The Idaʼan (also Idahan) language is a
Malayo-Polynesian
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...
language spoken by the
Idaʼan
The Idaʼan (Idahan or Eraan or Sabahan) people are an ethnic group residing primarily in the Lahad Datu and Tawau districts on the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Their current population is estimated to be around 6,000 (1987 estimate), but i ...
people on the east coast 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 has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
.
Background
The language has a long literary history; the earliest known work in the language is a manuscript dated 1408 A.D. The manuscript, written using the
Jawi script
Jawi (; ; ; ) is a writing system used for writing several languages of Southeast Asia, such as Acehnese, Banjarese, Betawi, Magindanao, Malay, Mëranaw, Minangkabau, Tausūg, Ternate and many other languages in Southeast Asia. Jawi ...
, gives an account of an Idaʼan man named Abdullah in
Darvel Bay
Darvel Bay or Lahad Datu Bay is a bight (large bay) on the east side of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the largest semi-enclosed bay on the east coast of Borneo and faces the Sulawesi Sea. Administratively, it is within Tawau Division, with Lahad Datu ...
who embraced Islam, with the region thus becoming one of the earliest known regions in Malaysia to embrace Islam. The Idaʼan, Begak and Subpan peoples originally formed one ethnic group. The Idaʼan converted to Islam following the conversion of Abdullah, while the Begak and Subpan continued to practice their traditional religion.
Varieties
The Idaʼan language has been described as having three dialects: Idaʼan ''proper'' (spoken in Sagama and several villages west of Lahad Datu), Begak (spoken in Ulu Tungku and several villages east of Lahad Datu), and Subpan (spoken in the districts of Kinabatangan and Sandakan). These dialects correspond to three ethnic groups who originally formed a single group.
Lobel (2016)
lists ''Sungai Seguliud'' and ''Begak'' as Idaanic languages (language varieties closely related to ''Idaʼan'' proper). The Begak dialect is said to be threatened with
extinction
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
, as younger speakers are switching to
Malay.
Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
References
Sources
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{{Greater North Borneo languages
Northeast Sabahan languages
Languages of Malaysia
Endangered Austronesian languages