Mainstream Kenyah, also known as Usun Apau and Bakung, is a
Kayan dialect cluster
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
of
North Kalimantan
North Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. North Kalimantan borders the Malaysian states of Sabah to the north and Sarawak t ...
,
Indonesia, and
Sarawak,
Malaysia. Dialects fall into four clusters:
*Lepo’ Tau, Lepo’ Bem, Uma’ Jalan, Uma’ Tukung
*Lepo’ Ke, Lepo’ Kuda
*Lepo’ Maut, Lepo’ Ndang, Badeng (Madang)
*Bakung, Lepo’ Tepu’ (Lepo Teppu’).
Phonology
Consonants
* Sounds can also occur as geminated or as unreleased in word-final .
Vowels
* can also occur as lax .
* Sounds can also be heard as long .
References
External links
*
Kaipuleohone's archive of
Robert Blust's work includes
notes on Kenyah language
Languages of Indonesia
Kenyah languages
Languages of Malaysia
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