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| North Halmahera | |
|---|---|
| Halmaheran | |
| Geographic distribution | Maluku Islands, Indonesia |
| Linguistic classification | West Papuan or independent language family |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | nort2923 |
 Map of the North Halmahera languages; | |
The North Halmahera (NH) languages are a family of languages spoken in the northern and eastern parts of the island of Halmahera and some neighboring islands in Indonesia. The southwestern part of the island is occupied by the unrelated South Halmahera languages, which are a subgroup of Austronesian. They may be most closely related to the languages of the Bird's Head region of West Papua, but this is not well-established.[1]
The best known North Halmaheran language is Ternate (50,000 native speakers), which is a regional lingua franca and which, along with Tidore, were the languages of the rival medieval Ternate and Tidore sultanates, famous for their role in the spice trade.
Most of these languages are very closely related to each other, and their family status is well-demonstrated. West Makian stands out as an isolate.[2][3] Their external links remain unclear. While genealogically distinct from most languages of Indonesia, they all show evidence of extensive contact with the dominant Austronesian language family.[4]
Some of the North Halmahera languages are characterized by their elaborate morphological structures.[4] Others exhibit deep external influence, having shifted to a more Austronesian-type grammar as a consequence of prolonged contact.[5][6]
Genetic and areal relations
[edit]Spoken in the Maluku Islands, the North Halmahera languages are some of the westernmost Papuan languages (the only other such outlier family in eastern Indonesia being Timor–Alor–Pantar).[7][8] Located within Southeast Asia, the two families are arguably the only non-Melanesian linguistic groups that can be linked to the Papuan families of Oceania.[9]: 151 The languages are thought to have been brought to the region as a result of migration from New Guinea, likely predating the arrival of Austronesian languages.[2]: 136 [3]: 216
These languages are classified by some to be part of a larger West Papuan family, along with the languages of the Bird's Head region of Western New Guinea,[2] while others consider NH to form a distinct language family, with no demonstrable relationship outside the region.[10]: 269 The languages of North Halmahera appear to have the closest affinity with the languages of the Bird's Head, which suggests a migration from the western Bird's Head to northern Halmahera.[11]: 364 However, Ger Reesink notes that the evidence for genetic relatedness between the different "West Papuan" groupings is too skimpy to form a firm conclusion,[1] suggesting that they be considered an areal network of unrelated linguistic families. Moreover, many speakers of NH languages, such as the Ternate, Tidore, and Galela peoples, are physically distinct from New Guineans, while Papuan traits are more prevalent among the Austronesian-speaking peoples of South Halmahera.[12] Robert Blust (2013) considers this paradox to be a result of historical language replacement.[12] The ethnic groups of the north Halmahera area share civilizational links with the Islamic world and the populations of western Indonesia, betraying a mismatch between cultural and linguistic affiliation.[2]
At the turn of the 19th century, the NH languages had already been recognized as a highly divergent (but perhaps Austronesian) group. Their non-Austronesian character was finally demonstrated by Hendrik van der Veen in 1915.[6]: 190 The structural similarities between NH and certain Papuan families in Melanesia were noted as far back as 1900, and an early version of the West Papuan family was proposed by H.K.J. Cowan (1957–1965), linking NH with the Bird's Head languages, among others (based on lexical and morphemic evidence).[6]: 193 Holton and Klamer (2018: 626) do not unequivocally accept the genealogical unity of West Papuan, but note that the more restricted "West Papuan" proposal, linking NH with West Bird's Head in particular (and also the Yapen/Yawa languages), appears to be particularly convincing.[4]
