Muna–Buton languages explained

Muna–Buton
Region:	Sulawesi
Familycolor:	Austronesian
Fam2:	Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:	Celebic
Protoname:	Proto-Muna-Buton
Child1:	Nuclear Muna–Buton
Child2:	Tukang Besi–Bonerate
Glotto:	muna1246
Glottorefname:	Muna–Buton

The Muna–Buton languages are a group of languages spoken on the islands of Muna and Buton off the coast of South East Sulawesi province, Indonesia. They belong to the Celebic subgroup of the Austronesian family.^[1]

Internal classification

The Ethnologue classifies the Muna–Buton languages as follows, based on van den Berg (2003) and Donohue (2004):^{[2] [3]}

• Nuclear Muna–Buton
  • Buton
    • East Buton: Lasalimu, Kumbewaha
    • West Buton: Cia-Cia
  • Munan
    • Busoa
    • Munic
      • Kaimbulawa
      • Western Munic: Liabuku, Muna (Wuna), Pancana, Kioko
• Tukangbesi–Bonerate: Tukang Besi, Bonerate

In earlier classifications, Wolio, spoken in the city of Baubau (seat of the court of the former Sultanate of Buton) and its immediate surroundings, and Laiyolo, spoken in the southern part of Selayar Island, were also included in the Muna–Buton group,^{[4] [5]} but Donohue (2004) has shown that they form a distinct subgroup of their own, Wotu–Wolio, which also includes Wotu, spoken at the northern shore of the Bone Gulf.^[3]

Reconstruction

Proto-Muna–Buton
Familycolor:	Austronesian
Ancestor:	Proto-Austronesian
Ancestor2:	Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
Ancestor3:	Proto-Celebic
Target:	Muna–Buton languages

Proto-Muna–Buton has been reconstructed by van den Berg (2003).^[2]

Phonology

Vowels!!Front!Central!Back

Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

Consonants

			Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	plain	p	t		k	q
		prenasalized	mp	nt		ŋk
	voiced	plain/implosive	ɓ	ɗ		g
		prenasalized	mb	nd		ŋg
Fricative	voiceless	plain		s				h
		prenasalized		ns
	voiced						R
Nasal			m	n		ŋ
Trill				r
Lateral				l
Approximant			w		y

Vocabulary

Van den Berg proposes around 30 lexical innovations for Proto-Muna–Buton, e.g., Uncoded languages: *ɓeka 'cat', Uncoded languages: *kaɓi 'throw away', Uncoded languages: *kenta 'fish', Uncoded languages: *kompa 'eel', Uncoded languages: *potu 'head', Uncoded languages: *weŋke 'split open (fruit)', Uncoded languages: *woru 'under'.^[2]

External links

• "Muna-Buton" at Ethnologue (23rd ed, 2020).

Notes and References

1. Mead, David. (2003). "Evidence for a Celebic supergroup." In Lynch, John (ed.). Issues in Austronesian historical phonology, pp. 115-141. Canberra: Australian National University. (Pacific Linguistics 550)
2. Book: van den Berg, René . 2003 . The place of Tukang Besi and the Muna-Buton languages . Lynch, John . Issues in Austronesian historical phonology . 87–114 . Pacific Linguistics 550 . Canberra . Australian National University . 10.15144/PL-550.87 . free.
3. Mark Donohue. (2004). "The pretenders to the Muna-Buton group". In John Bowden and Nikolaus Himmelmann (eds.), Papers in Austronesian subgrouping and dialectology, 21-35. Canberra: Australian National University.
4. Book: 1938 . Esser, S.J. . Talen . Atlas van Tropisch Nederland . Blad 9a . Batavia . Topografische Dienst.
5. Book: Noorduyn, J. . 1991 . The Languages of Sulawesi . H. Steinhauer . Papers in Austronesian linguistics . Pacific Linguistics A-81 . Canberra . Australian National University.