The Kenyah languages are a group of half a dozen or so closely related languages spoken by the
Kenyah peoples of
Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
. They are:
:
Kenyah proper (a dialect cluster, incl. Madang),
Sebob,
Tutoh (Long Wat),
Wahau Kenyah,
Uma’ Lung / Uma’ Lasan.
''
Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...
'' says that the
Punan–Nibong languages are related to Uma’ Lasan, ''
Glottolog
''Glottolog'' is an open-access online bibliographic database of the world's languages. In addition to listing linguistic materials ( grammars, articles, dictionaries) describing individual languages, the database also contains the most up-to-d ...
'' that they are outside the Kenyah languages.
Classification
Soriente (2008) proposes a Kayan-Kenyah grouping.
*Proto–Kayan-Kenyah
**Kenyah
***
Upper Pujungan
***
Usun Apau
**Penan
***
West Penan
***
East Penan
**
Kayanic
***
Lebu Kulit
***
Mboh
***
Ngorek
***
Kayan
However, Smith (2015) rejects Soriente's grouping, and argues that Kenyah and
Kayan are separate groups. Smith (2015) proposes the following classification.
*Proto-Kenyah
**Highland
***Highland A dialects:
Lepo Gah,
Lepo Sawa,
Lepo Laang,
Lepo Baha,
Lepo Maut,
Lepo Ké,
Bakung,
Lepo Ndang
***Highland B dialects:
Lepo Tau,
Badeng,
Uma Lasan,
Uma Alim,
Òma Lóngh
**Lowland
***Western Lowland dialects: Lebo' Vo'
***Eastern Lowland dialects:
Lebu Kulit,
Lebuq Timai,
Uma Pawa,
Uma Ujok,
Uma Kelap/Kelep
**Penan-Sebop
***
Penan
The Penan are a nomadic indigenous people living in Sarawak and Brunei, although there is only one small community in Brunei; among those in Brunei half have been converted to Islam, even if only superficially. Penan are one of the last such p ...
***
Sebop
This classification of Kenyah languages was updated in a second publication, "Penan, Sebop, and Kenyah internal classification". There, it was shown that Penan and Sebop subgroup specifically with the Western-Lowland branch of Lowland Kenyah. This subgrouping was repeated in the dissertation, "The languages of Borneo: a comprehensive classification".
*Proto-Kenyah
**Highland
***Highland A dialects:
Lepo Gah,
Lepo Sawa,
Lepo Laang,
Lepo Baha,
Lepo Maut,
Lepo Ké,
Bakung,
Lepo Ndang
***Highland B dialects:
Lepo Tau,
Badeng,
Uma Lasan,
Uma Alim,
Òma Lóngh
**Lowland
***Western Lowland dialects: Lebo' Vo',
Eastern Penan,
Western Penan,
Sebop
***Eastern Lowland dialects:
Lebu Kulit,
Lebuq Timai,
Uma Pawa,
Uma Ujok,
Uma Kelap/Kelep
Supposed Austroasiatic influence
Kaufman (2018) notes that many Proto-Kenyah words (Smith 2017) are of likely
Austroasiatic
The Austroasiatic languages ( ) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority popu ...
origin, including the following (''Note'': The Austroasiatic branch reconstructions are from
Paul Sidwell
Paul James Sidwell is an Australian linguist based in Canberra, Australia, who has held research and lecturing positions at the Australian National University. Sidwell, who is also an expert and consultant in forensic linguistics, is most nota ...
's reconstructions).
[Kaufman, Daniel. 2018. ''Between mainland and island Southeast Asia: Evidence for a Mon-Khmer presence in Borneo''. Ronald and Janette Gatty Lecture Series. Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia, Cornell University.]
handout
slides
* *saləŋ ‘black’ (cf. Proto-
Palaungic *laŋ; Proto-
Bahnaric *sla(ː)ŋ ‘clear, transparent’)
* *makaŋ ‘brave’
* *dəŋ ‘deaf’ (cf. Proto-
Katuic *tuŋ; Mon daŋ)
* *pətat ‘divorce’ (cf.
Mon
Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to:
Places
* Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar
* Mon, India, a town in Nagaland
* Mon district, Nagaland
* Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
* Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons
* A ...
)
* *naʔ ‘give’ (cf. Proto-South-Bahnaric *ʔaːn;
Khmu ''ʔan'')
* *biləŋ ‘green’
* *mə-bʰuh ‘help, assist’
* *laʔu ‘hungry’
* *adaŋ ‘must’
* *iəŋ ‘mosquito’
* *kabiŋ ‘left (side)’
* *pilaw ‘smooth’ (cf. Proto-Katuic *phiil)
* *biʔən ‘time’ (cf. Proto-Palaungic *bən ‘(future) time’)
* *nəmbam ‘tomorrow’
* *ait ‘sand’
* *luaŋ ‘seed’
* *su ‘grandchild’ (cf. Proto-Palaungic *cuʔ)
Vo words of likely Austroasiatic origin include:
* ɟen ‘bring’
* pikəp ‘narrow’
* mamoŋ ‘pregnant’
* imaʔ ‘rain’ (cf.
Proto-Austroasiatic
Proto-Austroasiatic is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austroasiatic languages. Proto-Mon–Khmer (i.e., all Austroasiatic branches except for Munda) has been reconstructed in Harry L. Shorto's ''Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary'', while a ...
*gmaʔ)
* lañaʔ ‘fast/quick’ (cf. Proto-
Vietic *m-laɲ; Proto-North-Bahnaric *raɲ)
* məɲon ‘sit’ (cf. Proto-Palaungic *-ɟɔn)
* ʄap ‘ten’ (cf.
Khmer < Chinese?)
* sah ‘seed’ (cf. Proto-Palaungic *ʄak)
References
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