Malayic languages

The Malayic languages (Malay: bahasa-bahasa Melayu, Indonesian: rumpun bahasa Melayik) are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family.^[1] The most prominent member is Malay, a pluricentric language given national status in Brunei and Singapore while also the basis for national standards Malaysian in Malaysia and Indonesian in Indonesia.^[2][3] 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.

Malayic
Geographic distribution	Maritime Southeast Asia
Linguistic classification	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian disputed: Malayo-Sumbawan or Greater North Borneo Malayo-Chamic Malayic
Proto-language	Proto-Malayic
Subdivisions	(disputed)
Language codes
Glottolog	mala1538
Historical distribution of the Malayic languages in Maritime Southeast Asia (including Malay-based creoles):   The Ibanic and Western Malayic Dayak (Kanayatn/Kendayan-Salako) subgroups, also known collectively as "Malayic Dayak".   Other Malayic varieties; genetic relationships between them are still unclear.

The most probable candidate for the urheimat of the Malayic languages is western Borneo prior to spread in Sumatra.^[4]

History

The term "Malayic" was first coined by Dyen (1965) 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. Nothofer (1988) 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.

Borneo

• Bamayo, Banjar, Berau, Brunei, Bukit, Kendayan, Keninjal, Kota Bangun Kutai, Tenggarong Kutai, Sarawak, Ibanic (Iban, Remun, Mualang, Seberuang)

Malay Peninsula

• Jakun, Kedah, Kelantan-Patani, Negeri Sembilan, Orang Kanaq, Orang Seletar, Perak, Pahang, Reman, Temuan, Terengganu, Urak Lawoi'

Sumatra

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

Java

• Betawi

South China Sea/Strait of Malacca

• Bangka, Duano, Loncong, Orang Seletar,

Maluku

• Bacan Malay

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.^[5]

• Malayic
  • Iban
  • • Malay
    • Minangkabau
    • Middle Malay
    • Banjarese
    • Jakartanese
    • Others

Ross (2004)

Based on grammatical evidence, Ross (2004) divides the Malayic languages into two primary branches:^[6]

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

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

Anderbeck (2012)

Following Tadmor (2002), 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.^[7][a]

• 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.^[b]

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".^[9] However, he leaves other isolects unclassified.

• Malayic
  • West Bornean Malayic
    • Kendayan-Salako (= Ross' "Western Malayic Dayak")
    • Besemah^[c]
    • Ibanic
      • Iban
      • Seberuang
      • Mualang
      • Keninjal
  • Other Malayic (not a genetic subgroup)
    • Malay
    • Betawi
    • Ketapang
    • Banjarese
    • Kutai
    • Brunei Malay

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:^[10]

• 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:^[11][12]

• 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.

Notes

1. As with Adelaar, Anderbeck reckons the difficulty in assigning absolute subgrouping within Malayic subfamily, and suggests an alternative approach which is "to dissolve the Malay node and keep everything in the Malayic group".
2. This classification is still in use in the current 22nd edition (2019).^[8]
3. Alongside other various South Sumatran isolects which exhibit the *-R > *-ʔ innovation in a specific set of lexemes.

References

Citations

1. Adelaar, K. Alexander (2004). "Where does Malay come from? Twenty years of discussions about homeland, migrations and classifications". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 160 (1): 1–30. doi:10.1163/22134379-90003733. hdl:11343/122869. JSTOR 27868100.
2. Asmah Haji Omar (1992). "Malay as a pluricentric language". In Clyne, Michael J. (ed.). Malay as a pluricentric language Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyte. pp. 403–4. ISBN 3-11-012855-1. Singapore has maintained the name Malay or bahasa Melayu...
3. Nurdjan, Sukirman; Firman, Mirnawati (2016). Indonesian language for Higher Education (eng). Indonesia: Aksara Timur. p. 4. ISBN 978-602-73433-6-8. Retrieved 30 Dec 2020.
4. Bellwood, Peter; Fox, James J.; Tryon, Darrell, eds. (2006). The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. Canberra: ANU Press. doi:10.22459/a.09.2006. ISBN 978-1-920942-85-4.
5. Adelaar 1993, p. 568.
6. Ross 2004, pp. 106–108.
7. Anderbeck 2012, p. 284.
8. Eberhard, Simons & Fennig 2019.
9. Smith 2017, p. 197.
10. Adelaar 2005, p. 358.
11. Blust 2010.
12. Smith 2017, pp. 364–365.

Bibliography

• Adelaar, K. Alexander (1992). Proto-Malayic: The Reconstruction of its Phonology and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. Pacific Linguistics, Series C, no. 119. Canberra: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, the Australian National University. hdl:1885/145782.
• Adelaar, K. Alexander (1993). "The Internal Classification of the Malayic Subgroup". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 56 (3). University of London: 566–581. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00007710. JSTOR 620695. S2CID 162636623.
• Adelaar, Alexander (2005). "Malayo-Sumbawan". Oceanic Linguistics. 44 (2): 357–388. doi:10.1353/ol.2005.0027. JSTOR 3623345. S2CID 246237112.
• Anderbeck, Karl (2012). "The Malayic speaking Orang Laut: Dialects and directions for research". Wacana: Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia. 14 (2): 265–312. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
• Bellwood, Peter; Fox, James J.; Tryon, Darrell (2006). The Austronesians: historical and comparative perspectives. ANU E Press. ISBN 978-1-920942-85-4.
• Blust, Robert (2010). "The Greater North Borneo Hypothesis". Oceanic Linguistics. 49 (1): 44–118. doi:10.1353/ol.0.0060. JSTOR 40783586. S2CID 145459318.
• Dyen, Isidore (1965). "A Lexicostatistical classification of the Austronesian languages". International Journal of American Linguistics (Memoir 19).
• Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Malayic". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22 ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
• Nothofer, Bernd. 1975. The reconstruction of Proto-Malayo-Javanic. (Verhandelingen van het KITLV, 73.) The Hague: Nijhoff.
• Nothofer, Bernd (1988). "A discussion of two Austronesian subgroups: Proto-Malay and Proto-Malayic". In Mohd. Thani Ahmad; Zaini Mohamed Zain (eds.). Rekonstruksi dan cabang-cabang Bahasa Melayu induk. Siri monograf sejarah bahasa Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. pp. 34–58.
• Nothofer, Bernd (1995). "The History of Jakarta Malay". Oceanic Linguistics. 34 (1): 87–97. JSTOR 3623113.
• Ross, Malcolm D. (2004). "Notes on the prehistory and internal subgrouping of Malayic". In John Bowden; Nikolaus Himmelmann (eds.). Papers in Austronesian subgrouping and dialectology. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. pp. 97–109.
• Smith, Alexander (2017). The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification (PDF) (Ph.D. Dissertation). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
• Tadmor, Uri (2002). Language contact and the homeland of Malay. The Sixth International Symposium of Malay/Indonesian Linguistics (ISMIL 6), Bintan Island, 3–5 August 2002.