Austronesian · ISO 639-3 tsg
Tausug Language Bahasa Sūg
Tausug is an Austronesian language spoken by about 1.2 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Tausug is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Tausug
Language family
- Austronesian
- Malayo-Polynesian
- Greater Central Philippine
- Central Philippine
- Bisayan
- South Bisayan
- Butuan-Tausug
- Tausug
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Tausug language
Tausug (Bahasa Sūg) is spoken by about 1.2 million people, which makes it the 433rd most spoken language in the world — just behind Tswa (1.2 million) and ahead of Vasavi (1.2 million). It belongs to the Austronesian language family and, more precisely, to the Butuan-Tausug group within the Greater Central Philippine branch.
Where is Tausug spoken?
Tausug is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Philippines (1.3 million).
Tausug is not a national official language anywhere. It also has regional official status in Philippines.
Writing system and status
Tausug is written in the Latin script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray (Philippines), Kinaray-A, Filipino, Tagalog and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 tsg.
Frequently asked questions about Tausug
How many people speak Tausug?
Where is Tausug spoken?
What language family does Tausug belong to?
What is Tausug called in Tausug?
Is Tausug an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.