Semelai language

Semelai
Native to Malaysia
Region Malay Peninsula
Ethnicity 6,300 (2008)[1]
Native speakers
 4,100 (2009)[1]
Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-3 sza
Glottolog seme1247[2]

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.[3]

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain aspirated preglottalized plain aspirated preglottalized plain aspirated preglottalized plain aspirated
Stop voiceless p pʰ t tʰ c cʰ k kʰ ʔ
voiced b d ɟ g
Fricative s h
Nasal voiceless m̥ n̥ ŋ̊
voiced m ʔm n ʔn ɲ ʔɲ ŋ
Approximant l ʔl j ʔj w
Trill r ʔr

Further reading

  • Hoe, Ban Seng, Adela S. Baer, and Rosemary Gianno. Semelai Communities at Tasek Bera: A Study of the Structure of an Orang Asli Society. Subang Jaya, Malaysia: Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, 2001. ISBN 983-40042-3-0
  • Kruspe, Nicole. A Grammar of Semelai. Cambridge grammatical descriptions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-521-81497-9
  • Kruspe, Nicole. Adjectives in Semelai. In: Dixon, R. M. W., and A. Y. Aikhenvald (eds.) Adjective Classes: a cross-linguistic typology. 283–305. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

References

  1. 1 2 Semelai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Semelai". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ Kruspe, Nicole (2004-04-08). A Grammar of Semelai. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521814973.
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