Dusun language

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Central Dusun
Bunduliwan
Boros Dusun
Native toMalaysia, Brunei
RegionSabah and Federal Territory of Labuan
EthnicityDusun people, Kadazan people
Ethnic population: 714,000 (2024)[1]
Native speakers
260,000 Central Dusun (2010)[2]
Standard forms
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byMultiple:[3]
Language codes
ISO 639-3dtp
Glottologcent2100

Central Dusun, also known as Bunduliwan (Dusun: Boros Dusun), is an Austronesian language and one of the more widespread languages spoken by the Dusun (including Kadazan) peoples of Sabah, Malaysia.

History

What is termed as Central Dusun (or simply Dusun) and Coastal Kadazan (or simply Kadazan) are deemed to be highly mutually intelligible to one other; many consider these to be part of a single language.

The language was among many other Sabahan vernacular languages suppressed under Mustapha Harun's assimilationist enforcement of Bahasa Malaysia across the state.[4] Under the efforts of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association Sabah, in 1995, the central Bundu-Liwan dialect was selected to serve as the basis for a standardised "Kadazandusun" language.[5][6] This dialect, spoken in the Bundu and Liwan valleys of the Crocker-Trusmadi ranges (now parts of the present-day districts of Ranau, Tambunan and Keningau), was selected as it was deemed to be the most mutually intelligible when conversing with other "Dusun" or "Kadazan" dialects.

Phonology

The phonemes in Central Dusun and Coastal Kadazan are as follows:

Consonants

Central Dusun consonants
Labial Alveolar Dorsal Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative s h
Rhotic r
Approximant w l j

Robinson specifies that /r/ in Tindal Dusun is a flap [ɾ].

Coastal Kadazan consonants
Labial Alveolar Dorsal Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d ɡ
Implosive ɓ ɗ
Fricative voiceless s h
voiced v z
Approximant l

occurs as an allophone of /k/ in word-medial position.[7]

Tangit and MBDK note that Coastal Kadazan consonants correspond to the following consonants found in other varieties:

Central Dusun consonant Coastal Kadazan cognate Example
/r/ /l/ CD ralan, CK lahan "road"
/r/ /∅/ CD boros, CK boos "word"
/l/ /h/ CD loyou, CK hozou "song"
/w/ /v/ CD awasi, CK avasi "good"
/j/ /z/ CD agayo, CK agazo "big"

Vowels

Kadazandusun is usually said to have four vowels /a i u o/. According to Tingit, /o/ in Central Dusun is less rounded than in Coastal Kadazan and is sometimes represented with ⟨e⟩.

Orthography

Dusun is written using the Latin alphabet using 21 characters (the letters C, E, F, Q, and X are used in loanwords):

A B D G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

These characters together are called Pimato.

Diphthongs: ⟨aa⟩ ⟨ai⟩ (sometimes pronounced /e/) ⟨ii⟩ ⟨oi⟩ ⟨uu⟩

Some combinations of vowels do not form diphthongs and each vowel retains its separate sound: ⟨ao⟩ ⟨ia⟩ ⟨iu⟩ ⟨ui⟩ ⟨ue⟩. In some words ⟨aa⟩ is not a diphthong, and this is indicated by an apostrophe between the two vowels: a'a.

Grammar

Personal pronouns

Tindal Dusun[8] has a Philippine-type focus system of syntax that makes one particular noun phrase in a sentence the most prominent. This prominent, focused noun phrase does not need to be the subject or the agent of the clause. In clauses with pronouns, the verbal morphology and the pronoun both indicate focus. If the verb carries actor focus morphology, the actor of the clause will therefore be a nominative pronoun (or, rarely, an emphatic pronoun). Any other noun phrase in the clause will necessarily take pronouns from a different set, as only one noun phrase can be in focus in any given clause.

