Berawan language

In today's article we will explore Berawan language in depth, a topic that has captured the interest of many people in recent years. From its origins to its impact on our current society, Berawan language is a topic that has sparked curiosity and debate in various areas. Throughout this article, we will analyze different perspectives, investigate their influence on different aspects of daily life and examine their relevance in the current context. Get ready to immerse yourself in the fascinating world of Berawan language and discover everything this theme has to offer. Don't miss this comprehensive exploration that will open your eyes to new ideas and approaches to Berawan language!

Berawan
RegionSarawak, Malaysia
Native speakers
3,600 (2010)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
zbc – Central
zbe – East
zbw – West
lod – (deprecated in 2008)
Glottologbera1264

Berawan is an Austronesian language spoken in eastern Sarawak, Malaysia.

Dialects

  1. Lakiput
  2. Narom
  3. Lelak
  4. Dali
  5. Miri long teran
  6. Belait
  7. Tutong
  8. Long Terawan
  9. Long Tutoh
  10. Mulu Caves

Distribution

  1. Baram (Tutoh-Tinjar)
  2. Batu Bela (Sungai Merah / Lower Tutoh)
  3. Long Terawan (Middle Tutoh)
  4. Long Teru (Lower Tinjar)
  5. Long Jegan (Middle Tinjar)
  6. Long Teran
  7. Long Tabing
  8. Long Takong
  9. Loagan Bunut National Park
  10. Long Patan
  11. Long Palo (Tutoh)
  12. Long Kuk

Reconstruction

Proto-Berawan is the reconstructed proto-language of all Berawan language varieties. Its phonology has been extensively reconstructed by Jürgen M. Burkhardt in 2014.

Sound changes from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian

Severe limitations on antepenult syllables

All preantepenult syllables were lost in Proto-Berawan: *kalapani > *ləpineʔ > metathesised *pəlineʔ 'swallow (bird)'. Following this stage, all vowels in antepenult syllables were neutralised into *ə: *tinaʔi > *tənaʔeʔ 'small intestines'.[2]

Vowel changes in penult syllables

The vowel *i, when preceding a vowel, inserted a glide in between, followed by other developments (*-iy- > *-iyy- > *-əyy- > *-əjj-). Meanwhile, *ə largely did not change during Proto-Berawan stage, but it geminated the following consonant (*pənuq > *pənno 'full'). The only exceptions were in word-initial position, in two words changed early into *a (*əzan, *əmbaw > *acciən 'notched log ladder', *appiəw 'high'), while in two others simply deleted it (*əpat, *əsuŋ > *pat 'four', *coŋ 'rice mortar').

When following other consonants, *a remains, but when following voiced (*b, *β, *d, *z, *g) or palatal (*j, *ñ, *y) consonants, it became *i instead (*batu > *bittoh 'stone', *ia > *jiəh '(s)he/it'). The consonant *l did not block the raising (*balu > *billoh 'widow').[3]

In final syllables

References

  1. ^ Central at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    East at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    West at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    (deprecated in 2008) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Burkhardt 2014, p. 197–199.
  3. ^ Burkhardt 2014, p. 199–214.

Bibliography

  • Burkhardt, Jürgen M. (2014). The Reconstruction of the Phonology of Proto-Berawan (Thesis). Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University.
  • Kaipuleohone has an open access collection of materials (RB2-003) that includes notes on Berawan.