Melanau language

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Melanau
Spoken in: Malaysia, Brunei 
Region: Sarawak and neighboring Brunei
Total speakers: 30,099
Language family: Austronesian
 Malayo-Polynesian
  Northwest Borneo
   Melanau-Kajang
    Melanau
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2:
ISO 639-3: mel

Melanau is an Austronesian language spoken in the coastal area of the Rejang delta on northwest Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia and Brunei. There are several dialects--Mukah-Oya, Balingian, Bruit, Dalat, Igan, Sarikei, Segahan, Prehan, Segalang, and Siteng. [1]

Contents

[edit] Phonology

[edit] Consonants

Melanau has the following consonants. [2]

Bilabial Coronal Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Stops and
affricates
Voiceless p t k ʔ
Voiced b d g
Fricatives s h,
Nasals m n ɲ ŋ
Lateral l
Trills r ʀ
Semivowels w j

[edit] Vowels

Melanau has the following vowels. [3]

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

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Raymond G. Gordon, Jr, ed. 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 15th edition. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
  2. ^ Clayre 1970.
  3. ^ Clayre 1970.

[edit] References

I.F.C.S. Clayre. 1970. "The Spelling of Melanau (nee Milano)," The Sarawak Museum Journal 18:330-352.