| Malayo-Sumbawan | |
|---|---|
| (controversial) | |
| Geographic distribution | Indonesia (Sumatra,Java,Bali,West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesian parts ofBorneo), Malaysian parts ofBorneo,Brunei and southernVietnam |
| Linguistic classification | Austronesian
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None |
 The Malayo-Sumbawan languages The languages in Cambodia, Vietnam,Hainan, and the northern tip of Sumatra areChamic languages (purple). TheIbanic languages (orange) are found mostly inland in westernBorneo, perhaps the homeland of the Malayic peoples, and acrossSarawak, and other Malayic languages (dark red) range from centralSumatra, acrossMalaya, and throughout coastalKalimantan.Sundanese (pink),Madurese (ocher), and theBali–Sasak languages (green) are found in and aroundJava. | |
TheMalayo-Sumbawan languages are a proposed subgroup of theAustronesian languages that unites theMalayic andChamic languages with the languages ofJava and the westernLesser Sunda Islands (westernIndonesia), except forJavanese (Adelaar 2005).[1][2] If valid, it would be the largest demonstrated family of Malayo-Polynesian outsideOceanic. The Malayo-Sumbawan subgroup is however not universally accepted, and is rejected e.g. by Blust (2010) and Smith (2017), who supported theGreater North Borneo andWestern Indonesian hypotheses.[3][4] In a 2019 paper published inOceanic Linguistics, Adelaar accepted both of these groupings, in addition to Smith's (2018) redefinition ofBarito languages as forming alinkage.[5][6]
According to Adelaar (2005), the composition of the family is as follows:[1]
Unlike in earlier classifications of the languages of the Greater Sunda islands (e.g.Isidore Dyen's "Sundic" subgroup in his 1965 lexicostatistical classification of the Austronesian languages,[7] which included all languages later included in Adaelaar's proposal plus theSouthwest Barito languages,Javanese,Gayo andLampung),Javanese is specifically excluded; the connections between Javanese and Bali–Sasak are mainly restricted to the 'high'register, and disappear when the 'low' register is taken as representative of the languages. This is similar to the case ofEnglish, where more 'refined' vocabulary suggests a connection withFrench, but basic language demonstrates its closer relationship toGermanic languages such asGerman andDutch.Moken is also excluded.
Sundanese appears to share sound changes specifically withLampung, but Lampung does not fit into Adelaar's Malayo-Sumbawan.[8]