Mambai_language_(Timor)

Mambai language (Timor)

Mambai language (Timor)

Austronesian language spoken in East Timor

Not to be confused with Mambai language (Cameroon), Mambaí, or Mumbai.

Mambai, also called Mambae or Manbae, is a language spoken by the Mambai people, the second largest ethnic group in the island country of East Timor.

Quick Facts Region, Native speakers ...
An illustration of Tetum language (left), Mambai language (center) and Portuguese language (right) being compared to one another.

Geographic distribution

Mambai is one of 15 constitutionally recognized national languages. The main centers of Mambai are Ermera, Aileu, Remexio, Turiscai, Maubisse Administrative Post, Ainaro Administrative Post and Same Administrative Post. The majority of the Timorese community in Australia is native in Mambai.

Mambai used to be spoken in the area around Dili, when the Portuguese declared the city to be the capital of their colony Portuguese Timor. Therefore, the Tetum Prasa spoken in Dili is still exhibiting strong influences from its Mambai substrate.[2]

Phonology

Consonants

More information Labial, Alveolar ...
  • /r, h, k/ can also be heard as [ɾ, ħ, ʔ].
  • /p, k/ can also be heard as aspirated [pʰ, kʰ].
  • /d/ is also heard as a voiced post-alveolar stop [d̠].
  • /t/ is slightly aspirated [tʰ] before mid and low vowels. /t/ can also have an allophone [ts] when preceding high vowels.[3]
  • The plosives /p, b, t, d, k/ are unreleased [p̚, b̚, t̚, d̚, k̚] in word-final position.[4]

Vowels

More information Front, Central ...
  • /i, u/ can also have shortened allophones [ɪ, ʊ].[5][6]
More information Front, Central ...

Dialects

Mambae can be divided into three dialects according to Fogaça (2017):[7]: 82 

Northwest
  • Liquiça: Bazartete
  • Ermera: Hatulia
  • Ermera: Railaco
Northeast-Central
  • Aileu: Laulara
  • Aileu: Vila Grupo
  • Aileu: Liquidoe
  • Ainaro: Hatu-Builico
South
  • Ainaro: Hato-Udo
  • Manufahi-Same: Letefoho
  • Manufahi-Same: Betano


Examples of dialectal variation in Mambae:[7]

More information Numeral, Northeast-Central ...
More information Pronoun, Northeast-Central ...
More information Gloss, Northeast-Central ...

Comparison of selected body part words in Mambae dialects:[7]

More information gloss, Liquiça (Bazartete) ...

References

  1. [1]
    Mambai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. [2]
    Hull, Geoffrey (24 August 2004). "The Languages of East Timor: Some Basic facts". Instituto Nacional de Linguística. Archived from the original on 16 July 2006.
  3. [3]
    Hull, Geoffrey (2003). Southern Mambai. Instituto Nacional de Linguística of the Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa'e.
  4. [4]
    Fogaça (2013)
  5. [5]
    I Nengah Sukarnyana; I Made Denes; I Wayan Sudiartha; Ni Wayan Sudiati (1997). Struktur Bahasa Mambai [Mambai Language Structure] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. ISBN 979-459-777-5 – via repositori.kemdikbud.go.id.
  6. [6]
    Hull, Geoffrey (2001). Mambai Language Manual (Ainaro dialect). Dili: Sebastião Aparício da Silva Project.
  7. [7]
    Fogaça (2017)

Further reading
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