi: إيراناونساي), also known as Iranon or Illanun, is an Austronesian language belonging to the Danao languages spoken in the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and other part of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte, coastal municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur from Tukuran to Dumalinao and Cotabato in southern Philippines and the Malaysian state of Sabah. It is the second most spoken language in Maguindanao after the Maguindanao language.^[1]

Distribution

Iranun is spoken in the following areas:^[2]

• Maguindanao del Norte

Barira, Buldon, Parang, Matanog, Sultan Mastura, and Sultan Kudarat

• Cotabato

Alamada, Banisilan, Carmen, Libungan, and Pigcawayan

• Lanao del Norte

Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Kauswagan and Kolambugan

• Lanao del Sur

Kapatagan, Balabagan, Malabang, Bumbaran, Wao, and Picong

• Bukidnon

Kalilangan

• Zamboanga del Sur

Pagadian, San Pablo, Dumalinao, Dimataling and Tukuran

• Sabah, Malaysia

Kota Belud, Lahad Datu, and Kota Kinabalu.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
	voiced	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Nasal		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Fricative			pronounced as /link/
Trill			pronounced as /link/
Lateral			pronounced as /link/
Approximant		pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Open		pronounced as /link/

Sounds /i, u, a/ can also have allophones of [ɪ, e], [o], [ʌ], among speakers.^[3]

Notes and References

1. https://www.census.gov.ph/content/maguindanao-population-reach-one-million-2006-results-2000-census-population-and-housing-nso "Maguindanao: Population to Reach One Million in 2006 (Results from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, NSO)."
2. Ethnologue
3. Book: Allison, E. Joe . Proto-Danaw: A comparative study of Maranaw, Magindanaw, and Iranun . Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. . 1979 . In Papers in Philippine Linguistics No. 10 . 53–112.