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Austronesian dialect cluster of Southeast Asia
For the unrelated "Kayan" language spoken by the Kayan people of Burma, see
Padaung language .
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.
Internal classification
Glottolog v4.8 classifies the Kayan dialect cluster as follows:
Kayan
Bahau
Baram Kayan
Kayan River Kayan
Mendalam Kayan
Rejan–Makaham Kayan
Busang Kayan
Kayan Mahakam
Rejang Kayan
Phonology
The following is based on the Baram dialect:
Consonants
/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] .
Vowels
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]
External links
Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for
Kayan .
* indicates proposed status ? indicates classification dispute † indicates
extinct status
* indicates proposed status ? indicates classification dispute † indicates
extinct status