The Minahasan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken by the Minahasa people in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. They belong to the Philippine subgroup.
Considerable lexical influence comes from Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and Ternate, a historical legacy of the presence of foreign powers. The Minahasan languages are distinct from the Manado Malay (Minahasa Malay) language, which is Malayic in origin, and has been displacing the indigenous languages of the area.
Classification The languages are Tonsawang, Tontemboan, Tondano, Tombulu and Tonsea.
The Minahasan languages are classified as a branch of the Philippine subgroup.
Although also spoken in the Minahasa region, the Bantik and Ratahan languages, which are Sangiric languages, as well as the Ponosakan language, which is a Gorontalo–Mongondow language, are more distantly related, thus not covered by the term in a genealogical sense.
Reconstruction
Proto-Minahasan (PMin) has been reconstructed by Sneddon (1978). The comparison table (a small selection from ) illustrates the correspondences between the Minahasan languages, including inherited vocabulary as well as Minahasan innovations.
Comparison table Words inherited from Proto-Austronesian (PAn) Tondano Tonsea Tombulu Tontemboan Tonsawang PMin PAn Meaning * * 'three' * * 'vein' * * 'bone' * * 'sun' * * 'kill' Minahasan innovations Tondano Tonsea Tombulu Tontemboan Tonsawang PMin PAn Meaning * (*) 'buy' * (*) 'take'
See also Sangiric languages Gorontalo–Mongondow languages Languages of Sulawesi
References Notes
Bibliography
External links Minahasan at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020). Classification of Sulawesi Languages