Melanau language

(Redirected from Sibu language)

Melanau is an Austronesian language spoken in the coastal area of the Rajang delta on northwest Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia and Brunei. There are several dialects—Mukah-Oya, Balingian, Bruit, Dalat, Lawas, Igan, Sarikei, Segahan, Prehan, Segalang, and Siteng.[2]

Melanau
Central Melanau
Native toMalaysia, Brunei
RegionSarawak and neighbouring Brunei
EthnicityMelanau people
Native speakers
110,000 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
mel – Central Melanau
dro – Daro-Matu Melanau
sdx – Sibu Melanau
Glottologcent2101  Central
daro1239  Daro-Matu
sibu1258  Sibu
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Phonology

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Consonants

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Melanau has the following consonants.[3]

Bilabial Coronal Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasals m n ɲ ŋ
Plosives and
affricates
voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d ɡ
Fricatives s h, ɦ
Lateral l
Trills r ʀ
Semivowels w j

Vowels

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Melanau has the following vowels.[3]

front central back
rounded
High i u
Mid ɛ ə ɔ
Low a

Sounds /i a u ɔ/ can have allophones of [ɪ æ~ʌ ʊ ɒ].[4]

Orthography

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Vowels and diphthongs

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  • a – [a]
  • aa – [aː]
  • e – [ɛ/ə]
  • i – [i]
  • o – [ɔ]
  • u – [u]
  • ai – [ai]
  • au – [au]
  • ei – [ei]
  • ou – [ou]
  • ui – [ui]

Consonants

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  • b – [b]
  • c – [t͡ʃ]
  • d – [d]
  • g – [g]
  • h – [h, ɦ]
  • j – [d͡ʒ]
  • k – [k]
  • l – [l]
  • m – [m]
  • n – [n]
  • ng – [ŋ]
  • ny – [ɲ]
  • p – [p]
  • r – [r/ʀ]
  • s – [s]
  • t – [t]
  • w – [w]
  • y – [j][5]

Notes

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  1. ^ Central Melanau at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Daro-Matu Melanau at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Sibu Melanau at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Raymond G. Gordon Jr., ed. 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 15th edition. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
  3. ^ a b Clayre 1970.
  4. ^ Clayre 1972.
  5. ^ "Melanau language". Omniglot. Retrieved 27 August 2021.

References

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  • I.F.C.S. Clayre. 1970. "The Spelling of Melanau (nee Milano)," The Sarawak Museum Journal 18:330-352.
  • Clayre, Iain F. C. S. 1972. A grammatical description of Melanau. University of Edinburgh.
  • Rensch, Calvin R. 2012. Melanau and the Languages of Central Sarawak. SIL Electronic Survey Report. SIL International.
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