North Sarawakan | |
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Geographic distribution | Northern Sarawak, Borneo |
Linguistic classification | Austronesian
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Subdivisions | |
Glottolog | nort3171 |
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 (1991, 2010).
Ethnologue 16 adds Punan Tubu as an additional branch, and notes that Bintulu might be closest to Baram. The Melanau–Kajang languages were removed in Blust 2010.
The Northern Sarawak languages are well known for strange phonological histories. [1]
Smith (2017) [2] classifies the North Sarawakan languages as follows.
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. Cambodia, Vietnam and the Chinese island Hainan serve as the northwest geographic outlier. Malagasy, spoken in the island of Madagascar off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, is the furthest western outlier. The languages spoken south-westward from central Micronesia until Easter Island are sometimes referred to as the Polynesian languages.
Being an indigenous tribe in Borneo, the Kayan people are similar to their neighbours, the Kenyah tribe, with which they are grouped together with the Bahau people under the Apo Kayan people group. The Kayan people are categorised as a part of the Dayak people. They are distinct from, and not to be confused with, the Kayan people of Myanmar.
The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The most prominent member is Malay, which is the national language of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia; it further serves as basis for Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia. The Malayic branch also includes the local languages spoken by Indonesians and ethnic Malays, further several languages spoken by various other ethnic groups of Sumatra, Indonesia and Borneo. The most probable candidate for the urheimat of the Malayic languages is western Borneo.
Marudi is a town in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, and is a part of the division of Miri. It is the seat of Marudi District, and is located on the banks of Baram River, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) upstream from the river mouth. Marudi was the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak before Miri was established. Marudi is considered as the cultural heart of the Orang Ulu, the highland tribes of Sarawak. It is also a transit gateway to Gunung Mulu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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, Data Surau, Data Senap, Long Dungan, Long Busang, Long Beyak, Tubau, Bintulu, Miri, Apau Koyan resettlement for Bakun Dam, Long Bulan, Long Jawe, Dangang, Long Bangan, Long Urun, Sambop Long Semutut, Long Tebulang, Long Lawen, Long Unan and Belaga regions in Sarawak, Malaysia and the remote Apau Kayan, Bahau (Bau), Benua Lama, Benua Baru and Mahakam regions in North Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
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 Kenyah languages are a group of half a dozen or so closely related languages spoken by the Kenyah peoples of Borneo. They are:
The Greater North Borneo languages are a proposed subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The subgroup covers languages that are spoken throughout much of Borneo, as well as parts of Indonesia, 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.
The Malayo-Sumbawan languages are a proposed subgroup of the Austronesian languages that unites the Malayic and Chamic languages with the languages of Java and the western Lesser Sunda Islands, except for Javanese. If valid, it would be the largest demonstrated family of Malayo-Polynesian outside Oceanic. The Malayo-Sumbawan subgroup is however not universally accepted, and is rejected e.g. by Blust (2010) and Smith (2017), who supported the Greater North Borneo and Western Indonesian hypotheses. In a 2019 paper published in Oceanic Linguistics, Adelaar accepted both of these groupings, in addition to Smith's (2018) redefinition of Barito languages as forming a linkage.
The Bali–Sasak–Sumbawa languages are a group of closely related languages spoken in the western Lesser Sunda Islands. The three languages are Balinese on Bali, Sasak on Lombok, and Sumbawa on western Sumbawa.
The Sabahan languages are a group of Austronesian languages centered on the Bornean province of Sabah.
Long Moh is a longhouse settlement in the Marudi division of Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies approximately 551.6 kilometres (343 mi) east-north-east of the state capital Kuching.
Long Tungan is a settlement in the Marudi division of Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies approximately 564.4 kilometres (351 mi) east-north-east of the state capital Kuching.
Long Selaan is a settlement in Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies approximately 553.9 kilometres (344 mi) east-north-east of the state capital Kuching.
Mainstream Kenyah also known as Usun Apau and Bakung, is a Kayan dialect cluster of North Kalimantan and Sarawak. Dialects fall into four clusters:
Bintulu or Vaie is an Austronesian language of Borneo. Robert Blust leaves it as an isolate within the North Sarawakan languages. Ethnologue notes that it might be closest to Baram within those languages.
Berawan is an Austronesian language of Sarawak.
Usun Apau Plieran is a remote abandoned Kenyah Jamuk, Badeng and Lepu Aga' village settled in 1860, Belaga district. To be exact, Usun Apau Plieran is located at the upstream of Sungai Plieran and Sungai Tiyut. The highest peak that close to this area are Bukit Busing 1300m and Mudung Batu Bora about 1450m. There are a few old longhouse sites in this area such as Long Metalon, Long Ampan Aing, Long Bora, Long Taa, Ka Laeh, Lidung Jelo and Lolau Mabo.
The Apo Kayan people are one of the Dayak people groups that are spread throughout Sarawak of Malaysia, East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan of Indonesia. The earliest Apo Kayan people are from the riverside of the Kayan River, Bulungan Regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. According to the Apo Kayan Dayak legend, the Kayan people are the forefathers of which all smaller sub-ethnic Dayak people that are found along the Kayan River came from. Today, the population of the Apo Kayan people are estimated about 64,900.
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.