Mambai language (Timor)
Mambai language is spoken by the second largest ethnic group in East Timor, the Mambai people. The language is also called Mambae or Manbae.
| Mambai | |
|---|---|
| Region | East Timor | 
| Native speakers | 130,000 (2010 census)[1] | 
| Austronesian
 
 | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mgm | 
| Glottolog | mamb1306 | 
| ELP | Mambae | 
|  Distribution of Mambai mother-tongue speakers in East Timor | |

An illustration of Tetum language (left), Mambai language (center) and Portuguese language (right) being compared to one another.
Phonology
    
    Consonants
    
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k | |
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | ||
| Fricative | f | s | h | ||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Approximant | l | ||||
- /r, h, k/ can also be heard as [ɾ, ħ, ʔ].
- /p, k/ can also be heard as aspirated [pʰ, kʰ].
- /d/ is also heard as a voiced post-alveolar stop [d̠].
- /t/ is slightly aspirated [tʰ] before mid and low vowels. /t/ can also have an allophone [ts] when preceding high vowels.[2]
- The plosives /p, b, t, d, k/ are unreleased [p̚, b̚, t̚, d̚, k̚] in word-final position.[3]
Dialects
    
Mambae can be divided into 3 dialects according to Fogaça (2017):[6]: 82
- Northwest
- Liquiça: Bazartete
- Ermera: Hatulia
- Ermera: Railaco
- Northeast-Central
- Aileu: Laulara
- Aileu: Vila Grupo
- Aileu: Liquidoe
- Ainaro: Hatu-Builico
- South
- Ainaro: Hato-Udo
- Manufahi-Same: Letefoho
- Manufahi-Same: Betano
Examples of dialectal variation in Mambae:[6]
| Numeral | Northeast-Central | Northwest | South | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iid | iid | iid | 
| 2 | ruu | ruu | ruu | 
| 3 | teul | teul | teul | 
| 4 | faat | paat | faat/paat | 
| 5 | liim | liim | liim | 
| 6 | neen | hohon iid | liim nai-ida | 
| 7 | hitu | hohon ruu | liim nai-rua | 
| 8 | ualu | hoho teul | liim nai-telu | 
| 9 | sia | hoho paat | liim nai-fata/pata | 
| 10 | saguul | sakuul | saguul | 
| 20 | rua nuul | guul ruu | (saguul) haet rua | 
| 30 | teul nuul | guul teul | (saguul) haet teul | 
| 40 | faat nuul | guul paat | (saguul) haet faat/paat | 
| 50 | lima nuul | guul liim | (saguul) haet liim | 
| Pronoun | Northeast-Central | Northwest | South | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.SG | au | au | au | 
| 2.SG | iit | iit | iit | 
| 3.SG | ua | ua | ura | 
| 1.PL, inclusive | iit | iit | iit | 
| 1.PL, exclusive | aem | aem | aem | 
| 2.PL | iim | iim | iim | 
| 3.PL | roo | roo | room | 
| Gloss | Northeast-Central | Northwest | South | 
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘house’ | pada | fada | uum | 
| ‘short’ | bloko | pada | bada | 
| ‘wet’ | broe | tita | era | 
| ‘dirty’ | kiniri | rae | foer | 
| ‘many’ | doto | klen | rini | 
| ‘lie (fib)’ | bea | rau | halaet | 
| ‘eat’ | mua | muu | aa | 
| ‘banana’ | muka | mua | muu | 
Comparison of selected body part words in Mambae dialects:[6]
- gloss - Liquiça (Bazartete) - Ermera (Hatulia) - Ermera (Railaco) - Aileu (Laulara) - Aileu (Vila Grupo) - Aileu (Liquidoe) - Ainaro (Hatu-Builico) - Ainaro (Hato-Udo) - Manufahi-Same (Letefoho) - Manufahi-Same (Betano) - mouth - gugun - gugun - gugun - kukun - kukun - kukun - kukun - kuku - kuku - kuku - arm - liman - liman - liman - niman - niman - lima - liman - lima - lima - lima - elbow - lima sikun - liman sikun - siun - nima siun - nima siun - lima siun - lima siun - lima sikun - lima siku - lima siku - shoulder - kabaːs - kabasan - kabasan - kabaːs - kabasa - kabasa - kabaːs - labaːs - kabaːs - au balaːs - head - gnutan - glutan - ulun - ulun - ulun - ulun - glutan - ulu - ulu hatu - ulu - headache - gnutan baːn - glutan baːn - glutan baːn - ulun baːn - ulun baːn - glutan baːn - glutan baːn - ulu hatusae - ulu hatusae - ulu hatusae - hair - ulu nɔɾan - ulu laun - ulun - ulun lahon - ulu nɔɾa - ulun noran - ulun - ulu - ulu - ulu noɾa - black hair - ulu meta - ulu meta - ulu meta - ulun meta - ulu nɔɾa mɛta - ulun meta - ulun meta - ulu meta - ulu mɛta - ulu laha meta - flesh (human) - ɛta lɔlon - etan - etan - etan - ɛtan - etan - ɛtan - eta lɔlo - ɛta lɔlo - eta lolo - heart - hua - huan - huan - huan - huan - huan - huan - hua - hua - hua - back - hɔhon tɛten - hoho teten - hɔhon - hoho tɛten - hɔhon - hoho tɛten - asa - hɔho - hɔhɔ tɛte - hoho - tooth - nipan - nipan - nipan - nifan - nifan - nifan - nifan - nipa - nifa - nifa - finger - lima huan - lima huan - lima huan - nima huan - lima huan - lima kakun - lima huan - lima hua - lima hua - lima hua - liver - aten - aten - aten - aten - aten - aten - aten - ate - ate - ate - tongue - lamalaun - lamalaun - lamalau - lamalaun - laman - lamalaun - lamelaun - lama - lama - lama - hand - liman - liman - liman - niman - niman - liman - liman - lima - lima sanak - lima - nose - ilu - ilun - ilun - inun - inun - ilun - inun - ilu - ilu - ilu - eye - matan - matan - matan - matan - matan - matan - matan - mata - mata - mata - ear - teliga - tligan - tliga - kikan - kika nɔɾan - tika noɾan - kikan - teliga - teliga - teliga - bone - rui - ruin - ruin - ruin - ruin - ruin - ruin - rui - rui - rui - foot - ɔen - oen - ɔen - ɔɛn - ɔɛn - ɔɛn - ɔɛn - oe - ɔɛ - oɛ - skin - litan - eta litan - litan - litan - litan - litan - litan - tia - tia - eta tia - leg - ɔen - oen - ɔen - ɔɛn - ɔɛn - ɔɛn - ɔɛn - oe - ɔɛ - oɛ - neck - tgeun - tgeun - tgeun - tgeun - tgeun - kdeun - tgeu - tegeu - tegeu - blood - laɾa - laɾa - laɾa - laɾan - laɾa - lalan - laɾan - laːr - lara - laːr 
References
    
