Saʼban is one of the remoter languages of Borneo, on the Sarawak–Kalimantan border. The language is known as hmeu Saʼban in the Saʼban language.[2]
Classification
Saʼban is a member of the Apo Duat subgroup of languages, which also includes Kelabit, Lun Bawang/Lundayeh and Tring.[3] Collectively, they belong to the North Sarawak subgroup of the Austronesian family.[4] Today, the Saʼban people live in Long Peluan, Long Banga' and Long Balong in Sarawak, Malaysia. There are also Saʼban groups in Kalimantan, Indonesia.[2]
Phonology
The Saʼban language has several sounds that are rare among the world's languages. These include voiceless nasal and liquid consonants[2] and a distinction between long and short vowels as well as long and short consonants. Some examples of words with voiceless nasals and liquids are given in the table below. They have a stative reading in contrast to long consonants:[2]
| Voiceless Continuant (Stative) | Long Consonant (Transitive) | |
|---|---|---|
| ⟨ɹ̥⟩ | /hraək/ [ɹ̥ɹa:k] 'torn' | /rraək/ [ɹa:k] 'to tear' |
| ⟨ɬ⟩ | /hləu/ [ɬləu] 'correct' | /lləu/ [ləu] 'to steer' |
| ⟨n̥⟩ | /hnau/ [n̥nʌu] 'opinion' | /nnau/ [nʌu] 'to think' |
Bibliography
- Blust, Robert A. (1997-01-01). "Ablaut in Northwest Borneo". Diachronica. 14 (1): 1–30. doi:10.1075/dia.14.1.02blu. ISSN 0176-4225.
- Blust, Robert (2001). "Language, Dialect and Riotous Sound Change: The case of Saʼban." In Graham W. Thurgood (ed.) Papers from the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, 249–359. Tempe: Arizona State University.
- Clayre, Beatrice (1972). "A preliminary comparative study of the Lun Bawang (Murut) and Saʼban languages of Sarawak." Sarawak Museum Journal 20: 40-41, 45-47.
- Clayre, Beatrice (1994). "Saʼban: a case of language change." In Peter W. Martin (ed) Shifting Patterns of Language Use in Borneo, 209-226. Williamsburg VA: Borneo Research Council.
- Clayre, Beatrice (2005). "Kelabitic languages and the fate of 'focus': evidence from the Kerayan." In I Wayan Arka & Malcolm Ross (eds.) The many faces of Austronesian voice systems: some new empirical studies, 17-57. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- Clayre, Beatrice (2014). "A preliminary typology of the languages of Middle Borneo." In Peter Sercombe, Michael Boutin & Adrian Clynes (eds.) Advances in research on cultural and linguistic practices in Borneo, 123-151. Phillips, Maine USA: Borneo Research Council.
- Clayre, I. F. C. S. (1973). "The Phonemes of Saʼban: A Language of Highland Borneo". Linguistics. 11 (100). doi:10.1515/ling.1973.11.100.26. ISSN 1613-396X. S2CID 144279499.
- Omar, Asmah Haji (1983). The Malay Peoples of Malaysia and Their Languages. Kuala Lumpur: Art Printing Works.
References
External links
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