Semelai language explained
Semelai is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula. It belongs to the Southern branch of the Aslian language subgrouping. The Semelai people 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 [p̚ t̚ c̚ k̚] word-final position.
- Palatal sounds /c ɟ/ are slightly affricated as [cᶝ ɟᶽ] when in word-initial position.
- /s/ may occur as [s] or [ɕ] within free variation.
- Nasals /m n ɲ ŋ/ can occur as prestopped [ᵇm ᵈn ᶡɲ ᶢŋ] when in word-final position.
- /r/ can be heard as [ɾ] when in word-final position. When preceded by a nasal /n/ it is heard as [ᵈr].
- /w j/ are heard as off-glides [ʷ, ʲ] when in word-final position. After nasal vowels, they are then heard as nasalized [ʷ̃, ʲ̃].
Vowels are also distinguished with nasal counterparts:
Vowels!!Front!Central!BackClose | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ |
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Close-mid | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ |
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Open-mid | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ |
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Open | | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | |
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- /ɒ/ is phonetically noted as [ɒ̙].
- /i/ can be heard as pronounced as /link/ in closed syllables
- /ə/ can be heard as pronounced as /link/ in stressed word-final syllables
References
- Book: Hoe, Ban Seng . Semelai Communities at Tasek Bera: A Study of the Structure of an Orang Asli Society . 2001 . Centre for Orang Asli Concerns . 983-40042-3-0 . Baer . Adela S. . Subang Jaya, Malaysia . Gianno . Rosemary.
- Book: Kruspe, Nicole . A Grammar of Semelai . Cambridge University Press . 2004a . 0-521-81497-9 . Cambridge Grammatical Descriptions . Cambridge .
- Book: Kruspe, Nicole . Adjective Classes: a cross-linguistic typology . limited . Oxford University Press . 2004b . Dixon . R. M. W. . Oxford . 283–305 . Adjectives in Semelai . A. Y. Aikhenvald.
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