Maʼanyan language

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Maanyan or Maʼanyan (also Maanjan or Maanyak Dayak) is an Austronesian language belonging to the East Barito languages. It is spoken by about 150,000 Ma'anyan people (one of the Dayak peoples) living in the province of Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is most closely related to the Malagasy language spoken in Madagascar, although these languages are not mutually intelligible due to geographical distance.

Ma'anyan
Pronunciation[maʔaɲan]
Native toIndonesia
RegionKalimantan
Native speakers
150,000 (2003)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3mhy
Glottologmaan1238

Phonology edit

Consonants edit

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d ɟ ɡ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Fricative s h
Trill r
Lateral l
Approximant w j

/r/ can also be heard as a tap sound [ɾ].

Vowels edit

Front Back
Close i u
Open ɛ a

/i, u/ can be heard as [ɪ, ʊ] in closed syllables.[2]

Connection with Malagasy edit

The Malagasy language is an Austronesian language spoken in Madagascar, originating from its historical homeland in South East Borneo.[3][4] Malagasy is classified among the Southeast Barito languages,[3][5] and Ma'anyan is often listed as its closest relative, with Malagasy incorporating numerous Malay and Javanese loanwords.[5][6] It is known that Ma'anyan people were brought as labourers and slaves by Malay and Javanese people in their trading fleets, which reached Madagascar by ca. 50–500 AD.[7][8][9] There is high lexical similarity with other East Barito languages like Paku (77%) and Dusun Witu (75%). It is likely that the Malagasy had already acquired a separate ethnic and linguistic identity in South Borneo prior to their migration(s) to East Africa.[4] Based on linguistic evidence, it has been suggested that the early Malagasy migrants moved away from Borneo in the 7th century AD, if not later.[10][5]

Compared to Malagasy, Ma’anyan is characterized by a "West Indonesian" (Malay-type) morphosyntactic structure, a consequence of the long-standing influence of Malay on the languages of western Indonesia. While Malagasy is closer to the so-called “Philippine-type structure” (resembling many of the languages of the Philippines, Sabah, North Sulawesi, and Taiwan), it is also very innovative phonologically, perhaps as a result of its common phonological history with Comorian languages.[3]

Vocabulary edit

Vocabulary comparison between Malay, Banjarese, Ma'anyan, and Malagasy.

Malay Banjarese Ma'anyan Malagasy English
monyet warik warik varika ('lemur') monkey
bemban bamban waman
bulian balian wadian
patih patih patis regent
lama lawas lawah lava long (as in time)
kawan kawal kawal/hengau namana friend
obat tatamba tatamba tambavy medicine
senang aray aray ravo happy, easy
masih magun pagun manangona ('to accumulate') to keep ...ing
arya aria uria
demang damang damhong spider

References edit

  1. ^ Ma'anyan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Gudai, Darmansyah (1988). A Grammar of Maanyan, A Language of Central Kalimantan. Australian National University.
  3. ^ a b c Adelaar, K. Alexander (2006). "The Indonesian migrations to Madagascar: making sense of the multidisciplinary evidence". In Simanjuntak, Truman; Pojoh, Ingrid H.E.; Hisyam, Mohammad (eds.). Austronesian Diaspora and the Ethnogeneses of People in Indonesian Archipelago: Proceedings of the International Symposium. Jakarta: LIPI Press. pp. 205–232. ISBN 979-26-2436-8. OCLC 73745051. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b Adelaar, K. Alexander (2017). "Who Were the First Malagasy, and What Did They Speak?". In Acri, Andrea; Blench, Roger; Landmann, Alexandra (eds.). Spirits and Ships: Cultural Transfers in Early Monsoon Asia. Book collections on Project MUSE 28. Singapore: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. pp. 441–469. doi:10.1355/9789814762779-012. ISBN 978-981-4762-75-5. OCLC 1012757769.
  5. ^ a b c Adelaar, K. Alexander (2006). "Borneo as a Cross-Roads for Comparative Austronesian Linguistics". In Bellwood, Peter; Fox, James J.; Tryon, Darrell T. (eds.). The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. Canberra: ANU E Press. pp. 81–102. doi:10.22459/A.09.2006.04. ISBN 1-920942-85-8. JSTOR j.ctt2jbjx1.7. OCLC 225298720.
  6. ^ There are also some Sulawesi loanwords, which Adelaar attributes to contact prior to the migration to Madagascar: See Adelaar, K. Alexander (2006). "The Indonesian migrations to Madagascar: making sense of the multidisciplinary evidence". In Simanjuntak, Truman; Pojoh, Ingrid H.E.; Hisyam, Mohammad (eds.). Austronesian Diaspora and the Ethnogeneses of People in Indonesian Archipelago: Proceedings of the International Symposium. Jakarta: LIPI Press. pp. 213–215. ISBN 979-26-2436-8. OCLC 73745051. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  7. ^ Dewar, Robert E.; Wright, Henry T. (1993). "The Culture History of Madagascar". Journal of World Prehistory. 7 (4): 417–466. doi:10.1007/bf00997802. hdl:2027.42/45256.
  8. ^ Burney, David A.; Burney, Lida Pigott; Godfrey, Laurie R.; Jungers, William L.; Goodman, Steven M.; Wright, Henry T.; Jull, A. J. Timothy (2004). "A Chronology for Late Prehistoric Madagascar". Journal of Human Evolution. 47 (1–2): 25–63. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.05.005. PMID 15288523.
  9. ^ Kumar, Ann (2012). "Dominion Over Palm and Pine: Early Indonesia's Maritime Reach". In Wade, Geoff (ed.). Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 101–122.
  10. ^ Adelaar, K. Alexander (1995). "Asian Roots of the Malagasy: A Linguistic Perspective". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia. 151 (3): 325–356. doi:10.1163/22134379-90003036. ISSN 0006-2294. JSTOR 27864676. OCLC 5672481889.

External links edit