The Sabahan languages are a group of
Austronesian languages centered on the Bornean province of
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
.
Languages
Blust (2010)
The constituents are separated into two families in Blust (2010):
;Northeast Sabahan
*
Bonggi
*
Ida’an
;Southwest Sabahan
*
Dusunic (15)
*
Paitanic (4)
*
Murutic (7)
*
Tidong
The Tidung, Tidong ( Jawi: تيدوڠ) are a native group originating from northeastern part of Borneo and surrounding small islands. They live on both sides of the border of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Tidung speak Tidong language, a North Borne ...
(5)
Lobel (2013)
Lobel (2013b, p. 47, 361) proposes the following internal classification of Southwest Sabahan, based on phonological and morphological evidence.
*Greater Dusunic
**
Dusunic
**
Bisaya
Visayans (Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...
-
Lotud
The Lotud people are an indigenous ethnic group residing in Sabah, eastern Malaysia on the island of Borneo. They reside mainly in the Tuaran district (including the Tamparuli as well as Kiulu sub-districts) and also a portion of this tribe's ...
**
Paitanic
*Greater Murutic
**
Murutic
**
Tatana
**
Papar
The Papar (; from Latin ''papa'', via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were, according to early Icelandic sagas, Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of what is now Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen of S ...
Lobel (2013:367–368) lists the following Proto-Southwest Sabahan phonological innovations that were developed from
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesi ...
. (Note: PSWSAB stands for Proto-Southwest Sabahan, while PMP stands for Proto-Malayo-Polynesian.)
*PMP *h > PSWSAB Ø
*PMP *a > PSWSAB *ə / _# (possibly be an areal feature in Sabah or northern Borneo, since this is also found in Idaanic)
*PMP *R > PSWSAB *h / (a,i,u)_(a,ə,u)
*PMP *R > PSWSAB *g / ə_
*PMP *-m- > ø in PSWSAB reflexes of the PMP pronoun forms *kami ‘1EXCL.NOM’, *mami ‘1EXCL.GEN’, and *kamu ‘2PL.NOM’
*Reduction of most PMP consonant clusters to either singletons or prenasalized clusters
Smith (2017)
Smith (2017)
proposes a North Borneo group comprising the
North Sarawak, Northeast Sabah, and Southwest Sabah branches.
*
North Sarawak
**
Bintulu
Bintulu is a coastal town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. Bintulu is located 610 kilometres (380 mi) northeast of Kuching, 216 kilometres (134 mi) northeast of Sibu, and 200 kilometres (120 mi) ...
**
Berawan–Lower Baram
**
Dayic
**
Kenyah
The Kenyah people are an indigenous, Austronesian-speaking people of Borneo, living in the remote Baram Lio Matoh, Long Selaan, Long Moh, Long Anap, Long Mekaba, Long Jeeh, Long Belaong, Long San, Long Silat, Long Tungan, Data Kakus ...
*Northeast Sabah (
Bonggi, ''
Idaanic'')
*Southwest Sabah
**Greater Dusunic
***Bisaya-Lotud-Dusunic
****
Bisaya
Visayans (Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...
-
Lotud
The Lotud people are an indigenous ethnic group residing in Sabah, eastern Malaysia on the island of Borneo. They reside mainly in the Tuaran district (including the Tamparuli as well as Kiulu sub-districts) and also a portion of this tribe's ...
(Sabah and Limbang Bisaya, Brunei Dusun, Lotud)
****
Dusunic (Bundu, Liwan, Tindal, Tobilung, Rungus, Kadazan, Kujau, Minokok, Dumpas, etc)
***
Paitanic (Beluran, Lingkabau, Lobu, Kuamut, Murut Serudong)
**Greater Murutic
***
Tatana
***
Papar
The Papar (; from Latin ''papa'', via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were, according to early Icelandic sagas, Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of what is now Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen of S ...
***
Murutic (Murut (Nabaay, Timugon, Paluan, Tagol, Kalabakan), Gana, Tingalan, Kolod, Abai, Bulusu, Tidung (Bengawong, Sumbol, Kalabakan, Mensalong, Malinau))
Footnotes
References
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