Temiar is a Central Aslian (Austroasiatic) language spoken in Western Malaysia by the Temiar people. The Temiar are one of the most numerous Aslian-speaking peoples, numbering around 30,000 in 2017.
Name Etymologically, the word "Temiar" means "edge" or "side". This meaning reflects the way in which Temiars describe themselves as "people of the edge, outside, [i.e. jungle]."
Phonology Vowels +Oral vowels FrontCentralBackClose Close-mid Open-mid Open
+Nasal vowels FrontCentralBackClose Mid Open
Consonants BilabialDentalPalatalVelarGlottalPlosivevoicelessvoicedNasalRhoticLateralFricativeApproximant
Morphosyntax Noun Phrase
The noun phrase is (pro)noun initial followed by modifiers and demonstratives or possessor pronouns. Pronouns may not be modified by another pronoun. There are three allomorphic classes of pronouns (stressed unstressed, and bound). Stressed third person pronouns must occur with a demonstrative (and hence only occur as unstressed or as bound morphemes on the demonstrative (e.g. na-doh 'he-here' or ʔun-tu:y 'they-elsewhere.' +Stressed Pronouns PersonSingularDualPluralInclusiveExclusiveInclusiveExclusive12 +Unstressed Pronouns PersonSingularDualPluralInclusiveExclusiveInclusive Exclusive123 +Bound PronounsPersonSingularDual PluralInclusive ExclusiveInclusiveExclusive123
Verb Phrase The verb phrase is ordered as sentential negation, auxiliary verb and main verb. The verb phrase precedes the subject.
References
Further reading Benjamin, Geoffrey. 2011. "Deponent verbs and middle-voice nouns in Temiar." In: Sophana Srichampa & Paul Sidwell (eds), Austroasiatic Studies: Papers from ICAAL4 (Mon-Khmer Studies, Special Issue no. 2), Canberra: Pacific Linguistics E-8, pp. 11–37. (electronic document) Benjamin, Geoffrey. 2012. "The Temiar causative (and related features) ." Mon-Khmer Studies 41: 32–45. (online). Benjamin, Geoffrey. 2014. "Aesthetic elements in Temiar grammar." In: Jeffrey Williams (ed.), The Aesthetics of Grammar: Sound and Meaning in the Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 36–60. (print, hard cover), (eBook, 2013).
External links https://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage) http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-D44A-D@view Temiar in RWAAI Digital Archive