Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Murutic languages

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Geographicdistribution
  
Sabah, Borneo

Glottolog
  
grea1294

Linguistic classification
  
AustronesianMalayo-PolynesianNorth BorneanSouthwest SabahanMurutic

Subdivisions
  
Murut properTagol MurutTimugon Murut

The Murutic languages are a family of half a dozen closely related Austronesian languages, spoken in the northern inland regions of Borneo by the Murut and Tidung.

The languages are (Lobel 2013):

  • Murut proper

    • Timugon Murut and Tagol Murut

  • Murut dialects

    • Keningau Murut, Beaufort Murut (Binta’), Tabalunan/Serudung Murut, Selungai Murut, Sembakung Murut, Okolod, Bookan, Tanggala Murut and Paluan

  • Tidung language

    • Burusu, Kalabakan, Nonukan Tidong, Sesayap Tidong

    Tagol Murut is commonly used and understood by a large majority of the Murut peoples.

    Lobel (2013:360) also lists the languages Abai Sembuak, Abai Tubu, and Bulusu (all spoken near Malinau town in Kalimantan Timur) as Murutic languages. On the other hand, Abai Sungai, spoken in eastern Sabah, is a Paitanic language.

    Innovations

    Lobel (2013:367) lists the following Murutic phonological innovations. (Note: PSWSAB stands for Proto-Southwest Sabahan, while PMP stands for Proto-Malayo-Polynesian.)

  • PMP/PSWSAB *R > *h / __ V (except after *ə, where it had already shifted to *g in PSWSAB). Subsequently, Proto-Greater Murutic *h > Ø occurred in all daughter languages except Papar.
  • PMP/PSWSAB *R > *g / __ #
  • PMP/PSWSAB *aw > *ow; *ay > *oy
  • PMP/PSWSAB *iw > *uy
  • PGMUR *g- > Ø after the adjectival prefix *ma-
  • PMP/PSWSAB *ə > *a in non-final syllables, except in the environment *_Cə, where it is reflected as /o/

    • References

    Murutic languages Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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