Semelai language

Semelai is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula. It belongs to the Southern branch of the Aslian language subgrouping. The Semelai reside predominantly around the Bera, Serting and associated river systems in the states of Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

Semelai
Native to	Malaysia
Region	Malay Peninsula
Ethnicity	6,300 (2008)[1]
Native speakers	4,100 (2009)[1]
Language family	Austroasiatic Aslian Southern Aslian Semelai
Writing system	Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	sza
Glottolog	seme1247
ELP	Semelai[2]

Phonology

Semelai has 32 consonants and 20 vowels.[3]

Consonants

		Bilabial			Alveolar			Palatal			Velar		Glottal
		plain	aspirated	preglottalized	plain	aspirated	preglottalized	plain	aspirated	preglottalized	plain	aspirated
Stop	voiceless	p	pʰ		t	tʰ		c	cʰ		k	kʰ	ʔ
	voiced	b			d			ɟ			ɡ
Fricative					s								h
Nasal	voiceless	m̥			n̥						ŋ̊
	voiced	m		ʔm	n		ʔn	ɲ		ʔɲ	ŋ
Approximant					l		ʔl	j		ʔj	w
Trill					r		ʔr

Notes

1. Semelai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. Endangered Languages Project data for Semelai.
3. Kruspe (2004) harvp error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFKruspe2004 (help)

References

• Hoe, Ban Seng (2001). Baer, Adela S.; Gianno, Rosemary (eds.). Semelai Communities at Tasek Bera: A Study of the Structure of an Orang Asli Society. Subang Jaya, Malaysia: Centre for Orang Asli Concerns. ISBN 983-40042-3-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Kruspe, Nicole (2004). A Grammar of Semelai. Cambridge Grammatical Descriptions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81497-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Kruspe, Nicole (2004). "Adjectives in Semelai". In Dixon, R. M. W.; A. Y. Aikhenvald (eds.). Adjective Classes: a cross-linguistic typology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 283–305.

External links

• http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
• http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-66E3-8@view Semelai in RWAAI Digital Archive