Matbat is a heavilyPapuan-influencedAustronesian language spoken inSouthwest Papua,Indonesia, on the island ofMisool,Raja Ampat Islands.[1] Its dialects areMagey andTomolol.[2]: 17 Similar to the neighboringMa'ya language, Matbat is one of a handful of Austronesian languages with true lexicaltone rather than a pitch-accent system or complete lack of phonemic tonal contrasts as with most other Austronesian languages.[3]
The Matbat language is divided into severaldialects, but generally four distinct dialects: Aduwei, Gam, Matlow, and Me Yot (Me Tip). Based on their speech area, they are as follows:[5]
TheAduwei dialect is spoken in the north and a small part in the south, including the villages of Salafen, Aduwei, and Atkari.
TheGam dialect is spoken in the villages of Waya Gam, Magey, and parts of Kapatcol.
TheMatlow dialect is spoken on the south and east coast of Misool Island, especially in the villages of Fafanlap, Kafopop (Kayerepop), Yellu, Dabatan, and Gamta. It is also considered a separate language by theLanguage Development and Fostering Agency. However, in general, the differences are not very pronounced. This dialect is also known asMatbat Laut orMisool.[6]
TheMe Yot (Me Tip) dialect is the dialect with the most speakers. This dialect covers most of southern Misool Island and the interior, including areas such as the villages of Me Yot, Bemlol, Audam, Temulol (Tomolol), Folley (Me Fol), Lenmalas, and Atkari.
Matbat has five lexical tones: high falling˥˩ 41, high˦ 3, low rising˩˨ 12, low level˩ 1, and low falling˨˩ 21, which in open syllables has a peaking allophone,˩˨˩ 121. Most Matbat words are monosyllabic; additional syllables in polysyllabic words are often weak and toneless, though a few words do have two tonic syllables. Examples of some of the longer monomorphemic words are/kamow˩˨/ 'star',/wuj˦te/ 'sea shore',/sapu˥˩luj˩˨/ 'round',/bim˦bom˩˨˩pu/ 'butterfly'.
^Mambrisaw, Artemas; Wurlianty, Barnabas; Liuw, Fery; Hamel, Samuel; Lamatenggo, Yusdi; Rumbekwan, Inna; Muljadi, Andreas H.; Sukmara, Asep; Sumantri, Hendi; Omkarsba, Joris (2006).Atlas Sumberdaya Pesisir Kabupaten Raja Ampat Provinsi Irian Jaya Barat(PDF) (in Indonesian). Cooperation between the Raja Ampat Regency Government and the Raja Ampat Regency Coastal Resources Atlas Consortium; fully funded by Conservation International Indonesia (CII).Waisai: Konsorsium Atlas Sumberdaya Pesisir Kabupaten Raja Ampat. pp. 1–139.
^Remijsen, Bert (2010).Nouns and Verbs in Magey Matbat. Michael C. Ewing and Marian Klamer (eds.), East Nusantara: typological and areal analyses: Australian National University. pp. 281–311.
