Tambora language
Encyclopedia
Tambora is the poorly attested non-Austronesian
(Papuan) language of the Tambora culture of central Sumbawa
, in what is now Indonesia
, which was wiped out by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora
. This was the westernmost known Papuan language (Donahue 2007), and was relatively unusual among such languages in being the language of a maritime trading state, though contemporary Papuan trading states were also found off Halmahera in Ternate
and Tidore
.
In the list below (Donahue 2007), it is presumed that ng' transcribes ŋ and dj dʒ. Hyphen is possibly a glottal stop ʔ. Two words are clearly Malay loans. Zollinger (1850) identified several possible loans from other Austronesian languages; Tambora was a regional trading power, so a number of loans might be expected. The connection with Timor, if not coincidence, would presumably be genetic, not a loan.
orthographic conventions, such as the implosives found in the region. P only occurs after m, and may be a reflex of h, as in other languages of the area. Overall, the phonemic profile is consistent with many languages of eastern Indonesia: that is, to the east but not to the west of Tambora.
Hok-hok 'sit' suggests verbal reduplication, but the only other verb, makan, is an obvious Malay loan.
Saing'óre 'eye', saing kóme 'nose', sóntong 'teeth', sumóre 'belly' all begin similarly, suggesting a prefix, possibly a possessive prefix, with a nasal -ng' that assimilates to a following consonant, and with sumóre 'belly' presumably from *more or *pore.
Several of the numbers begin with sV-, a common pattern in Austronesian languages where 'one' is reduced to a prefix. Indeed, seena 'one' is a possible Austronesian loan. Donahue suggests that sarone 'ten' ~ sisarone 'twenty' may reflect a earlier vigesimal
system, possibly from sa- 'one' doh 'person' -ne (suffix), a common way of counting 'twenty' in the region. 'Twenty' might then have shifted to meaning 'ten' under the influence of decimal trading partners.
The word moríhoh 'God' reflects a common term in the area, of uncertain but perhaps Sanskrit derivation. In Tambora, however, it also resembles homóri 'father', suggesting that neither word can be assumed to be native.
Donahue notes one word, taintu 'hand', which is plausibly connected to other Papuan languages, those of Timor and Alor to the east: Abui
taŋ, Oirata tana, Kui
tan. This leaves the -tu as a possible suffix, and the similar shape of maimpo 'foot' suggests to Donahue that these may derive from tayn and maym plus a suffix -ho or -hu which assimilates to the preceding consonant.
A number of words end in -(k)ong and -ore, and the former are semantically similar (ingkong 'sun', kóngkong 'day', mang'ong 'moon', kingkong 'star'), suggesting possible suffixes, though they might simply be coincidence.
Papuan languages
The Papuan languages are those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. The term does not presuppose a genetic relationship. The concept of Papuan peoples as distinct from Melanesians was first suggested and named by Sidney Herbert Ray in 1892.-The...
(Papuan) language of the Tambora culture of central Sumbawa
Sumbawa
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is in the province of West Nusa Tenggara....
, in what is now Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, which was wiped out by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora
Mount Tambora
Mount Tambora is an active stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Sumbawa is flanked both to the north and south by oceanic crust, and Tambora was formed by the active subduction zone beneath it. This raised Mount Tambora as high as , making it...
. This was the westernmost known Papuan language (Donahue 2007), and was relatively unusual among such languages in being the language of a maritime trading state, though contemporary Papuan trading states were also found off Halmahera in Ternate
Ternate
Ternate is an island in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It is located off the west coast of the larger island of Halmahera, the center of the powerful former Sultanate of Ternate....
and Tidore
Tidore
Tidore is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. In the pre-colonial era, the kingdom of Tidore was a major regional political and economic power, and a fierce rival of nearby Ternate, just to the north.-Geography:Tidor...
.