Tindal pronouns
Gloss Nominative Genitive Oblique Emphatic
1sg oku ku doho joho
2sg ko nu diaʔ jaʔ
3sg isio disio~dow isio
1in toko jatiʔ
1ex jahaj~jahɛː dahɛː jahɛː
2pl jokow dokow jokow
3pl joloʔ dioloʔ joloʔ
Kadazandusun pronouns[9]
Gloss Emphatic Nominative Genitive Oblique
1sg yoku oku ku doho
1du yato/iyahai kito/iyahai/ikoi dato/dahai
1pl yotokou tokou dotokou
2sg ika/ia' ko/ika/ia' nu dia'/dika
2pl ikoyu kou dikoyu
3sg.m isio disido/dau
3sg.f isido dosido/dau
3pl yolo diolo

"The "emphatic" pronouns are used alone or preposedly, either as answers or to stress the pronoun.[10]

Examples[citation needed][please refer to Leipzig Glossing rules]

">edit]
(1)

Ika

You(emph)

i

Kinomulok?

Kinomulok

Ika i Kinomulok?

You(emph) Kinomulok

Are you Kinomulok?

I

Kinomulok

Kinomulok

oku

I

I Kinomulok oku

Kinomulok I

I am Kinomulok.

(2)

Isai

Who

ko?

you(non-emph)

Isai ko?

Who you(non-emph)

Who are you?

I

Tolimu

Batholomew

oku

I

I Tolimu oku

Batholomew I

I am Bartholomew.

(3)

Ika

You

mongoi.

go

Ika mongoi.

You go

You go.

Sentence structure

A typical Dusun sentence is VSO.[11]

Poposidang

dry

oku

I

parai.

rice

Poposidang oku parai.

dry I rice

I dry rice.

It is, however, possible for a grammatically correct Dusun sentence to be SVO.

Oinsanan

all

tangaanak

children

sikul

school

nonuan

given

do uniform.

uniform

Oinsanan tangaanak sikul nonuan {do uniform.}

all children school given uniform

All students have been given uniforms.

Vocabulary

Numerals[12]
English Dusun
one iso
two duo
three tolu
four apat
five limo
six onom
seven turu
eight walu
nine siam
ten hopod
hundred hatus
thousand soriong

To form numbers such as fifty or sixty, a multiplier is combined with a positional unit (tens, hundreds, thousands etc.), using no.

tolu

three

no

already

hopod

ten

tolu no hopod

three already ten

thirty

Separate units are combined with om.

soriong

1000

om

and

turu

seven

no

already

hatus

100

om

and

duo

two

no

already

hopod

ten

om

and

siam

nine

soriong om turu no hatus om duo no hopod om siam

1000 and seven already 100 and two already ten and nine

one thousand, seven hundred and twenty nine

Months[13]
English Dusun
January Milatok
February Mansak
March Gomot
April Ngiop
May Mikat
June Lumahas
July Madas
August Magus
September Manom
October Gumas
November Milau
December Momuhau

The Dusun name of the months derive from the traditional cycle of paddy harvesting.

Days of the week[13]
English Dusun
Dusun name Numerical[citation needed]
Monday Tontolu Tadau koiso
Tuesday Mirod Tadau koduo
Wednesday Madsa Tadau kotolu
Thursday Tadtaru Tadau kaapat
Friday Kurudu Tadau kolimo
Saturday Kukuak Tadau koonom
Sunday Tiwang Tadau koturu/minggu

The names for the days of the week are mostly based on a simple numerical sequence, which is commonly used for media and newspapers.[citation needed] The names of Dusun days as part of the seven-day week derive from the life cycle of a butterfly.

Interrogatives[9][12]
English Dusun
what nunu/onu
who isai
where hombo/nonggo
when soira
why okuro
how poingkuro
how many piro/songkuro

Dialects[citation needed]

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Central Dusun language survived by three main dialect groups.

Liwanic : Liwan, Inobong Dusun

Bunduic : Tindal, Bundu, Sinulihan, Tagahas-Tibabar, Gobukon-Luba

Ulu Sugut Dusun : Tinagas, Talantang, Tuhawon

All Central Dusun dialects are 100% mutually intelligible when conversing.