- Mambai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Hull, Geoffrey (2003). Southern Mambai. Instituto Nacional de Linguística of the Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa'e.
- Fogaça (2013)
- I Nengah Sukarnyana; I Made Denes; I Wayan Sudiartha; Ni Wayan Sudiati (1997). Struktur Bahasa Mambai [Mambai Language Structure] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. ISBN 979-459-777-5 – via repositori.kemdikbud.go.id.
- Hull, Geoffrey (2001). Mambai Language Manual (Ainaro dialect). Dili: Sebastião Aparício da Silva Project.
- Fogaça (2017)
Further reading
    
- Geoffrey Hull, Celestino de Araújo, and Benjamim de Araújo e Corte-Real, Mambai Language Manual: Ainaro dialect, Sebastião Aparício da Silva Project, 2001.
- Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald and Robert M. W. Dixon (eds), Grammars in contact: a cross-linguistic typology, Oxford University Press, 2006, Chapter 6.
- Fogaça, Helem Andressa de Oliveira (2013). Estudo fonético e fonológico do mambae de Same: uma língua de Timor-Leste (PDF) (Master's thesis) (in Portuguese). Universidade de Brasília.
- Fogaça, Helem Andressa de Oliveira (2017). O ecossistema fundamental da língua Mambae: aspectos endoecológicos e exoecológicos de uma língua austronésia de Timor-Leste (Doctoral thesis) (in Portuguese). Universidade de Brasília.
External links
    
- John 8,1-11 in Mambai
- Kaipuleohone's materials include Robert Blust's written notes on Mambai
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