| Kutai | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Indonesia |
| Region | West Kutai,Kutai Kartanegara, andEast Kutai (East Kalimantan) |
| Ethnicity | Kutai |
Native speakers | (300,000 cited 1981)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Dialects | Kota Bangun, Tenggarong, Ancalong |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:mqg – Kota Bangunvkt – Tenggarong |
| Glottolog | kota1275 Kota Bangunteng1267 Tenggarong |
 | |
Kutai is aMalayic language spoken by 300,000 to 500,000 people. It is the native language of theKutai people, the indigenous ethnic group which lives along theMahakam River inBorneo, especially inEast Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are the principal population in the regencies ofWest Kutai,Kutai Kartanegara, andEast Kutai within East Kalimantan province.
Kutai is part of the local Bornean Malayic languages and is closely related to but distinct from theBanjar language inSouth Kalimantan,Berau, also spoken in North Kalimantan and to some extentBrunei-Kedayan Malay as well. Kutai forms a dialect continuum between the two varieties and all three share similar phonology and vocabulary with each other.
Kutai, as with many Malay varieties on the island, is a dialect continuum. A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a spread of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighbouring varieties differ only slightly, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varieties are not mutually intelligible. There are three principal dialects of Kutai Malay language; all three have partialmutual intelligibility with each other due to the geographical proximity of these dialects. The three main dialects areTenggarong (vkt),Kota Bangun (mqg), and Muara Ancalong (currently does not have its ownISO 639-3 code).
Despite being commonly viewed as two dialects of the same language,Glottolog classifies Tenggarong and Kota Bangun varieties separately. According to them, Tenggarong Kutai belongs to the Greater Riau-Johoric branch (closer to traditional Malayic languages aroundSouth China Sea and theStrait of Malacca), while Kota Bangun Kutai belongs to the East Borneo Malay (closer toBanjarese).[2]
Source:[3]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | pb | td | cɟ | kɡ | ʔ |
| Fricative | s | h | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Lateral | l | ||||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Semivowel | w | j |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Low | a |
The phonology of Tenggarong Kutainese is not very different from those ofIndonesian or Malay varieties spoken inJohor andRiau. However, the upriver varieties (Kota Bangun) differ from the former by gemination of consonants following*/ə/ (and subsequent merger with/a/, similar toBerau Malay):*pərut →parrut ('belly'). This change was followed by the raising of all instances of/a/ following voiced consonants (the results are either/ə/ in Kota Bangun or/e/ in Muara Ancalong). The consonant/l/ is transparent to this process (but not in some dialects), making it similar to what happened inMadurese.[4]
| Kota Bangun | Indonesian |
|---|---|
| parrut | perut |
| berrat | berat |
| tabbel | tebal |
| detang | datang |
| nyehit | menjahit |
| bile | bila |
Kutai for most of its history is mainly a spoken language and is mostly used as a form of poetry (pantun). During the period of theKutai Kartanegara Sultanate, most literature was written inStandard Malay inJawi script instead of Kutai Malay.
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