Kayan language (Borneo)

Kayan
Kayan
Kajan
Native to	Indonesia, Malaysia
Region	Borneo
Ethnicity	Kayan people
Native speakers	(35,000 cited 1981–2007)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Kayan–Murik Modang–Kayan Kayan; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; xay – Kayan Mahakam; kys – Baram Kayan; bfg – Busang Kayan; xkn – Kayan River Kayan; xkd – Mendalam Kayan; ree – Rejang Kayan; whu – Wahau Kayan; bhv – Bahau
Glottolog	kaya1323 Kayan Proper; kaya1325 Kayan River Kayan; reja1241 Rejang Kayan

Kayan (Kajan, Kayan proper) is a dialect cluster spoken by the Kayan people of Borneo. It is a cluster of closely related dialects with limited mutual intelligibility, and is itself part of the Kayan-Murik group of Austronesian languages.

Baram Kayan is a local trade language.^{[further explanation needed]} Bahau is part of the dialect cluster, but is not ethnically Kayan.

Phonology

The following is based on the Baram dialect:

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p	t	(tʃ)	k	ʔ
	tense		tː		kː
	voiced	b	d	dʒ	g
Fricative		β	s	(ʃ)		h
Tap/Trill			r
Lateral			l
Approximant		w		j

/r/ can be heard as either a tap [ɾ] or a trill [r] in free variation.
/k/ can be heard as [x] when in free fluctuation with [k] in word-medial position.
/ɲ, ŋ/ can be realized as more fronted [ɲ̟, ŋ̟] when preceding high vocoids.
/dʒ/ may also be heard as a palatalized stop [dʲ] in free fluctuation.
/s/ may also be heard as [ʃ] in free variation, and may also fluctuate to a stop sound [tʃ].

Length [Vː] is said to occur in free variation or in word-final position.
/i/ can be heard as [ɪ] in initial or medial positions, or in free variation with [i].
/ə/ can also be heard as [ɘ] in word-medial position.
/a/ can be heard as [ɐ] before a medial or final /ʔ/ or /h/.
/ɔ/ can be heard as [o] when before a /ʔ/ or /h/, or in fluctuation with [ɔ].^[2]

^ Kayan Mahakam at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Baram Kayan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Busang Kayan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Kayan River Kayan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Mendalam Kayan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Rejang Kayan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
(Additional references under 'Language codes' in the information box)
^ Cubit, L. E. (1964). Kayan phonemics. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 120. pp. 409–423.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

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