| Temuan | |
|---|---|
| Bahasak Temuan | |
| Native to | Malaysia |
| Region | central and southern Peninsular Malaysia |
| Ethnicity | Temuan |
Native speakers | 23,000 (2008) [1] |
| Dialects | Belandas Mantra |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tmw |
| Glottolog | temu1239 |
| ELP | Temuan |
Temuan language (Temuan: Benua, Bual Uwang Hutarn, bual Mutan, Niap, Bahasak Temuan, Malay : Bahasa Temuan) is a Malayic language (part of the Austronesian language family) spoken by the Temuan people, one of the Orang Asli or indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia which can be found in the states of Selangor, Pahang, Johor, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan. Temuan is a separate language but has a degree of mutual intelligibility with the Malay language. It is written in a Latin alphabet, but no standard orthography has been made.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open | a |
/ə/ may be pronounced as [ɐ] in syllable-initial prefixes.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | tʃ | k | ( ʔ ) |
| voiced | b | d | dʒ | ɡ | ||
| Fricative | s | ɣ | h | |||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
The glottal stop [ʔ] is only heard in word-final and intervocalic positions.
/ɣ/ can be heard as [h] when in intervocalic positions. A trill [r] is rarely heard as a pronunciation of /ɣ/.
Nasal sounds /m, n, ŋ/ are heard as preploded [ᵖm, ᵗn, ᵏŋ], when in word-final positions. [2]
Examples of Temuan words:
| English | Malay language | Temuan language |
|---|---|---|
| I | Saya/Aku | Akuk |
| You (casual) | Kau/Awak | Ajih/Ong |
| You (formal) | Kamu | Higun |
| They | Mereka/Diorang | Didik/Gidi |
| Aunty | Makcik/Inang [3] | Inak |
| Uncle | Pakcik/Mamak [4] | Mamak |
| Bad | Buruk/Jahat | Barap/Nyap Elok/Nyahat |
| No/Not | Tak | Nyap |
| Don't have | Tiada | Hap |
| Alcohol/Liquor | Arak | Engkem/Aii/Sukuk |
| Hokkien mee | Mi Jalung | Hokieen Mee |
| Smoked monkey meat | Daging kera salai | Pantim |
| Day | Hari | Haik |
| People | Orang | Uwang/Eang |
| Tell | Beritahu/Khabar [5] | Kaba |
Temuan is divided into two major dialects, namely Belandas and Mantra, which differ mostly in terms of phonology and to some extent vocabulary but are still mutually intelligible.
Comparison between Belandas and Mantra dialects:
Sample of Temuan Belandas dialect – diak ('he/she'), hajak ('only'), kitak ('we'), tai (end of sentence particle).
Sample of Temuan Mantra dialect – dien ('he/she'), hajen ('only'), kiten ('we'), tea (end of sentence particle).