South Halmahera languages
Branch of Austronesian languages
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The South Halmahera languages are the branch of Austronesian languages found along the southeast coast of the island of Halmahera in the Indonesian province of North Maluku.
distributionMaluku Islands
- Gebe
- Central–Eastern
- Southern
| South Halmahera | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Maluku Islands |
| Linguistic classification | Austronesian |
| Proto-language | Proto-South Halmahera |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | sout3231 |
Most of the languages are only known from short word lists, but Taba and Buli are fairly well attested.
They are not related to the North Halmahera languages, which are non-Austronesian. However, Ternatan influence is considerable, a legacy of the historical dominance of the Ternate Sultanate.[1]
Historical morphology
Reconstructions of subject markers and inalienable possessive markers for Raja Ampat–South Halmahera proto-languages according to Kamholz (2015). Note that V = vocalic conjugation, C = consonantal conjugation:
Proto-South Halmahera:
1sg. *k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-y- (C) 1pl. *t- (incl.), *am-, *k- (excl.) 2sg. *my- (V), *m-y- (C) 2pl. *f- 3sg. *n- (V), *n- (C) 3pl. *d- 1sg. *-g 1pl. *-d (incl.), *-mam (excl.) 2sg. *-m 2pl. *-meu 3sg. *-∅ 3pl. *si-...-ri
Proto-Central-Eastern South Halmahera:
1sg. *k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-i- (C) 1pl. *t- (incl.), *k- (excl.) 2sg. *my- (V), *m-i- (C) 2pl. *f- 3sg. *n- (V), *n- (C) 3pl. *d- 1sg. *a-...-g 1pl. *ite-...-r (incl.), *ma-...-mam (excl.) 2sg. *a-...-m 2pl. *meu-...-meu 3sg. *i- 3pl. *si-...-ri
Proto-Southern South Halmahera:
1sg. *k- (V), *k- (C) 1pl. *t- (incl.), *am- (excl.) 2sg. *m- (V), *m- (C) 2pl. *f- 3sg. *n- (V), *n- (C) 3pl. *d-?
Most Gane and Taba dialects descending from Proto-Southern South Halmahera lost the inalienable possession suffixes. However, evidence from the Tahane dialect of Taba (Collins 1982) suggests that inalienable possession should be reconstructed for Proto-Southern South Halmahera, albeit in relic forms (compare Tahane mta-g "my eye", nim mta-m "your eye", and nim mta "his/her/its eye").
Languages
From Kamholz (2024):
From Glottolog:
Lexical reconstructions
Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-South Halmahera according to Zobel (ongoing), cited from Arnold (2025).[2]
| Proto-South Halmahera | Gloss |
|---|---|
| *giəs | 'areca nut' |
| *sopi | 'to bathe' |
| *masə (?) | 'low tide' |
| *fen(V) | 'sea turtle' |
| *topi | 'sugarcane' |
| *toli | 'three' |
Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Southern South Halmahera according to Zobel (ongoing).[3]
| Proto-Southern South Halmahera | Gloss |
|---|---|
| *ˈdɛwa | 'grass' |
| *ˈdɔba | 'garden' |
| *ˈkiu | 'fear' |
| *ˈkobit | 'knife' |
| *ˈkuy-ô | 'fingernail' |
| *ˈlɛbo | 'flame' |
| *ˈlekat | 'bad' |
| *ˈlilas | 'lightning' |
| *ˈpokal | 'short' |
| *ˈpoy-ô | 'head' |
| *ˈsɛpo | 'fruit' |
| *ˈtakis | 'sea water' |
| *ˈtɛbal | 'shoot' |
| *ˈuat | 'mountain' |
| *ˈweli | 'rattan' |
| *aˈwɔyan | 'right' |
| *baˈtɔl | 'star' |
| *faˈɔn/aˈfɔn | 'eat' |
| *haˈmasik | 'rice' |
| *kaˈbus | 'wet' |
| *kVkˈle | 'hair' |
| *mˈnɔpa | 'wide' |
| *maˈdimal | 'yellow' |
| *maˈleo | 'other' |
| *mei | 'who' |
| *nɔn | 'sharp' |
| *tes | 'not' |
Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Gamrange (per Glottolog) according to Zobel (ongoing).[4]
| Proto-Gamrange | Gloss |
|---|---|
| #dea | 'stupid' |
| #fVwɔw | 'make sago' |
| #p(i)on-ô | 'fruit' |
| #til | 'support' |
| #tVgy[o/u] | 'hungry' |
| *afĭt | 'stick' |
| *atĭl | 'pull' |
| *babăl | 'cold' |
| *bat-ô | 'all' |
| *bVblahĭ | 'embers' |
| *d[e/o]yĭ | 'crab' |
| *dubă ŋaŋĭh-ô | 'thunderstone' |
| *felăh | 'rain' |
| *g[e/o]gĭ | 'mangrove' |
| *gaă | 'catch, pick up' |
| *gVlepăs | 'slippery' |
| *iŋit | 'reap, gather' |
| *lagăy | 'tray, winnow' |
| *lală | 'lie, deceive' |
| *lawă-lawă | 'slowly' |
| *mamufă | 'tame' |
| *mdi-ô | 'stem, trunk' |
| *miamă | 'small' |
| *mVlikV | 'cloud' |
| *namă-namă | 'eat, food' |
| *natăh | 'again' |
| *pek₂ĭt | 'break' |
| *pidVs | 'peel' |
| *podăs | 'split, break open' |
| *puăh | 'where' |
| *pVk₂puk₂[ă/ĭ] | 'bump' |
| *sagĭh | 'sugar palm' |
| *sak₂ĭh | 'thigh' |
| *salĭy | 'crawl' |
| *salĭy | 'set loose' |
| *sefă | 'crawl' |
| *sifsefă | 'cuscus' |
| *slemă | 'sexually active' |
| *sniV | 'month, moon' |
| *spalĭ | 'half' |
| *sVbibVh | 'midwife' |
| *sVl-silVŋ | 'straits' |
| *tisV | 'no, not' |
| *tuk₂ăh | 'fold' |
| *tVlelă | 'surprised' |
| *ulăt | 'sarong' |
| *yelĭ | 'boat' |
Further reading
- Collins, James (1982). "A short vocabulary of East Makian". In C.L. Voorhoeve (ed.). The Makian languages and their neighbours. Pacific Linguistics. pp. 99–128.
- Kamholz, David (2015). The reconstruction of Proto-SHWNG morphology
- Kamhold, David (2024). "Historical linguistics of the South Halmahera–West New Guinea subgroup". In Alexander Adelaar; Antoinette Schapper (eds.). The Oxford Guide to the Malayo-Polynesian Languages of Southeast Asia. Oxford University Press. pp. 181–187. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198807353.003.0012.