Vocabulary
One word list was collected prior to the eruption, published as Raffles (1817, 1830). It is clear from this that the language is not Austronesian; indeed, there are only a few Austronesian loans.In the list below (Donahue 2007), it is presumed that ng' transcribes ŋ and dj dʒ. Hyphen is possibly a glottal stop ʔ. Two words are clearly Malay loans. Zollinger (1850) identified several possible loans from other Austronesian languages; Tambora was a regional trading power, so a number of loans might be expected. The connection with Timor, if not coincidence, would presumably be genetic, not a loan.
| Tambora | gloss | Tambora | gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| seena (AN?) | 'one' | maimpo | 'foot' |
| kálae | 'two' | kiro | 'blood' |
| nih | 'three' | kóngkong | 'day' |
| kude-in | 'four' | tádung | 'night' |
| kutélin | 'five' | kidjum | 'sleep' |
| báta-in | 'six' | sílam | 'dead' |
| kúmba | 'seven' | si-yang (Z: Malay?) | 'white' |
| koného | 'eight' | naido | 'black' |
| láli | 'nine' | sámar | 'good' |
| saróne | 'ten' | gonóre | 'bad' |
| sisaróne | 'twenty' | maing'aing | 'fire' |
| simári | 'one hundred' | naino (Z: Madura) | 'water' |
| doh (Bima) | 'person' | gónong (Z: Malay?) | 'earth' |
| sia-in (Z: Sangar) | 'man' | ilah | 'stone' |
| óna-yit | 'woman' | kíwu | 'pig' |
| homóri | 'father' | kilaíngkong | 'bird' |
| yelai | 'mother' | andik (Z: Javanese) | 'egg' |
| kokóre | 'head' | karáyi | 'fish' |
| saing'óre | 'eye' | ingkong | 'sun' |
| saing kóme | 'nose' | mang'ong | 'moon' |
| búlu (Malay) | 'hair' | kingkong | 'star' |
| sóntong | 'teeth' | mákan (Malay) | 'eat' |
| sumóre | 'belly' | hok-hok (Z: German?) | 'sit' |
| taintu (Timor?) | 'hand' | moríhoh (Sanskrit?) | 'God' |
Analysis
Donahue (2007) notes that word lists of this size from other Indonesian languages with relatively small consonant inventories typically succeed in recording all consonants, so the same might be expected here, apart from consonants which could not be transcribed with MalayMalay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
orthographic conventions, such as the implosives found in the region. P only occurs after m, and may be a reflex of h, as in other languages of the area. Overall, the phonemic profile is consistent with many languages of eastern Indonesia: that is, to the east but not to the west of Tambora.
Hok-hok 'sit' suggests verbal reduplication, but the only other verb, makan, is an obvious Malay loan.
Saing'óre 'eye', saing kóme 'nose', sóntong 'teeth', sumóre 'belly' all begin similarly, suggesting a prefix, possibly a possessive prefix, with a nasal -ng' that assimilates to a following consonant, and with sumóre 'belly' presumably from *more or *pore.
Several of the numbers begin with sV-, a common pattern in Austronesian languages where 'one' is reduced to a prefix. Indeed, seena 'one' is a possible Austronesian loan. Donahue suggests that sarone 'ten' ~ sisarone 'twenty' may reflect a earlier vigesimal
Vigesimal
The vigesimal or base 20 numeral system is based on twenty .- Places :...
system, possibly from sa- 'one' doh 'person' -ne (suffix), a common way of counting 'twenty' in the region. 'Twenty' might then have shifted to meaning 'ten' under the influence of decimal trading partners.
The word moríhoh 'God' reflects a common term in the area, of uncertain but perhaps Sanskrit derivation. In Tambora, however, it also resembles homóri 'father', suggesting that neither word can be assumed to be native.
Donahue notes one word, taintu 'hand', which is plausibly connected to other Papuan languages, those of Timor and Alor to the east: Abui
Abui language
Abui is a language of the Alor Archipelago. It belongs to the Trans–New Guinea family spoken approximately by 16,000 speakers in the central part of the Alor Island in Eastern Indonesia, East Nusa Tenggara province....
taŋ, Oirata tana, Kui
Kui language (Indonesia)
Kui is a Trans–New Guinea language spoken by 4,240 people in several enclaves on Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia....
tan. This leaves the -tu as a possible suffix, and the similar shape of maimpo 'foot' suggests to Donahue that these may derive from tayn and maym plus a suffix -ho or -hu which assimilates to the preceding consonant.
A number of words end in -(k)ong and -ore, and the former are semantically similar (ingkong 'sun', kóngkong 'day', mang'ong 'moon', kingkong 'star'), suggesting possible suffixes, though they might simply be coincidence.