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Central Dusun, also known asBunduliwan (Boros Dusun), is anAustronesian language and one of the more widespread languages spoken by theDusun (includingKadazan) peoples ofSabah,Malaysia.

What is termed asCentral Dusun (or simplyDusun) andCoastal Kadazan (or simplyKadazan) are deemed to be highlymutually intelligible to one other; many consider these to be part of a single language.

The language was among many other Sabahan vernacular languages suppressed underMustapha Harun'sassimilationist enforcement ofBahasa Malaysia across the state.^[4] Under the efforts of theKadazandusun Cultural Association Sabah, in 1995, the central Bundu-Liwan dialect was selected to serve as the basis for a standardised "Kadazandusun" language.^[5][6] This dialect, spoken in the Bundu and Liwan valleys of theCrocker-Trusmadi ranges (now parts of the present-day districts ofRanau,Tambunan andKeningau), was selected as it was deemed to be the most mutually intelligible when conversing with other "Dusun" or "Kadazan" dialects.

The phonemes in Central Dusun and Coastal Kadazan are as follows:

Robinson specifies that /r/ in Tindal Dusun is a flap[ɾ].

[x] occurs as an allophone of/k/ in word-medial position.^[7]

Tangit and MBDK note that Coastal Kadazan consonants correspond to the following consonants found in other varieties:

Kadazandusun is usually said to have four vowels /a i u o/. According to Tingit, /o/ in Central Dusun is less rounded [o̜, ɤ] than in Coastal Kadazan and is sometimes represented with ⟨e⟩.

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This sectionis missing information about ⟨au⟩, ⟨ou⟩ and the usage of ⟨j⟩, ⟨v⟩, ⟨z⟩ within Central Dusun. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(September 2025)

Dusun is written using theLatin alphabet using 21 characters (the letters C, E, F, Q, and X are used in loanwords):

A B D G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

These characters together are calledPimato.

Diphthongs:⟨aa⟩⟨ai⟩ (sometimes pronounced/e/)⟨ii⟩⟨oi⟩⟨uu⟩

Some combinations of vowels do not form diphthongs and each vowel retains its separate sound:⟨ao⟩⟨ia⟩⟨iu⟩⟨ui⟩⟨ue⟩. In some words⟨aa⟩ is not a diphthong, and this is indicated by an apostrophe between the two vowels:a'a.

Tindal Dusun^[8] has a Philippine-type focus system of syntax that makes one particular noun phrase in a sentence the most prominent. This prominent, focused noun phrase does not need to be the subject or the agent of the clause. In clauses with pronouns, the verbal morphology and the pronoun both indicate focus. If the verb carries actor focus morphology, the actor of the clause will therefore be a nominative pronoun (or, rarely, an emphatic pronoun). Any other noun phrase in the clause will necessarily take pronouns from a different set, as only one noun phrase can be in focus in any given clause.

"The "emphatic" pronouns are used alone or preposedly, either as answers or to stress the pronoun.^[10]

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A typical Dusun sentence isVSO.^[11]

It is, however, possible for a grammatically correct Dusun sentence to beSVO.

To form numbers such as fifty or sixty, a multiplier is combined with a positional unit (tens, hundreds, thousands etc.), usingno.

Separate units are combined withom.

The Dusun name of the months derive from the traditional cycle of paddy harvesting.

The names for the days of the week are mostly based on a simple numerical sequence, which is commonly used for media and newspapers.^{[citation needed]} The names of Dusun days as part of the seven-day week derive from the life cycle of a butterfly.

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Central Dusun is divided into four main dialect groups:

• Liwanic: Liwan, Inobong Dusun
• Bunduic: Bundu, Sinulihan, Tagahas, Manggatal Dusun
• Tindalic: Tindal, Luba-Tonduk
• Ulu Sugut Dusun: Tinagas, Talantang, Tuhawon

All Central Dusun dialects are mostly mutually intelligible when conversing.

1¹Tontok di timpuun i' om wonsoyo' no dii Kinorohingan do tawan om pomogunan.²Aiso' po suang do pomogunan, om aiso' o poimpasi; om noolitan di rahat dot opuhod, om odondom o kotuongo'. Nga' mintongkopi' Rusod do Kinorohingan do hiri'd soibau di waig.³Om pimboros noh Kinorohingan do poingkaa, "Nawau no," ka – om haro noddi o tanawau.⁴Om kokito noh Kinorohingan dot osonong i tanawau, om potongkiado' no dau i tanawau do mantad id totuong.⁵Om pungaranai noh Kinorohingan do "Dangadau" i tanawau, om "Dongotuong" i totuong. Om korikot no sosodopon om korikot nogiddi kosuabon – iri no tadau do koiso'.^[14]

Tangit, Trixie M. (May 2005),Planning Kadazandusun (Sabah, Malaysia): Labels, Identity and Language, Mānoa: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Robinson, Laura C. (2005),"A sketch grammar of Tindal Dusun",University of Hawaiʻi Working Papers in Linguistics, vol. 36, no. 5, Mānoa: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, pp. 1–31

Central Dusun edition ofWikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDusun language.

• Kadazandusun Language Foundation
• Kadazandusun Online Vocabulary Sharing
• Numbers in Dusun (Dynamic)
• Collection of Central Dusun sentences at tatoeba.org
• Collection of Central Dusun sentences with audio at tatoeba.org

• Dusunic languages
• Languages of Malaysia
• Verb–subject–object languages
• Languages of Brunei

• Language articles citing Ethnologue 25
• CS1 Malay-language sources (ms)
• CS1 foreign language sources (ISO 639-2)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from February 2022
• Wikipedia articles with style issues from October 2020
• All articles with style issues
• Articles containing Kadazan Dusun-language text
• Pages with plain IPA
• Articles needing additional references from September 2025
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• Articles to be expanded from September 2025
• Articles needing additional references from June 2024
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