The family has a demonstrable Austronesian stratum,[13]: 41 with the ancestral language having received lexical influence from an unnamed Philippine language (or languages).[5]: 652 There are also borrowings of probable Central Maluku origin, as well as Oceanic ones;[6]: 195 in particular, Voorhoeve (1982) has noted a set of lexical similarities between NH and the Central Papuan languages of the south coast of Papua New Guinea.[3][14] In addition, Ternate, Tidore, West Makian, and Sahu have adopted many elements of Austronesian grammar;[2][3] however, other languages of the family are rather conservative, having preserved the SOV word order, the use of postpositions, as well as the use of object and subject prefixes.[5][6]: 192 The presence of archaic typological features sharply distinguishes these languages from other West Papuan languages, which generally have a left-headed syntactic structure.[11]: 364
Internal classification
[edit]The family is dialectally heterogeneous, with blurry lines between different languages. While different authors tend to disagree on the number of distinct languages identified,[15] there is general accord regarding the internal subgrouping of the family.[4]: 577
The classification used here is that of Voorhoeve 1988.[6]
West Makian is divergent due to heavy Austronesian influence. It was once classified as an Austronesian language.[16] It should be distinguished from East Makian (Taba), an unrelated Austronesian language.[4]: 577
There is a degree of mutual intelligibility between the Galela–Tobelo languages, and Voorhoeve 1988 considered them dialects of a language he called Northeast Halmaheran, though most speakers consider them to be distinct languages. They are probably best considered separate languages, as mutual intelligibility testing appears to be skewed by the cultural practice of multilingualism.[17]
Ternate and Tidore are generally treated as separate languages, though there is little Abstand involved, and the separation appears to be based on sociopolitical grounds.[15] Voorhoeve groups these idioms together as varieties of a unitary "Ternate-Tidore" language, while Miriam van Staden classifies them as distinct languages.[4]: 577 Other North Halmahera languages, such as Galela and Tobelo, have received significant influence from Ternate, a historical legacy of the dominance of the Ternate Sultanate in the Moluccas.[18] Many Ternate loanwords can be found in Sahu.[4]
Lexical reconstruction
[edit]Proto-North Halmahera consonants are (after Voorhoeve 1994: 68, cited in Holton and Klamer 2018: 584):[4]
Labial Dental Velar Guttural Plain Retroflex Plosive Unvoiced p t k q Voiced b d ? <?> g Fricative f s h Nasal m n ? Approximant w l (r)
Proto-North Halmahera is notable for having the voiced retroflex stop *?, as retroflex consonants are often not found in Papuan languages.
The following proto-North Halmahera reconstructions are listed in Holton and Klamer (2018: 620–621).[4] Most of the forms in Holton and Klamer are derived from Wada (1980).[19]
- proto-North Halmahera reconstructions (Holton & Klamer 2018)
gloss proto-North Halmahera ‘back’ *?u?un ‘bad’ *torou ‘bark’ *kahi ‘big’ *lamok ‘bite’ *goli ‘black’ *tarom ‘blood’ *aun ‘blow’ *hoa ‘blue’ *bisi ‘boil’ *sakahi ‘bone’ *kobo? ‘brother’ *hira? ‘burn’ *so(?a)ra ‘child’ *?opak ‘cloud’ *lobi ‘cold’ (1) *alo ‘cold’ (2) *malat ‘come’ *bola ‘count’ *eto? ‘cry’ *ores ‘cut’ *luit ‘dance’ *selo ‘die’ *sone? ‘dig’ *puait ‘dirty’ *pepeke ‘dog’ *kaso ‘dull’ *bo?o ‘ear’ *?auk ‘earth’ *tonak ‘eat’ *o?om ‘egg’ *boro ‘eight’ *tupaa?e ‘eye’ *lako ‘fall’ *?ota ‘far’ *kurut ‘fat, grease’ *saki ‘father’ *baba ‘fear’ *mo?o? ‘feather’ *gogo ‘female’ *?ope?eka ‘few’ *ucu ‘fight’ *ku?ubu ‘fire’ *uku ‘fish’ *nawok ‘five’ *motoha ‘float’ *bawo ‘flow’ *uhis ‘flower’ *leru ‘fly’ *sosor ‘fog’ *rasa ‘four’ *ihat ‘fruit’ *sopok ‘give’ *hike ‘good’ *loha ‘grass’ *?a?aru ‘green’ *ijo ‘guts’ *toto ‘hair’ *hutu ‘hand’ *giam ‘head’ *sahek ‘hear’ *isen ‘heart’ *sini?a ‘heavy’ *tubuso ‘hit’ *?apo ‘horn’ *ta?u ‘hot’ *sahuk ‘husband’ *rokat ‘kill’ *tooma ‘knee’ *puku ‘know’ *nako ‘lake’ *talaga ‘laugh’ *?ohe ‘leaf’ *soka ‘left’ *gubali ‘leg/foot’ *?ohu ‘lie’ *?a?u ‘live’ *oho ‘liver’ *gate ‘long’ (1) *kurut ‘long’ (2) *teka ‘louse/flea’ *gani ‘male’ *naur ‘many’ *?ala ‘meat’ *lake ‘moon’ *?oosa ‘mother’ *awa ‘mountain’ *tala ‘mouth’ *uru ‘nail’ *gitipir ‘name’ *ro?a ‘narrow’ *peneto ‘near’ *?umu ‘neck’ *toko ‘new’ *momuane ‘night’ *putu ‘nine’ *siwo ‘nose’ *?unu? ‘old’ *?owo ‘one’ *moi ‘person’ *?awa ‘pierce’ *topok ‘pull’ *lia ‘push’ *hito(si) ‘rain’ *muura ‘red’ *sawala ‘right’ *girinak ‘river’ *selera ‘roast’ *tupu ‘root’ *?utuk ‘rope’ *gumin ‘rotten’ *baka ‘round’ *pululun ‘rub’ *ese ‘salt’ *gasi ‘sand’ *?owo?i ‘say’ *temo ‘scratch’ *rago ‘sea’ *?olot ‘see’ *kelelo ‘seed’ *gisisi ‘seven’ *tumu?i?i ‘sew’ *urit ‘sharp’ *?oto ‘shoot’ *?upu ‘short’ *timisi ‘sing’ *?a?i ‘sister’ *bira? ‘sit’ *tamie ‘six’ *buta?a ‘skin’ *kahi ‘sky’ *?ipa? ‘sleep’ *kiolok ‘small’ *ece ‘smell’ *hame ‘smoke’ *?opo ‘smooth’ *maahi ‘snake’ *?ihia ‘speak’ *bicara ‘spear’ *kamanu ‘spit’ *hobir ‘split’ *raca ‘stand’ *oko ‘star’ *?oma ‘stone’ *teto ‘straight’ *bolowo ‘suck’ *suyu ‘swell’ *?obo ‘swim’ *tobo? ‘tail’ *pego ‘take, hold’ *aho ‘ten’ *mogiowok ‘thick’ *kipirin ‘thin’ *hina ‘think’ *fikiri < Arabic[clarification needed] ‘three’ *saa?e ‘throw’ *sariwi ‘tie’ *piriku ‘to dry’ *?u?u? ‘tongue’ *akir ‘tooth’ *i?ir ‘tree’ *gota ‘true’ *tero ‘twenty’ *monohalok ‘two’ *sinoto ‘vomit’ *?una? ‘walk’ *tagi ‘warm’ *sakuk ‘wash’ *boka ‘water’ *aker ‘way’ *?ekom ‘wet’ *pesa ‘white’ *ares ‘wide’ *?ohat ‘wife’ *pe?akat ‘wind’ *paro ‘wing’ *golipupu ‘wipe’ *piki ‘woods’ *po?an ‘worm’ *kalubati ‘young’ *kiau
Vocabulary comparison
[edit]The following basic vocabulary words are from the Trans-New Guinea database.[20] The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. utu, hutu for “hair”) or not (e.g. dofolo, apota for “head”).
gloss Sahu[21] Tidore[22] West Makian[23] head sae'e dofolo apota; tabia hair utu hutu gigo; onga ear kocowo'o; ngau'u; 'oki; sidete ngau kameu eye la'o lao afe; sado nose cu'dumu; ngunungu; payáha ngun mudefete tooth ngi'di ing wi tongue yai'i aki belo leg tarotaro louse gane gan bene dog nunu'u kaso aso bird namo namo haywan egg gosi; tounu gosi esi blood ngaunu au uni bone 'bero; 'obongo goka subebi skin eno'o ahi fi breast susu isu susu man nau'u nau-nau at woman weré'a faya papa; songa sky diwanga sorga tupam moon ngara ora odo water 'banyo ake be fire ci'du; naoto; u'u uku ipi stone ma'di mafu may road, path ngo'omo; tapaka linga gopao name lomanga ronga aym eat 'doroga; kou; oromo; tabu oyo; talesa am; fajow; fiam one maténgo; moi rimoi gominye; maminye; meminye; minye two 'di'di; romo'dí'di malofo dimaede; edeng; je; maedeng; medeng
References
[edit]- ^ a b Reesink, Ger (2009), "West Papuan languages", in Brown, Keith; Ogilvie, Sarah (eds.), Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World, Elsevier, pp. 1176–1178, ISBN 978-0-08-087775-4, OCLC 318247422
- ^ a b c d e Bellwood, Peter (1998), "The archaeology of Papuan and Austronesian prehistory in the Northern Moluccas, Eastern Indonesia", in Blench, Roger; Spriggs, Matthew (eds.), Archaeology and Language II : Correlating archaeological and linguistic hypotheses, London: Routledge, pp. 128–140, doi:10.4324/9780203202913, ISBN 9780415117616
- ^ a b c d Bellwood, Peter (2019), "The Northern Spice Islands in prehistory, from 40,000 years ago to the recent past", in Bellwood, Peter (ed.), The Spice Islands in Prehistory: Archaeology in the Northern Moluccas, Indonesia, Canberra: ANU Press, pp. 211–221, doi:10.22459/TA50.2019.13, ISBN 978-1-76046-291-8
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Holton, Gary; Klamer, Marian (2018). "The Papuan languages of East Nusantara and the Bird's Head". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 569–640. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- ^ a b c Voorhoeve, Clemens L. (1994), "Contact-induced change in the non-Austronesian languages in the north Moluccas, Indonesia", in Dutton, Tom; Tryon, Darrell T. (eds.), Language Contact and Change in the Austronesian World, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 649–674, doi:10.1515/9783110883091.649, ISBN 978-3-11-012786-7
- ^ a b c d e f Voorhoeve, Clemens L. 1988. The languages of the northern Halmaheran stock. Papers in New Guinea Linguistics, no. 26., 181-209. (Pacific Linguistics A-76). Canberra: Australian National University.
