Malayic languages
Encyclopedia
The Malayic languages are a branch of the Sunda–Sulawesi languages of the Austronesian family
. They include Malay
, the national language of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei; Minangkabau
in central Sumatra; and Iban
in northern Borneo
.
It is thought that the homeland of the Malayic languages is in western Borneo, where the Ibanic languages remain. Then Malayan branch represents a secondary dispersal, probably from central Sumatra but possibly also from Borneo.
For some time there was confusion as to the placement of various languages called Dayak
; it is now apparent that some of these are Malayic and some are not. The Malayic Dayak languages include Iban
; the term Ibanic sometimes applies to the whole or sometimes to a smaller group of Sea Dayak peoples, or Ibanic proper. Other Dayak languages, called Land Dayak
, are found in the northwest corner of Kalimantan, between Ibanic and Malayan.
Although Banjarese, with six million speakers, is commonly considered "local Malay", a 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database was not able to verify that it is even Malayic. The study was only able to determine with 80% confidence that Banjar is closer to Malayan and Ibanic than it is to other Malayo-Sumbawan languages. It does appear that it is the most divergent Malayic language included in the study.
Nothofer (1988), however, gives the following classification for the Malayic branch.
There are 2 diphthong
s:
Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
. They include Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, the national language of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei; Minangkabau
Minangkabau language
The Minangkabau language is an Austronesian language, spoken by the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the western part of Riau, South Aceh Regency, the northern part of Bengkulu and Jambi, also in several cities throughout Indonesia by migrated Minangkabau, who often trade or have a restaurant...
in central Sumatra; and Iban
Iban language
The Iban language is spoken by the Iban, a branch of the Dayak ethnic group formerly known as "Sea Dayak" who live in Sarawak, the Indonesian province of Kalimantan Barat and in Brunei. It belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, and is related to Malay, more...
in northern Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.
It is thought that the homeland of the Malayic languages is in western Borneo, where the Ibanic languages remain. Then Malayan branch represents a secondary dispersal, probably from central Sumatra but possibly also from Borneo.
For some time there was confusion as to the placement of various languages called Dayak
Dayak languages
The term Dayak is used for the languages of the Dayak people; that is, those languages of Borneo apart from varieties of Malay and language of Chinese, Indian, and European origin...
; it is now apparent that some of these are Malayic and some are not. The Malayic Dayak languages include Iban
Iban language
The Iban language is spoken by the Iban, a branch of the Dayak ethnic group formerly known as "Sea Dayak" who live in Sarawak, the Indonesian province of Kalimantan Barat and in Brunei. It belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, and is related to Malay, more...
; the term Ibanic sometimes applies to the whole or sometimes to a smaller group of Sea Dayak peoples, or Ibanic proper. Other Dayak languages, called Land Dayak
Land Dayak languages
The Land Dayak languages are a putative group of dozen or so languages spoken by the Bidayuh Land Dayaks of Borneo.-Languages:The unity of Land Dayak as a group is dubious...
, are found in the northwest corner of Kalimantan, between Ibanic and Malayan.
Languages
- Malayan languagesMalayan languagesThe Malayan languages are a branch of the Malayic languages that spread from central Sumatra or possibly western Borneo. Malayic languages include "para"-Malay languages of central Sumatra such as Minangkabau, Aboriginal Malay languages such as Temuan, and the various Malay languages proper, such...
(Minangkabau, Malay) - Ibanic languagesIbanic languagesThe Ibanic or Malayic-Dayak languages are a branch of the Malayic languages indigenous to western Borneo. They are spoken by the Iban, Selako, Kendayan, and other Dayak peoples....
, or Malayic Dayak (Iban and related tongues) - BanjareseBanjar languageBanjar language is the native language used by the Banjarese people of South Kalimantan, Indonesia. As many Banjarese are travelling merchants, they brought their language wherever they went all over Indonesia, even all over the world....
Although Banjarese, with six million speakers, is commonly considered "local Malay", a 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database was not able to verify that it is even Malayic. The study was only able to determine with 80% confidence that Banjar is closer to Malayan and Ibanic than it is to other Malayo-Sumbawan languages. It does appear that it is the most divergent Malayic language included in the study.
Classification
Adelaar (1993) classifies the Malayic languages as follows.- Proto-Malayic
- IbanIbanic languagesThe Ibanic or Malayic-Dayak languages are a branch of the Malayic languages indigenous to western Borneo. They are spoken by the Iban, Selako, Kendayan, and other Dayak peoples....
- (Main branch)
- Standard Malay
- Minangkabau
- Middle Malay
- Banjarese
- Jakartanese
- Others
- Iban
Nothofer (1988), however, gives the following classification for the Malayic branch.
- Proto-Malayic
- Rejang
- Embaloh
- Salako
- Iban-Malayan
- IbanIbanic languagesThe Ibanic or Malayic-Dayak languages are a branch of the Malayic languages indigenous to western Borneo. They are spoken by the Iban, Selako, Kendayan, and other Dayak peoples....
- MalayanMalayan languagesThe Malayan languages are a branch of the Malayic languages that spread from central Sumatra or possibly western Borneo. Malayic languages include "para"-Malay languages of central Sumatra such as Minangkabau, Aboriginal Malay languages such as Temuan, and the various Malay languages proper, such...
- Iban
Phonology
Proto-Malayic has a total of 19 consonants and 4 vowels (Adelaar 1992:102).| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | Voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| Voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
s | h | ||||
| Liquid Liquid consonant In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:... |
l | ʀ | ||||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
w | y | ||||
| Height | Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i /i/ | u /u/ | |||||
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
ə /ə/ | ||||||
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
a /a/ |
There are 2 diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
s:
- *-ay
- *-aw
Morphology
Proto-Malayic syllables are mostly disyllabic and have the following syllable structure (Adelaar 1992:102):- Note: C = consonant, V = vowel, N = nasalNasal consonantA nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...