Maanyan or Maʼanyan (also Maanjan or Maanyak Dayak) is an Austronesian language belonging to the East Barito languages. It is spoken by about 150,000 Ma'anyan people (one of the Dayak peoples) living in the province of Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is most closely related to the Malagasy language spoken in Madagascar, although these languages are not mutually intelligible due to the geographical separation.

Phonology

Consonants

can also be heard as a tap sound.

Vowels

can be heard as in closed syllables.

Connection with Malagasy

The Malagasy language is an Austronesian language spoken in Madagascar, originating from its historical homeland in South East Borneo. Malagasy is classified among the Southeast Barito languages, and Ma'anyan is often listed as its closest relative, with Malagasy incorporating numerous Malay and Javanese loanwords. It is known that Ma'anyan people were brought as labourers and slaves by Malay and Javanese people in their trading fleets, which reached Madagascar by ca. 50–500 AD. There is high lexical similarity with other East Barito languages like Paku (77%) and Dusun Witu (75%). It is likely that the Malagasy had already acquired a separate ethnic and linguistic identity in South Borneo prior to their migration(s) to East Africa. Based on linguistic evidence, it has been suggested that the early Malagasy migrants moved away from Borneo in the 7th century AD, if not later. Compared to Malagasy, Ma’anyan is characterized by a "West Indonesian" (Malay-type) morphosyntactic structure, a consequence of the long-standing influence of Malay on the languages of western Indonesia. While Malagasy is closer to the so-called “Philippine-type structure” (resembling many of the languages of the Philippines, Sabah, North Sulawesi, and Taiwan), it is also very innovative phonologically, perhaps as a result of its common phonological history with Comorian languages.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary comparison between Malay, Banjarese, Ma'anyan, and Malagasy.