Semelai is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula. It belongs to the Southern branch of the Aslian language subgrouping. The Semelai reside predominantly around the Bera, Serting and associated river systems in the states of Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

Phonology

Semelai has 32 consonants and 20 vowels. * Stops /p t c k/ are heard as ̚ t̚ c̚ k̚word-final position. * Palatal sounds /c ɟ/ are slightly affricated as ᶝ ɟᶽwhen in word-initial position. * /s/ may occur as or �within free variation. * Nasals /m n ɲ ŋ/ can occur as prestopped ��m ᵈn ᶡɲ ᶢŋwhen in word-final position. * /r/ can be heard as �when in word-final position. When preceded by a nasal /n/ it is heard as ��r * /w j/ are heard as off-glides ʷ, ʲwhen in word-final position. After nasal vowels, they are then heard as nasalized ʷ̃, ʲ̃ Vowels are also distinguished with nasal counterparts: * /ɒ/ is phonetically noted as �̙ * /i/ can be heard as in closed syllables * /ə/ can be heard as in stressed word-final syllables

Notes

References

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External links

* http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage) * http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-66E3-8@view Semelai in RWAAI Digital Archive {{Austroasiatic languages Languages of Malaysia Aslian languages