Malayic languages

The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The two most prominent members of this branch are Indonesian and Malay. Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia and has evolved as a standardized form of Malay with distinct influences from local languages and historical factors. Malay, in its various forms, is recognized as a national language in Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. The Malayic branch also includes local languages spoken by ethnic Malays (e.g. Jambi Malay, Kedah Malay), further several languages spoken by various other ethnic groups of Sumatra, Indonesia (e.g. Minangkabau) and Borneo (e.g. Banjarese, Iban) even as far as Urak Lawoi in the southwestern coast of Thailand.

The most probable candidate for the urheimat of the Malayic languages is western Borneo prior to spread in Sumatra.

History

The term "Malayic" was first coined by Template:Harvcoltxt in his lexicostatistical classification of the Austronesian languages. Dyen's "Malayic hesion" had a wider scope than the Malayic subgroup in its currently accepted form, and also included Acehnese, Lampung and Madurese. Template:Harvcoltxt narrowed down the range of Malayic, but included the non-Malayic languages Rejang and Embaloh:

• Rejang
• Embaloh
• Salako
• Iban-Malayan
  • Ibanic
  • Malayan

The present scope of the Malayic subgroup, which is now universally accepted by experts in the field, was first proposed by K.A. Adelaar (1992, 1993), based on phonological, morphological and lexical evidence.

Languages

Malayic languages are spoken on Borneo, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Java and on several islands located in the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca. The following list only includes Malayic languages as traditionally spoken by the respective ethnic groups, for non-traditional languages, see Malay trade and creole languages.

Borneo

• Banjar, Brunei Malay, Berau Malay, Bukit Malay, Ibanic branch (Iban, Remun, Mualang, Seberuang), Pontianak Malay, Kutai, Kendayan, Keninjal, Kayong/Ketapang Malay, Malayic Dayak, Sambas Malay, Sarawak Malay

Sumatra

• Central Malay, Col, Haji, Jambi Malay, Kaur, Kerinci, Kubu, Lubu, Minangkabau, Musi, Palembang, Pekal, Riau Malay

Malay Peninsula

• Jakun, Kedah Malay, Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Negeri Sembilan Malay, Orang Kanaq, Pahang Malay, Perak Malay, Reman Malay, Temuan, Terengganu Malay

Java

• Betawi, Cocos Malay

South China Sea

• Bangka Malay, Duano, Loncong, Orang Seletar

Subgrouping

Internal classification

While there is general consensus about which languages can be classified as Malayic, the internal subgrouping of the Malayic languages is still disputed.

Adelaar (1993)

Adelaar (1993) classifies the Malayic languages as follows.Template:Sfn

• Malayic
  • Iban
  • Template:Tree list/branching
    • Malay
    • Minangkabau
    • Middle Malay
    • Banjarese
    • Betawi
    • Others

Ross (2004)

Based on grammatical evidence, Ross (2004) divides the Malayic languages into two primary branches:Template:Sfn

• Malayic
  • Western Malayic Dayak (Kendayan, Salako)
  • Nuclear Malayic (all other lects)

This classification was mirrored in the Glottolog (Version 3.4).

Anderbeck (2012)

Following Template:Harvcoltxt, Anderbeck (2012) makes a distinction between Malay and Malayic in his discussion about the dialects of the Sea Tribes in Riau Archipelago. He tentatively classifies all Malayic languages as belonging to a "Malay" subgroup, except Ibanic, Kendayan/Selako, Keninjal, Malayic Dayak (or "Dayak Malayic") and the "fairly divergent varieties" of Urak Lawoi' and Duano.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn

• Malayic
  • Ibanic
  • Kendayan/Selako
  • Keninjal
  • Malayic Dayak
  • Urak Lawoi'
  • Duano
  • Malay (including all other Malayic varieties)

Anderbeck's classification has been adopted in the 17th edition of the Ethnologue, with the sole exception of Duano, which is listed in the Ethnologue among the "Malay" languages.Template:Efn

Smith (2017)

In his dissertation on the languages of Borneo, Smith (2017) provides evidence for a subgroup comprising Malayic isolects in western Borneo and southern Sumatra, which he labels "West Bornean Malayic".Template:Sfn

• Malayic
  • West Bornean Malayic
    • Kendayan-Salako (= Ross' "Western Malayic Dayak")
    • BesemahTemplate:Efn
    • Ibanic
      • Iban
      • Seberuang
      • Mualang
      • Keninjal
  • Other Malayic (not a genetic subgroup)
    • Malay
    • Betawi
    • Ketapang Malay
    • Banjarese
    • Kutai
    • Brunei Malay

Glottolog

Glottolog 5.1 classifies the Malayic languages into several groups, namely: Template:Tree list

• Malayic
  • Duano
  • Haji
  • Malayic Dayak
  • Nuclear Malayic
    • Betawic
    • Central Sumatran Malay
    • East Borneo Malay
    • Greater Riau–Johoric
    • Northern Sumatra Malay
    • South Sumatra Malay
    • Standard Malay–Indonesian
    • Vehicular Malay
  • Old Malay
  • Ibanic
    • Iban–Mualang–Seberuang
    • Keninjal
  • Western Malayic Dayak
    • Kendayan–Belangin
    • Menterap

Position within Austronesian

The inclusion of the Malayic languages within the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup is undisputed, and there is general consensus that the Chamic languages are closely related to Malayic. The wider affiliations of the Malayic languages are however controversial. There are two major proposals: Adelaar (2005) places Malayic within the Malayo-Sumbawan subgroup, which comprises the following languages:Template:Sfn

• Malayo-Sumbawan
  • Malayo-Chamic-BSS
    • Malayic languages
    • Chamic languages
    • Bali-Sasak-Sumbawa languages
  • Sundanese
  • Madurese

Blust (2010) and Smith (2017) assign Malayic to the Greater North Borneo subgroup:Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

• Greater North Borneo
  • North Borneo languages
  • Central Sarawak languages
  • Kayan–Murik languages
  • Land Dayak languages
  • Malayo–Chamic
    • Chamic languages
    • Malayic languages
  • Rejang language
  • Sundanese language

The Malayo-Sumbawan hypothesis is mainly based on phonological evidence with a few shared lexical innovations, while the Greater North Borneo hypothesis is based on a large corpus of lexical evidence.

See also

• Languages of Indonesia
• Indonesian language, the Malayic language with the most speakers

References

Bibliography

• Nothofer, Bernd. 1975. The reconstruction of Proto-Malayo-Javanic. (Verhandelingen van het KITLV, 73.) The Hague: Nijhoff.
• Template:Cite thesis