Mentawai language

Last updated
Mentawai
Nganga Simatawe
Native to West Sumatra, Indonesia
Region Mentawai Islands
Native speakers
58,000 (2000 census) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mwv
Glottolog ment1249

The Mentawai language is an Austronesian language, spoken by the Mentawai people of the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Contents

Dialects

According to Ethnologue, Mentawai dialects include: Silabu, Sipura – Simalegi, Sakalagan, Saumanganja – North Siberut, South Siberut – Taikaku – Pagai. [1]

Syamsir Arifin, et al. (1992) list twelve dialects of Mentawai:

Dialects in Siberut Island are: [2]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p t ( t͡ɕ ) k
voiced b d d͡ʑ ɡ
Fricative s
Lateral l
Rhotic r
Semivowel w j

Vowels

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References

  1. 1 2 Mentawai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. "Findresults.site".
  3. Arifin, Malano & Kasim (1992)

Bibliography