Bornean languages
| Bornean | |
|---|---|
| (geographic) | |
| Geographic distribution: |
Borneo |
| Linguistic classification: | Austronesian
|
| Subdivisions: |
|
| Glottolog: | None nort2892 (North Bornean)[1] grea1283 (Barito)[2] kaya1333 (Kayanic)[3] land1261 (Land Dayak)[4] |
The Bornean language families
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The Bornean languages are a geographic group of Austronesian language families indigenous to the island of Borneo, with the exclusion of Ibanic (Malayic Dayak) and other Malayic languages. There is little reason to think they form a genealogical clade.
Contents
Languages
The Bornean languages form a number of distinct branches of the Austronesian family.
North Bornean
North Bornean is a 1991/2010 proposal by Robert Blust that the Northeast Sabahan, Southwest Sabahan, North Sarawakan, and Melanau–Kajang families form an exclusive unit.
- Northeast Sabahan (Banggi, Ida’an)
- North Sarawakan
- Melanau–Kajang (incl. Rejang–Sajau)
- Southwest Sabahan
Kayan
The Kayan languages were specifically excluded from the North Borneo family by Robert Blust (1991).
Land Dayak
Land Dayak are the majority of the Dayak languages excluding Ibanic.
Barito
The Barito languages have common features due to extended contact. They fall into four families:
- East Barito (including Malagasy)
- West Barito
- Mahakam
- Sama–Bajaw (per Blust 2006)
Proposed substratum
According to Roger Blench (2010),[5] Austroasiatic languages were once spoken in Borneo. Blench cites Austroasiatic-origin vocabulary words in modern-day Bornean branches such as Land Dayak (Bidayuh, Dayak Bakatiq, etc.), Dusunic (Central Dusun, Visayan, etc.), Kayan, and Kenyah, noting especially resemblances with the Aslian languages of peninsular Malaysia. As further evidence for his proposal, Blench also cites ethnographic evidence such as musical instruments in Borneo shared in common with Austroasiatic-speaking groups in mainland Southeast Asia.
Blench (2010) claims that lexical forms shared among Bornean and Austroasiatic languages include 'rain', 'to die', 'back (of body)', 'flying lemur', 'monkey', 'barking deer', 'lizard', and 'taro'.
See also
Footnotes
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- ↑ Blench, Roger. 2010. "Was there an Austroasiatic Presence in Island Southeast Asia prior to the Austronesian Expansion?" In Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association , Vol. 30.
References
- Blust, Robert. "The Greater North Borneo Hypothesis." Oceanic Linguistics 49.1 (2010): 44-118.
- Fay Wouk and Malcolm Ross (ed.), The history and typology of western Austronesian voice systems. Australian National University, 2002.
- K. Alexander Adelaar and Nikolaus Himmelmann, The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar. Routledge, 2005.
