Kanowit language

Last updated
Kanowit
Tanjong
Native to Malaysia, Brunei
Region Sarawak and neighboring Brunei
Ethnicity Melanau people
Native speakers
200 (2000) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 kxn
Glottolog kano1244
ELP Kanowit-Tanjong

The Kanowit language, also called Serau Tet Kanowit (language of the Kanowit people), is an Austronesian language spoken in Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. It is mutually intelligible with the Tanjong (alternatively spelled Tanjung) language, which is spoken even farther upriver near the town of Kapit. Tanjong may be a separate language from Kanowit; however, both languages currently share the denomination kxn in ISO 639-3. [2] Kanowit is primarily spoken in Kampung Bedil, a village located approximately one mile up the Rajang River from Kanowit Town. [3]

Vocabulary

Some Kanowit vocabulary translated into English: [4]

KanowitEnglish
bahah'husked rice', 'seed'
balak'banana'
buyaʔ'because'
kapan'thick'
kəbeh'die'
lakəy'old (age)'
mañit'sharp'
məlut'sleep'
mərəw'woman'
musuŋ'lips', 'beak'
nəlabaw'ask'
ñaga'to fry'
pəloʔon'ten'
sak'red', 'ripe'
sidəp'aflame'
supat'swollen'
təjalaŋ'rhinoceros hornbill'
tənawan'person'
tigah'straight'
ubaʔ'word'
ubəl'mute'

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malayo-Polynesian languages</span> Major subgroup of the Austronesian language family

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 Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia in the areas near the Malay Peninsula, with Cambodia, Vietnam and the Chinese island Hainan as the northwest geographic outlier. Malagasy, spoken on the island of Madagascar off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, is the furthest western outlier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malayic languages</span> Subgroup of the Austronesian language family

The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The most prominent member is Malay, a pluricentric language given national status in Brunei and Singapore while also the basis for national standards Malaysian in Malaysia and Indonesian in Indonesia. The Malayic branch also includes local languages spoken by ethnic Malays, further several languages spoken by various other ethnic groups of Sumatra, Indonesia and Borneo even as far as Urak Lawoi in the southwestern coast of Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Blust</span> American linguist (1940–2022)

Robert A. Blust was an American linguist who worked in several areas, including historical linguistics, lexicography and ethnology. He was Professor of Linguistics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Blust specialized in the Austronesian languages and made major contributions to the field of Austronesian linguistics.

The Ibanic languages are a branch of the Malayic languages indigenous to western Borneo. They are spoken by the Ibans and related groups in East Malaysia and the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. Other Dayak languages, called Land Dayak, which are not Ibanic, are found in the northwest corner of Kalimantan, between Ibanic and non-Ibanic Malayic languages such as Kendayan and the Malay dialects of Sarawak and Pontianak.

The Kayanic or Kayan–Murik languages are a group of Austronesian languages spoken in Borneo by the Kayan, Morek Baram, Bahau, and related peoples.

The Land Dayak languages are a group of dozen or so languages spoken by the Bidayuh Land Dayaks of Borneo, and by some, also spoken by the Rejang people of southwestern Sumatra.

The Melanau–Kajang languages or Central Sarawak languages are a group of languages spoken in Kalimantan, Indonesia and Sarawak, Malaysia by the Kenyah, Melanau and related peoples.

The Punan languages or Rejang-Sajau languages are a group of mutually intelligible isolects spoken by the Punan and related peoples of Borneo in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Greater North Borneo languages are a proposed subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The subgroup historically covers languages that are spoken throughout much of Borneo and Sumatra, as well as parts of Java, and Mainland Southeast Asia. The Greater North Borneo hypothesis was first proposed by Robert Blust (2010) and further elaborated by Alexander Smith. The evidence presented for this proposal are solely lexical. Despite its name, this branch has been now widespread within the Maritime Southeast Asia region.

The Sabahan languages are a group of Austronesian languages centered on the Bornean province of Sabah.

The North Sarawakan languages are a group of Austronesian languages spoken in the northeastern part of the province of Sarawak, Borneo, and proposed in Blust.

The Molbog-Bonggi languages are a proposed microgroup the Austronesian languages comprising Bonggi and Molbog, spoken in Sabah on Borneo, on Palawan in the Philippines, and on the islands in between.

The Palawanic languages are a subgroup in the Greater Central Philippine-family spoken on the island of Palawan and nearby islets.

Molbog is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines and Sabah, Malaysia. The majority of speakers are concentrated at the southernmost tip of the Philippine province of Palawan, specifically the municipalities of Bataraza and Balabac. Both municipalities are considered as bastions for environmental conservation in the province. The majority of Molbog speakers are Muslims.

Modang is a Kayan language spoken in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Seru or Sru Dayak is an extinct Austronesian language of Sarawak in Borneo. Smith (2017) classifies it as a Punan language.

Segai, also known as Punan Kelai, is a Kayanic language spoken in several communities along the Kelai River, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Keninjal is a Malayic Dayak language of Borneo. Glottolog classifies Keninjal as a Western Malayic Dayak language alongside Kendayan, but Smith (2017) includes it in the Ibanic branch of Malayic based on phonological evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rejang language</span> Austronesian language spoken in Sumatra, Indonesia

Rejang is an Austronesian language predominantly spoken by the Rejang people in southwestern parts of Sumatra (Bengkulu), Indonesia. There are five dialects, spread from mountainous region to the coastal region of Bengkulu, including the Musi (Musai) dialect, the Lebong dialect, the Kebanagung dialect, the Rawas (Awes) dialect, and the Pesisir dialect.

The Moklenic or Moken–Moklen languages consist of a pair of two closely related but distinct languages, namely Moken and Moklen. Larish (1999) establishes the two languages as forming two distinct subgroups of a larger Moken–Moklen branch. Larish (2005) suggests Moklenic as an alternative name for Moken–Moklen, the latter term which was originally used by Larish (1999).

References

  1. Kanowit at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. "Kanowit-Tanjong". The Endangered Languages Project. 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  3. Smith, Alexander D. (2017). The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii at Manoa. p. 13.
  4. Smith, Alexander D. (2017). The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii at Manoa. pp. 98, 102, 104–109, 296, 298, 301, 303, 305.