Mentawai language

Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia

The Mentawai language is an Austronesian language, spoken by the Mentawai people of the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Dialects

According to Ethnologue, Mentawai dialects include: Silabu, Sipura – Simalegi, Sakalagan, Saumanganja – North Siberut, South Siberut – Taikaku – Pagai.^[1]

Syamsir Arifin, et al. (1992) list twelve dialects of Mentawai:

• Mentawai
  • South Siberut
    • Madobat
    • Salappa
    • Ulubaga
  • Sipora
    • Bariulou
    • Bosua
    • Sioban
  • North Pagai
    • Pasapuat
    • Silabu
    • Saumanganya
  • South Pagai
    • Boriai
    • Bulasat
    • Sikakap

Dialects in Siberut Island are:^[2]

• Sikapone
• Togiiite
• Pokai
• Simajegi
• Simatalu
• Paipajet
• Sakuddei
• Sagulubbe
• Sirileleu
• Sikabaluan
• Sempungan
• Saibi & Sarabua
• Silaoinan
• Sarareiket
• Sabirut

Phonology

Consonants

• Allophones of /b ɡ k/ can be heard as [β ɣ ʔ]. [t͡ɕ] is a distinct sound in Mentawai, but not given phoneme status by Syamsir et al. because of the lack of minimal contrasts.^[3]
• The semivowels /w j/ only appear in final position.

Vowels

References

1. Mentawai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. "Findresults.site".
3. Arifin, Malano & Kasim (1992)

Bibliography

• Arifin, Syamsir; Malano, Nasroel; Kasim, Yuslina (1992). Fonologi Bahasa Mentawai [Mentawai Language Phonology] (PDF) (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaa.
• Adriani, N. (1928). "Spraakkunstige Schets van de Taal der Mĕntawai-Eilanden" [Grammar Sketch of the Language of the Mĕntawai Islands]. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 84 (1): 1–117. doi:10.1163/22134379-90001493. JSTOR 20770239.