Examples

Genesis 1:1–5

1 1 Tontok di timpuun i' om wonsoyo' no dii Kinorohingan do tawan om pomogunan. 2 Aiso' po suang do pomogunan, om aiso' o poimpasi; om noolitan di rahat dot opuhod, om odondom o kotuongo'. Nga' mintongkopi' Rusod do Kinorohingan do hiri'd soibau di waig. 3 Om pimboros noh Kinorohingan do poingkaa, "Nawau no," ka – om haro noddi o tanawau. 4 Om kokito noh Kinorohingan dot osonong i tanawau, om potongkiado' no dau i tanawau do mantad id totuong. 5 Om pungaranai noh Kinorohingan do "Dangadau" i tanawau, om "Dongotuong" i totuong. Om korikot no sosodopon om korikot nogiddi kosuabon – iri no tadau do koiso'.[14]

Citations

  1. ^ "Demographic Statistics, First Quarter 2024". Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  2. ^ Central Dusun at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  3. ^ Bating, Henry (2008). Bahasa Kadazandusun dan Pembakuan [The Kadazandusun Language and Standardization]. Kursus Pemantapan Profesionalisme Bahasa Kadazandusun (in Malay). IPG Keningau. pp. 1–11.
  4. ^ Lent, John A. (1974). "Malaysia's guided media". Index on Censorship. 3 (4): 66. doi:10.1080/03064227408532375.
  5. ^ "Official Language & Dialects". Kadazandusun Cultural Association Sabah. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  6. ^ Lasimbang, Rita; Kinajil, Trixie (2004). "Building Terminology in the Kadazandusun Language". Current Issues in Language Planning. 5 (2): 131–141. doi:10.1080/13683500408668253.
  7. ^ Miller, Carolyn (1993). "Kadazan/Dusun Phonology Revisited". In Boutin, Michael E.; Pekkanen, Inka (eds.). Phonological Descriptions of Sabah Languages: Studies from Ten Languages: Bonggi, Ida'an, Kadazan/Dusun, Kalabuan, Kimaragang, Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan, Lotud, Tagal, Tatana', Tombonuwo. Sabah Museum Monograph, Vol. 4. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah State Museum. pp. 1–14.
  8. ^ Robinson, Laura C. (2005). A Sketch Grammar of Tindal Dusun (PDF). Working Papers in Linguistics, 36(5). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (2008). Puralan Boros Kadazandusun id Sikul (in Central Dusun). Putrajaya: Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum.
  10. ^ Komoiboros Dusun Kadazan [Duzunkadazan Dictionary]. Malaysia: Mongulud Boros Dusun Kadazan. 1994. pp. 29–30.
  11. ^ Minah Sintian (2019). Struktur Binaan Ayat Bahasa Kadazandusun dan Bahasa Melayu: Satu Pengenalan [Kadazandusun and Malay Language Structural Sentence Construction: An Introduction]. Paper presented at the Seminar Antarabangsa Susastera, Bahasa dan Budaya Nusantara (SUTERA) 2019, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Pusat Penyelidikan Langkawi UKM, 1–2 August 2019 (in Malay) – via ResearchGate.
  12. ^ a b Price, Daniel Charles (2007). Bundu Dusun Sketch Grammar (in English and Central Dusun). Crawley: University of Western Australia.
  13. ^ a b Joseph Yabai, @ Jausip (18 August 2016). "Ondomo do tikid tadauwulan tulun Kadazandusun" [Memorize the calendar of the Kadazandusun]. Utusan Borneo (in Central Dusun). Retrieved 22 December 2021 – via PressReader.
  14. ^ Buuk do Kinorohingan: Habar dot Osonong (in Central Dusun). Petaling Jaya: Pertubuhan Bible Malaysia. 2007. ISBN 978-983-030-117-4.

Bibliography

Tangit, Trixie M. (May 2005), Planning Kadazandusun (Sabah, Malaysia): Labels, Identity and Language, Mānoa: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Robinson, Laura C. (2005), "A sketch grammar of Tindal Dusun", University of Hawaiʻi Working Papers in Linguistics, vol. 36, no. 5, Mānoa: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, pp. 1–31

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