| Subanen | |
|---|---|
| Subanon | |
| Geographic distribution | WesternMindanao,Philippines |
| Linguistic classification | Austronesian |
| Proto-language | Proto-Subanen |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | suba1253 |
TheSubanen languages (alsoSubanon andSubanun) are a group of closely relatedAustronesian languages belonging to theGreater Central Philippine subgroup.[1]: 303 Subanen languages are spoken in various areas ofZamboanga Peninsula, namely theprovinces ofZamboanga Sibugay,Zamboanga del Norte andZamboanga del Sur, and inMisamis Occidental of Northern Mindanao. There is also a sizeable Subanen community inMisamis Oriental andLanao del Norte. Most speakers of Subanen languages go by the name ofSubanen,Subanon orSubanun, while those who adhere toIslam refer to themselves asKolibugan,Kalibugan,Tewlet orTelet.
Jason Lobel (2013:308) classifies the Subanen varieties as follows.[1]
Lobel (2013:308) lists the following innovations or retentions among each of the following subgroups.
| Proto-Subanen | |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction of | Subanen languages |
Reconstructed ancestors | |
The following phoneme inventory can be reconstructed for Proto-Subanen:[1][2]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | *i | *u | |
| Mid | *ə | ||
| Open | *a |
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | voiceless | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ | |
| voiced | *b | *d | *g | |||
| Fricative | *s | |||||
| Nasal | *m | *n | *ŋ | |||
| Lateral | *l | |||||
| Approximant | *w | *y | ||||
According to Jason Lobel (2013:304-305), the innovations defining Proto-Subanen from Proto-Greater Central Philippine are:
1. *h was lost in all positions in Proto-Subanen.
2. *ʔ was lost word-initially and word-medially, only being retained in word-final position.
3. Reduction of *a to *ə in prepenultimate syllables, as well as in closed penultimate syllables.
4. Addition of a word-initial *g- to all vowel-initlal words following the operation of the previous innovations.
5. Assimilation of consonant clusters into a sequence of either *kC, *gC, or a nasal cluster.
