The Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands languages (also Barrier Islands–Batak languages or Sumatran languages) are a group of Malayo-Polynesian languages spoken by the Batak and related peoples in the interior of North Sumatra and by the Nias, Mentawai people, and others on the Barrier islands (Simeulue, Nias, and Mentawai Islands Regency) off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Classification The languages of the Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands subgroup are:
Gayo Batak languages Simeulue Nias–Sikule Mentawai Enggano (?)
This subgroup was first proposed by Lafeber (1922), who called it "Batak-Nias". Nothofer (1986) presented lexical and phonological evidence in support of this subgroup, calling it "Barrier Islands–Batak".Nothofer, Bernd (1986). "The Barrier Island Languages in the Austronesian Language Family". In Geraghty, P., Carrington, L. and Wurm, S.A. (eds.) Focal II: Papers From the Fourth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, pp. 87–109. Pacific Linguistics, Series C, No. 94, Canberra, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University.
The position of the highly divergent Enggano language is controversial. Both Lafeber (1922) and Nothofer (1986) include Enggano as a probable daughter language. This is rejected by Edwards (2015) who considers Enggano a primary branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages.Edwards, Owen (2015). "The Position of Enggano within Austronesian". Oceanic Linguistics 54(1): 54–109 Recent research by Smith (2017) however supports the inclusion of Enggano within his tentative "Sumatran" subgroup, which is an extended version of Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands that further includes the Nasal language spoken in Bengkulu in southwestern Sumatra.Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "The Western Malayo-Polynesian Problem". Oceanic Linguistics 56(2): 435–490 Smith's proposal is supported by Billings & McDonnell (2022) who classify the Sumatran languages as follows:Billings, Blaine; McDonnell, Bradley. 2022. Subgrouping Malayo-Polynesian languages of Sumatra and the Barrier Islands. Presentation given at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (SEALS 31), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, May 18–20, 2022. (slides)
Batak languages Northern Barrier Islands (Simeulue) Central Barrier Islands (Sikule, Nias) Mentawai Gayo Nasal Enggano
As phonological evidence for the inclusion of these languages with the Sumatran subgroup they propose:
Mergers PMP *j, *g > Proto-Sumatran *g PMP *z, *d > Proto-Sumatran *d PMP *ñ, *n > Proto-Sumatran *n PMP *R, *r > Proto-Sumatran *r PMP *h > Proto-Sumatran zero
Shift (sound change) PMP *q > Proto-Sumatran *h
Lexicon Edwards (2015: 78) provides the following table comparing body part vocabulary items across various languages of the Barrier Islands. Edwards (2015: 89) considers the aberrant Enggano language as not part of the Barrier Islands-Batak languages. Gloss PMP Enggano Mentawai Nias Sikule Simeulue head *qulu hair, head *buhek face *daqih eye *mata nose *ijuŋ mouth *baqbaq lips *biRbiR tongue *dilaq , tooth *nipen ear *taliŋa neck *liqeR hand *kamay/*lima , , fingernail *kanuhkuh breast *titi(q)/*susu belly *tian leg *qaqay knee *tuhud hair, body *bulu skin *kulit meat/flesh *hesi fat/grease *miñak/*himaR bone *tuqelaŋ heart *pusuq , , blood *daRaq liver *qatay urine *iheq excrement *taqi
Proto-Sumatran lexical innovations listed by Billings & McDonnell (2022) are:
English gloss Proto-Sumatran Pre-Gayo Proto-Batak languages Proto-Northern Barrier Islands Proto-Central Barrier Islands Pre-Mentawai Nasal friend *alay *aley *alay *le *aley to kiss *aŋgəh *aŋgəh *aŋkə *ago ginger *bahiŋ *bahiŋ *baiŋ heron *baruŋ *baruŋ *baluŋ bat *bəŋkik *bəŋkik *bəŋiʔ *bəgi maggot *bərŋay *bərŋey *bəŋay mountain *dələg *dələg *dələk *lələ *lelew nest *hasar *asay *asar sibling in law *lakun *lakun *laʔun *laʔo *lakun one *sada *sara *sada *sara *sara *sara snail *ciəh *cih roof *tarub *tarub *talup low *təruh *tuyuh *təruh *təlu *tou midday *tigər *tigər *tikəl *sixo smoke *timbər *timbər *timbəl *simbo *timbo to ask for *tindaw *tiro *tindaw *sində *tidow rattan *puləgəs *puləgəs *pulege
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