Bornean languages

Bornean
Geographic distribution:	Borneo
Linguistic classification:	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Indo-Melanesian Bornean
Subdivisions:	Sabahan North Sarawakan Barito Land Dayak (not a unit) ? Rejang–Sajau

The Bornean languages are the Austronesian language families indigenous to the island of Borneo, with the exclusion of Ibanic (Malayic Dayak) and other Malayic languages.

A 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database found marginal support (at a 65% confidence level) that these languages are related as an exclusive unit. There was in addition 55% support for the unity of a core group, excluding the Sabahan languages, that is called "Greater Barito":

Bornean (65%)

• Sabahan (at least Murutic and Ida’an)
• Greater Barito (55%)
  • Land Dayak I (includes Bekatiq)
  • Land Dayak II (includes Jagoi)
  • Barito
  • North Sarawakan (includes Kayan)

The Rejang–Sajau languages are presumably Bornean, but were not addressed by the 2008 study.

North Bornean

North Bornean is a 1991 proposal by Robert Blust that the Northeast Sabahan, Southwest Sabahan, and North Sarawakan families (minus Kayan) form an exclusive unit called North Bornean. The Bornean languages, which do not form a unit in this proposal, thus consist of North Bornean, Kayan, Land Dayak, and the three Barito families.

North Bornean is not supported by the 2008 analysis.

See also

• Languages of Kalimantan
• Borneo–Philippine languages
• Dayak languages
• Malagasy

References

• Blust, Robert. "The Greater North Borneo Hypothesis." Oceanic Linguistics 49.1 (2010): 44-118.
• Fay Wouk and Malcolm Ross (ed.), The history and typology of western Austronesian voice systems. Australian National University, 2002.
• K. Alexander Adelaar and Nikolaus Himmelmann, The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar. Routledge, 2005.
• Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database