/i,u/ can be heard as [ɪ,ʊ] in closed syllables.[2]
Connection with Malagasy
The Malagasy language is an Austronesian language spoken in Madagascar, originating from its historical homeland in South East Borneo.[3][4] Malagasy is classified among the Southeast Barito languages,[3][5] and Ma'anyan is often listed as its closest relative, with Malagasy incorporating numerous Malay and Javanese loanwords.[5][6] It is known that Ma'anyan people were brought as labourers and slaves by Malay and Javanese people in their trading fleets, which reached Madagascar by ca. 50–500 AD.[7][8][9] There is high lexical similarity with other East Barito languages like Paku (77%) and Dusun Witu (75%). It is likely that the Malagasy had already acquired a separate ethnic and linguistic identity in South Borneo prior to their migration(s) to East Africa.[4] Based on linguistic evidence, it has been suggested that the early Malagasy migrants moved away from Borneo in the 7th century AD, if not later.[10][5]
Compared to Malagasy, Ma’anyan is characterized by a "West Indonesian" (Malay-type) morphosyntactic structure, a consequence of the long-standing influence of Malay on the languages of western Indonesia. While Malagasy is closer to the so-called “Philippine-type structure” (resembling many of the languages of the Philippines, Sabah, North Sulawesi, and Taiwan), it is also very innovative phonologically, perhaps as a result of its common phonological history with Comorian languages.[3]
Vocabulary
Vocabulary comparison between Malay, Banjarese, Ma'anyan, and Malagasy.
^ abAdelaar, K. Alexander (2017). "Who Were the First Malagasy, and What Did They Speak?". In Acri, Andrea; Blench, Roger; Landmann, Alexandra (eds.). Spirits and Ships: Cultural Transfers in Early Monsoon Asia. Book collections on Project MUSE 28. Singapore: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. pp. 441–469. doi:10.1355/9789814762779-012. ISBN978-981-4762-75-5. OCLC1012757769.
^ abcAdelaar, K. Alexander (2006). "Borneo as a Cross-Roads for Comparative Austronesian Linguistics". In Bellwood, Peter; Fox, James J.; Tryon, Darrell T. (eds.). The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. Canberra: ANU E Press. pp. 81–102. doi:10.22459/A.09.2006.04. ISBN1-920942-85-8. JSTORj.ctt2jbjx1.7. OCLC225298720.
^There are also some Sulawesi loanwords, which Adelaar attributes to contact prior to the migration to Madagascar: See Adelaar, K. Alexander (2006). "The Indonesian migrations to Madagascar: making sense of the multidisciplinary evidence". In Simanjuntak, Truman; Pojoh, Ingrid H.E.; Hisyam, Mohammad (eds.). Austronesian Diaspora and the Ethnogeneses of People in Indonesian Archipelago: Proceedings of the International Symposium. Jakarta: LIPI Press. pp. 213–215. ISBN979-26-2436-8. OCLC73745051. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
^Dewar, Robert E.; Wright, Henry T. (1993). "The Culture History of Madagascar". Journal of World Prehistory. 7 (4): 417–466. doi:10.1007/bf00997802. hdl:2027.42/45256.
^Burney, David A.; Burney, Lida Pigott; Godfrey, Laurie R.; Jungers, William L.; Goodman, Steven M.; Wright, Henry T.; Jull, A. J. Timothy (2004). "A Chronology for Late Prehistoric Madagascar". Journal of Human Evolution. 47 (1–2): 25–63. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.05.005. PMID15288523.
^Kumar, Ann (2012). "Dominion Over Palm and Pine: Early Indonesia's Maritime Reach". In Wade, Geoff (ed.). Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 101–122.
Gudai, Darmansyah H. (1985). A Grammar of Maanyan: A Language of Central Kalimantan (PhD thesis). The Australian National University. doi:10.25911/5D763957026A1. hdl:1885/10904.
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