ISSN (Online): 2455-3662 EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) - Peer Reviewed Journal Volume: 9| Issue: 2| February 2023|| Journal DOI: 10.36713/epra2013 || SJIF Impact Factor 2023: 8.224 || ISI Value: 1.188 2023 EPRA IJMR | http://eprajournals.com/ | Journal DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra2013-------------------------------------------------------------------247 A GRAMMAR OF MËRANAW LANGUAGE Aimee V. Aragon Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics Student, University of Mindanao, Philippines Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra12479 DOI No: 10.36713/epra12479 ABSTRACT This paper describes the grammar of Mëranaw (ISO 639-3: mrw). Mëranaw, or more commonly known as Maranao, is a Philippine language prevalently spoken in almost all parts of Lanao del Sur province and in some areas in Lanao del Norte, Maguindanao, and North Cotabato. The primary goal of this study is to provide a grammar of the Mëranaw language that entails linguistic features of the language covering its morphological features. The participants of this study were the three identified professional and native speakers living in Marawi City. The elicited materials consist of the 615-word list and 775-sentence list from UP Department of Linguistics were transcribed and analyzed using the Basic Linguistic Theory. It was found that morphologically speaking, Mëranaw language has a rich culture of affixation as prefixes, suffixes, infixes, and circumfixes are all present to create new words. These affixations include the prefix p-, mak-, and tomi- and the suffix -an. Moreover, the infix ka- - an and circumfix p- -n, miaka- -e. This is to form another lexical category of a given Mëranaw word that most likely entails to tells the time certain Mëranaw verbs take place. Furthermore, this grammar sketch aims to provide a concrete reference for Mother Tongue–Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) as the Mëranaw language is one of the languages being taught. It further implies language description and documentation as the basis for language revitalization and at the same time culture preservation. KEYWORDS: applied linguistics, Maranao, Mëranaw, language documentation, grammar sketch, Philippines INTRODUCTION There are 187 distinct living languages in the Philippines, including Filipino Sign Language (FSL) which accounts for its diverse and multilinguistic landscape (Lewis, 2009). Governing this multilinguistic landscape, Mëranaw is considered to be the largest of the Muslim cultural-linguistic groups of the Philippines with a population of more than 840,000 in the late 20th century. They are one of the 13 Muslim Filipino ethnolinguistic groups living on the Philippine island. They live around Lake Lanao on the southern island of Mindanao wherein rice farming is their main livelihood, along with metalworking and woodworking handicrafts. However, it was found that it was underdocumented in terms of its language description and language documentation. Lobel and Riwarung (2011) stretch that Mëranaw has one of the richest morphologies of any Philippine language (McKaughan 1971), richer even than Tagalog, Bikol, or Waray- Waray. Complex morphophonemics and recalcitrant phonology further complicate the system, hindering its proper analysis for the first 95 years of foreign inquiry into the language. Moreover, they are known for the richness of their culture that until now is still evident and has continued to live up in the hearts of every Mëranaw. This culture has been maintained and remained strong even to the test of time making it very much alive up to these years. Like any other cultural group, in the country, the Mëranaw are also known for their literary involvement, which until now some are not yet recorded and appreciated to the fullest (Ulla, 2014). On the other hand, studies dealing with orthographies used by linguists, dictionary compilers, and Bible translators likewise failed to represent the heavy consonants, and sometimes added an extra vowel phoneme in an attempt to compensate (Lobel and Riwarung, 2011). The orthography used in this sketch was developed four decades ago by three of the most celebrated Mëranaw writers—Aleem Abdulmajeed Ansano of Taraka (1943-2008), Senator Ahmad Domocao ―Domie‖ Alonto of Ramain (1914- 2002), and Shaiekh Abdul Azis Guroalim Saromantang of Tugaya (1923-2003)—without any known outside help. Notably, no primary studies of Mëranaw phonology have previously been published. There has been extensive documentation of Mëranaw from Elliot (1913) to McKaughan and Macaraya (1996), yet without exception, these works were based on incomplete phonological analyses which overlooked the language’s four heavy consonants, sometimes resulting in the misanalysis of the vowel system (Lobel & Riwarung 2009). Since the Mëranaw language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community, the primary focus of this study is to update its most salient points of grammar in terms of phonological, morphological, and syntactical features. However, this language remains to be documented as the available studies