# Malayic languages

The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The two most prominent members of this branch are Indonesian and Malay. Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia and has evolved as a standardized form of Malay with distinct influences from local languages and historical factors. Malay, in its various forms, is recognized as a national language in Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. The Malayic branch also includes local languages spoken by ethnic Malays (e.g. Jambi Malay, Kedah Malay), further several languages spoken by various other ethnic groups of Sumatra, Indonesia (e.g. Minangkabau) and Borneo (e.g. Banjarese, Iban) even as far as Urak Lawoi in the southwestern coast of Thailand.
The most probable candidate for the urheimat of the Malayic languages is western Borneo prior to spread in Sumatra.

## History

The term "Malayic" was first coined by Dyen (1965) in his lexicostatistical classification of the Austronesian languages. Dyen's "Malayic hesion" had a wider scope than the Malayic subgroup in its currently accepted form, and also included Acehnese, Lampung and Madurese. Nothofer (1988) narrowed down the range of Malayic, but included the non-Malayic languages Rejang and Embaloh:
* Rejang
* Embaloh
* Salako
* Iban-Malayan
** Ibanic
** Malayan
The present scope of the Malayic subgroup, which is now universally accepted by experts in the field, was first proposed by K.A. Adelaar (1992, 1993), based on phonological, morphological and lexical evidence.

## Languages

Malayic languages are spoken on Borneo, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Java and on several islands located in the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca.

### Borneo

* Bamayo, Banjar, Berau, Brunei, Bukit, Kendayan, Keninjal, Kayong/Ketapang Malay, Kota Bangun Kutai, Tenggarong Kutai, Sarawak, Ibanic (Iban, Remun, Mualang, Seberuang)

### Malay Peninsula

* Jakun, Kedah, Kelantan-Patani, Negeri Sembilan, Orang Kanaq, Orang Seletar, Perak, Pahang, Reman, Temuan, Terengganu, Urak Lawoi'

### Sumatra

* Central Malay, Col, Haji, Jambi Malay, Kaur, Kerinci, Kubu, Lubu, Minangkabau, Musi, Pekal

### Java

* Betawi

### South China Sea/Strait of Malacca

* Bangka Malay, Duano, Loncong, Orang Seletar

### Maluku Islands

* Bacan Malay

## Subgrouping
### Internal classification

While there is general consensus about which languages can be classified as Malayic, the internal subgrouping of the Malayic languages is still disputed.

#### Adelaar (1993)

Adelaar (1993) classifies the Malayic languages as follows.
* Malayic
** Iban
*** Malay
*** Minangkabau
*** Middle Malay
*** Banjarese
*** Betawi
*** Others

#### Ross (2004)

Based on grammatical evidence, Ross (2004) divides the Malayic languages into two primary branches:
* Malayic
** Western Malayic Dayak (Kendayan, Salako)
** Nuclear Malayic (all other lects)
This classification is mirrored in the Glottolog (Version 3.4).

#### Anderbeck (2012)

Following Tadmor (2002), Anderbeck (2012) makes a distinction between Malay and Malayic in his discussion about the dialects of the Sea Tribes in Riau Archipelago. He tentatively classifies all Malayic languages as belonging to a "Malay" subgroup, except Ibanic, Kendayan/Selako, Keninjal, Malayic Dayak (or "Dayak Malayic") and the "fairly divergent varieties" of Urak Lawoi' and Duano.
* Malayic
** Ibanic
** Kendayan/Selako
** Keninjal
** Malayic Dayak
** Urak Lawoi'
** Duano
** Malay (including all other Malayic varieties)
Anderbeck's classification has been adopted in the 17th edition of the Ethnologue, with the sole exception of Duano, which is listed in the Ethnologue among the "Malay" languages.

#### Smith (2017)

In his dissertation on the languages of Borneo, Smith (2017) provides evidence for a subgroup comprising Malayic isolects in western Borneo and southern Sumatra, which he labels "West Bornean Malayic".
* Malayic
** West Bornean Malayic
*** Kendayan-Salako (= Ross' "Western Malayic Dayak")
*** Besemah
*** Ibanic
**** Iban
**** Seberuang
**** Mualang
**** Keninjal
** Other Malayic (not a genetic subgroup)
*** Malay
*** Betawi
*** Ketapang Malay
*** Banjarese
*** Kutai
*** Brunei Malay

#### Glottolog

Glottolog 5.1 classifies the Malayic languages into several groups, namely:
* Malayic
** Duano
** Haji
** Malayic Dayak
** Nuclear Malayic
*** Betawic
*** Central Sumatran Malay
*** East Borneo Malay
*** Greater Riau–Johoric
*** Northern Sumatra Malay
*** South Sumatra Malay
*** Standard Malay–Indonesian
*** Vehicular Malay
** Old Malay
** Ibanic
** Western Malayic Dayak

### Position within Austronesian

The inclusion of the Malayic languages within the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup is undisputed, and there is general consensus that the Chamic languages are closely related to Malayic. The wider affiliations of the Malayic languages are however controversial. There are two major proposals: Adelaar (2005) places Malayic within the Malayo-Sumbawan subgroup, which comprises the following languages:
* Malayo-Sumbawan
** Malayo-Chamic-BSS
*** Malayic languages
*** Chamic languages
*** Bali-Sasak-Sumbawa languages
** Sundanese
** Madurese
Blust (2010) and Smith (2017) assign Malayic to the Greater North Borneo subgroup:
* Greater North Borneo
** North Borneo languages
** Central Sarawak languages
** Kayan–Murik languages
** Land Dayak languages
** Malayo–Chamic
*** Chamic languages
*** Malayic languages
** Rejang language
** Sundanese language
The Malayo-Sumbawan hypothesis is mainly based on phonological evidence with a few shared lexical innovations, while the Greater North Borneo hypothesis is based on a large corpus of lexical evidence.