- ^ Holton, Gary; Klamer, Marian; Kratochvíl, Franti?ek; Robinson, Laura C.; Schapper, Antoinette (2012), "The Historical Relations of the Papuan Languages of Alor and Pantar", Oceanic Linguistics, 51 (1): 86–122, doi:10.1353/ol.2012.0001, hdl:1887/18594, JSTOR 23321848, OCLC 5964292934
- ^ Musgrave, Simon (2014), "Language Shift and Language Maintenance in Indonesia", in Sercombe, P.; Tupas, R. (eds.), Language, Education and Nation-building: Assimilation and Shift in Southeast Asia, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 87–105, doi:10.1057/9781137455536_5, ISBN 978-1-137-45553-6, OCLC 888035738
- ^ Pawley, Andrew; Hammarstr?m, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 21–195. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- ^ Gil, David (2015), "The Mekong-Mamberamo linguistic area", in Enfield, Nick; Comrie, Bernard (eds.), Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia: The State of the Art, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 266–355, doi:10.1515/9781501501685-008, ISBN 9781501501685
- ^ a b Foley, William (2000), "The Languages of New Guinea", Annual Review of Anthropology, 29: 357–404, doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.29.1.357, JSTOR 223425
- ^ a b Robert Blust (2013). The Austronesian languages. Asia-Pacific Linguistics, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-922185-07-5.
- ^ Chlenov, Mikhail (1986), "North Halmahera languages: a problem of internal classification", Papers in New Guinea Linguistics No. 24, Pacific Linguistics A-70, Canberra: Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, pp. 39–44, doi:10.15144/PL-A70.39
- ^ Voorhoeve, Clemens L. (1982), "The Halmahera connection: a case for prehistoric traffic through Torres Straits", in Halim, Amran; Carrington, Lois; Wurm, Stephen A. (eds.), Papers from the Third International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, Vol. 2, Tracking the travellers, Pacific Linguistics C-75, Canberra: Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, pp. 217–239, doi:10.15144/PL-C75.217
- ^ a b Bowden, John, "Emic and Etic Classifications of Languages in the North Maluku Region" (PDF), Workshop on the Languages of Papua 3, 20–24 January 2014, Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia, retrieved 2025-08-14
- ^ Voorhoeve, Clemens L. (1982), "The West Makian language, North Moluccas, Indonesia: a fieldwork report", in Voorhoeve, Clemens L. (ed.), The Makian Languages and Their Neighbours (PDF), Materials in languages of Indonesia, vol. 12, Pacific Linguistics, p. 46
- ^ Unterladstetter, Volker (2020). Multi-verb constructions in Eastern Indonesia. Studies in Diversity Linguistics 28. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 35–37. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3546018. ISBN 978-3-96110-216-7.
- ^ Dalby, Andrew (2015), Dictionary of Languages: The definitive reference to more than 400 languages, London: A & C Black, p. 620, ISBN 978-1-4081-0214-5, OCLC 842286334
- ^ Wada, Yuiti. "1980 Correspondence of consonants in North Halmahera languages and the conservation of archaic sounds in Galela.". In Ishige, Naomichi (ed.). The Galela of Halmahera: A Preliminary Survey. Osaka: Museum of Ethnology. pp. 497–527.
- ^ Greenhill, Simon (2016). "TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea". Retrieved 2025-08-14.
- ^ Visser, Leontien E., and C. L. Voorhoeve. 1987. Sahu-Indonesian-English dictionary and Sahu grammar. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- ^ Pikkert, J. J. et al. 1994. Kamus bahasa Tidore, Indonesia, Inggris. Tidore, Maluku, Indonesia: Pemerintah Daerah Tingkat II Halmahera Tengah.
- ^ Voorhoeve, C. L. 1982. The Makian languages and their neighbours. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
External links
[edit]
- North Halmahera word lists (Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database)