Mentawai language explained

Mentawai language should not be confused with Mendawai language.

Mentawai
Nativename:	Nganga Simatawe
States:	West Sumatra, Indonesia
Region:	Mentawai Islands
Speakers:	58,000
Date:	2000 census
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Austronesian
Fam2:	Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:	Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands
Iso3:	mwv
Glotto:	ment1249
Glottorefname:	Mentawai

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

Dialects

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

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

• Mentawai
  • South Siberut
    • Madobat
    • Salappa
    • Ulubaga
  • Sipora
    • Bariulou
    • Bosua
    • Sioban
  • North Pagai
    • Pasapuat
    • Silabu
    • Saumanganya
  • South Pagai
    • Boriai
    • Bulasat
    • Sikakap

Dialects in Siberut Island are:^[1]

• Sikapone
• Togiiite
• Pokai
• Simajegi
• Simatalu
• Paipajet
• Sakuddei
• Sagulubbe
• Sirileleu
• Sikabaluan
• Sempungan
• Saibi & Sarabua
• Silaoinan
• Sarareiket
• Sabirut

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	(pronounced as /link/)	pronounced as /link/
	voiced	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Fricative			pronounced as /link/
Lateral			pronounced as /link/
Rhotic			pronounced as /link/
Semivowel		pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/

• Allophones of /b ɡ k/ can be heard as [β ɣ ʔ]. [t͡ɕ] is a distinct sound in Mentawai, but not given phoneme status by Syamsir et al. because of the lack of minimal contrasts.
• The semivowels /w j/ only appear in final position.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Mid	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Open		pronounced as /link/

Bibliography

• Book: Arifin . Syamsir . Fonologi Bahasa Mentawai . Malano . Nasroel . Kasim . Yuslina . Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaa. . 1992 . Jakarta . Indonesian . Mentawai Language Phonology.
• Adriani . N. . Nicolaus Adriani . 1928 . Spraakkunstige Schets van de Taal der Mĕntawai-Eilanden . Grammar Sketch of the Language of the Mĕntawai Islands . Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië . Dutch . 84 . 1 . 1–117 . 10.1163/22134379-90001493 . 20770239 . free.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Findresults.site.