Kenyah languages

Kenyah
Geographic
distribution		Borneo
Linguistic classificationAustronesian
Language codes
Glottologkeny1280

The Kenyah languages are a group of half a dozen or so closely related languages spoken by the Kenyah peoples of Borneo. They are:

Kenyah proper (a dialect cluster, including Madang), Sebob, Tutoh (Long Wat), Wahau Kenyah, Uma’ Lung / Uma’ Lasan.

Ethnologue says that the Punan–Nibong languages are related to Uma’ Lasan, Glottolog that they are outside the Kenyah languages.

Classification

Soriente (2008) proposes a Kayan-Kenyah grouping.

However, Smith (2015) rejects Soriente's grouping, and argues that Kenyah and Kayan are separate groups. Smith (2015) proposes the following classification.

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".

Supposed Austroasiatic influence

Kaufman (2018) notes that many Proto-Kenyah words (Smith 2017) are of likely Austroasiatic origin, including the following (Note: The Austroasiatic branch reconstructions are from Paul Sidwell's reconstructions).

Vo words of likely Austroasiatic origin include:

References

  1. ↑ Soriente, Antonia. 1997. The classification of Kenyah languages: A preliminary assessment. In SEALS XIV(2): Papers from the 14th meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (2004), ed. by Wilaiwan Khanittana and Paul Sidwell, 49–62. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
  2. ↑ Smith, Alexander D. "On the Classification of Kenyah and Kayanic Languages." In Oceanic Linguistics, Volume 54, Number 2, December 2015, pp. 333-357.
  3. ↑ 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)