Melanau 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]

Not to be confused with Maranao language or Melanesian languages.
Melanau
Central Melanau
Native toMalaysia, Brunei
RegionSarawak and neighbouring Brunei
EthnicityMelanau people
Native speakers
110,000 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
mel – Central Melanau
sdx – Sibu Melanau
Glottologcent2101  Central
sibu1258  Sibu

Phonology

Consonants

Melanau has the following consonants.[3]

BilabialCoronalPalatalVelarUvularGlottal
Nasals mnɲŋ
Plosives and
affricates		 voiceless pttʃkʔ
voiced bddʒɡ
Fricatives sh, ɦ
Lateral l
Trills rʀ
Semivowels wj

Vowels

Melanau has the following vowels.[3]

frontcentralback
rounded
High iu
Mid ɛəɔ
Low a

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

Orthography

Vowels and diphthongs
  • a - [a]
  • aa - [aː]
  • e - [ɛ/ə]
  • i - [i]
  • o - [ɔ]
  • u - [u]
  • ai - [ai]
  • au - [au]
  • ei - [ei]
  • ou - [ou]
  • ui - [ui]

Consonants
  • 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
  1. Central 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. Clayre 1970.
  4. Clayre 1972.
  5. "Melanau language". Omniglot. Retrieved 27 August 2021.

References
  • 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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