Temiar language
| Temiar | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Peninsular Malaysia |
Native speakers | 30,000 (2020)[1] |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tea |
| Glottolog | temi1246 |
| ELP | Temiar |
Temiar is a Central Aslian (Mon–Khmer) 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.[2]
Name
[edit]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]."[3]
Phonology
[edit]Vowels
[edit]| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | ʉ ʉː | u uː |
| Close-mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | ə əː | ɔ ɔː |
| Open | a aː |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ĩ ĩː | ʉ̃ ʉ̃ː | ũ ũː |
| Mid | ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː | ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː | |
| Open | ã ãː |
Consonants
[edit]| Bilabial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Rhotic | ɾ | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Fricative | ɕ | h | ||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
Morphosyntax
[edit]Noun Phrase
[edit]The noun phrase is (pro)noun initial followed by modifiers and demonstratives or possessor pronouns. Pronouns may not be modified by another pronoun.[4] 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.'[4]
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inclusive | Exclusive | Inclusive | Exclusive | ||
| 1 | ye:ʔ | ʔa:r | ya:r | ʔɛ:ʔ | kanɛ:ʔ |
| 2 | ha:ʔ | kəʔan | ɲɔb | ||
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inclusive | Exclusive | Inclusive | Exclusive | ||
| 1 | yeh | ʔah | yah | ʔɛh | kanɛh |
| 2 | hah | kəʔan | ɲɔb | ||
| 3 | ʔəh | weh wɛh | ʔun ʔən | ||
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inclusive | Exclusive | Inclusive | Exclusive | ||
| 1 | ʔi- | ʔa- | ya- | ʔɛ- | kanɛ-
ki- kɛ- |
| 2 | ha- | kəʔa- | ɲɔ(b)- | ||
| 3 | na- ʔə- | we- wɛ- | ʔun- | ||
Verb Phrase
[edit]The verb phrase is ordered as sentential negation, auxiliary verb and main verb. The verb phrase precedes the subject.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Temiar at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Benjamin, Geoffrey (November 2013). "Aesthetic elements in Temiar grammar". In Williams, Jeffrey P (ed.). The Aesthetics of Grammar: Sound and Meaning in the Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia. pp. 36–60. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139030489.004. ISBN 9781139030489. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
- ^ Benjamin, Geoffrey (2012). "The Peculiar History of the Ethnonym "Temiar"". Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia. 27 (2): 205–233. doi:10.1355/sj27-2a.
- ^ a b c Benjamin, Geoffrey (1976). An Outline of Temiar Grammar. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications. University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 129–187. ISSN 0078-3188. JSTOR 20019155.
Further reading
[edit]- 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. ISBN 9780858836419 (electronic document)
- Benjamin, Geoffrey. 2012. "The Temiar causative (and related features)." Mon-Khmer Studies 41: 32–45. ISSN 0147-5207 (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. ISBN 9781107007123 (print, hard cover), ISBN 9781107496309 (eBook, 2013). doi:10.1017/CBO9781139030489.004
External links
[edit]- http://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
