Punan languages

The Punan languages or Rejang-Sajau languages are a group of mutually intelligible isolects spoken by the Punan and related peoples of Borneo in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Classification

Smith (2017) classifies Punan dialects as follows:

• Sru (Seru) â€Â
• Punan Tubu-Bah
• Punan Tubu, Punan Bah, Sajau, Latti
• Punan
• Beketan (Bukitan), Punan Lisum, Punan Aput, Ukit, Buket (Bukat)

Austroasiatic influence

Kaufman (2018) notes that some Proto-Punan words (Smith 2017) are of likely Austroasiatic origin, including the following.

• *-iap ‘count’
• *hen ‘3. pronoun’
• *buhak ‘white’
• *obet ‘animal trap (general)’

References