#malayo-polynesian
LightNews LightNews
diachronica.bsky.social
New #linguistics article!
Late Malayo-Polynesian
A new model of Austronesian linguistic relations
Alexander D. Smith | Fudan University
benjamins.com/catalog/dia....
Keywords: Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian, subgrouping, linkages, language contact
Late Malayo-Polynesian A new model of Austronesian linguistic relations ORCID logoAlexander D. Smith | Fudan University Models of higher-order Austronesian linguistic relations have traditionally involved the grouping of languages into large higher-order subgroups. In the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup, that tradition has led to the creation of subgroups covering great geographical distances all modeled as descending directly from the Malayo-Polynesian node. This research argues that the evidence for those large subgroups does not stand under scrutiny. Rather, the distribution of innovations throughout the Malayo-Polynesian region suggests that those innovations spread within a large network of dialects. That network, here dubbed the “Late-Malayo-Polynesian” network, replaces discrete higher-level nodes in the classical model of Austronesian linguistic relations. Keywords: Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian, subgrouping, linkages, language contact
July 31, 2025 at 9:45 PM
punishedtj.cryptoanarchy.network
I wrote a program once which calculated that Malay and the other Malayo-Polynesian languages basically have the most average phonological inventories out of all the world's languages.
June 28, 2025 at 1:54 PM
shjsat.bsky.social
Palauan word of the day
chad
[ʔað]
‘person’

from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qaʀta (“outsiders, alien people”)
March 25, 2025 at 7:20 AM
wordfamilyfriday.bsky.social
Looking at the tree genus name "Octomeles" (Proto Western Malayo-Polynesian *bVnuaŋ)

"eight ... badgers?... oh, probably μέλος, eight-limbed!"
December 27, 2025 at 4:45 PM
punishedtj.cryptoanarchy.network
The most average inventory belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian language Gayo. Next is East Makian, also Malayo-Polynesian; then Fur, a Nilo-Saharan language; Ternate, West Papuan; then Hiligaynon and Standard Malay, both Malayo-Polynesian. Clearly this family dominates the averageness rankings.
June 28, 2025 at 3:55 PM
avzaagzonunaada.bsky.social
One of the precious few Austronesian fun facts I know is that because New Zealand lacks snakes, the old (Malayo-)Polynesian word for ‘snake’ became ‘snail’ in Māori.
August 8, 2025 at 11:07 PM
bancsutherland.bsky.social
Kove

www.omniglot.com/language/num...
Numbers in Kove
How to count in Kove, a member of the Oceanic branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family spoken in West New Brtiain Province in Papua New Guinea.
www.omniglot.com
May 23, 2025 at 2:16 AM
gretchenmcculloch.com
Very brief visit to Paris in time to catch the exhibits at Mundolingua, a language and linguistics museum!

Look at all these language family trees!

www.mundolingua.org
A large potted plant but there are metal rods coming out with labels of Indo European languages Closeup on one rod, reading indo-aryennes A model of a tree labelled Niger Congo, splitting off into Kofardian, Atlantic, Volta Congo (itself splitting to South, Bantoid, North) and then into names of languages on tiny leaves, too small to read A model of a tree reading Malayo-Polynesian, splitting off into Formosan, Sulu Philippines, Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian, and subsequently into specific names of languages on leaves, too small to be legible
September 5, 2024 at 10:44 AM
scriptor.bsky.social
Screenshot of a quote tweet: The quoting tweet is by cheyenne @evilvillain1231: Proto-Polynesians reminscing on the days when they spoke Proto-Malayo-Polynesian and still had a voiced bilabial plosive Quoted tweet is from Daniel @growing_daniel: /b/ really had a thing for a while way back when. They were fun.
July 1, 2026 at 11:07 AM
schuelke.bsky.social
Proto Austronesian *kuCux 'louse' became Proto Malayo-Polynesian *kutu, a form preserved in Indonesian as "kutu" before being borrowed into English and spread across English langauge elementary schools as "cooties"
December 11, 2024 at 5:38 PM
shjsat.bsky.social
Palauan word of the day
dengua
[dəŋwa]
‘telephone’

from Japanese でんわ (denwa) (?), a Wasei-kango word.

Palauan does not have coronal /n/ (except as an assimilated allophone) because Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *n has become /l/ in Palauan.
March 29, 2025 at 9:11 AM
thomasfortenberry.bsky.social
Central Malayo-Polynesian language range.
June 24, 2025 at 11:51 PM
andrewgarrett.bsky.social
Awesome new @diachronica.bsky.social article by @austronesianist.com: "Late Malayo-Polynesian: A new model of Austronesian linguistic relations"

www.jbe-platform.com/content/jour...
"Late Malayo-Polynesian: A new model of Austronesian linguistic relations", abstract: "Models of higher-order Austronesian linguistic relations have traditionally involved the grouping of languages into large higher-order subgroups. In the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup, that tradition has led to the creation of subgroups covering great geographical distances all modeled as descending directly from the Malayo-Polynesian node. This research argues that the evidence for those large subgroups does not stand under scrutiny. Rather, the distribution of innovations throughout the Malayo-Polynesian region suggests that those innovations spread within a large network of dialects. That network, here dubbed the “Late-Malayo-Polynesian” network, replaces discrete higher-level nodes in the classical model of Austronesian linguistic relations."
August 1, 2025 at 11:57 PM
shjsat.bsky.social
Looking at ACD, Pollex, Wiktionary . . .

Some sources seem to trace it to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wakaR 'root' by metathesis!
Big, if true . . .
May 10, 2025 at 8:03 AM
roopekaaronen.net
The peg-top is different. It clusters across South(east) Asia, esp. in Malayo-Polynesian societies. Unlike other tops, it’s tricky to figure out how to spin a peg-top just by looking at one. You need someone to show you. We think this opacity explains why it spread mostly by cultural transmission.
An Ot Danum peg-top made of wood with cord. More details at: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11840/195161
March 12, 2026 at 1:25 PM
mythologist.bsky.social
Ilocano bislák "sliver, splinter; piece of split bamboo; the name of a river in Bacarra"

< perhaps a blend of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *biseqak "to split" and Proto-Western Malayo-Polynesian *siqelak "split or cleaved"

#eotd #etymology #wotd #austronesian
November 26, 2024 at 6:39 PM
cranberrymorph.bsky.social
there are actually only 6 grammars in the world: SEA, SAE, turkish, german, polynesian, and north afroamerican

korean? turkish. yoruba? sea. miwok? north afroamerican

despite being malayo-polynesian, malay is sae
October 10, 2025 at 5:15 AM
haspelmath.bsky.social
Bonmann, Riesberg and Himmelmann (2025) on DOM in Western Malayo-Polynesian (www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/lingty-2024-0002/html) – the dataset is now available in CrossGram: crossgram.clld.org/contribution...
January 30, 2026 at 12:02 PM
nakamudra.bsky.social
It looks different, but Palauan is a Malayo-Polynesian language. Here are numbers 1-10 for comparison.

Palauan has an unexpected phonemic shift. It removes initial consonants and final vowels from PMP.

While Palauan is geographically closer to Tagalog, Malagasy is more similar to the latter.
January 6, 2026 at 6:48 AM
iau-wgsn.bsky.social
🟡 Lumbung — 39 Crucis
An eruptive white variable star (mag 4.95) between the bright stars of the Southern Cross, 1034 ly away. The new star name refers to a traditional Indonesian rice barn and is from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language.

IAU-names from Feb 2026.
#Lumbung #IAUStarNames
March 3, 2026 at 8:22 AM
nakamudra.bsky.social
Ah, finally a word where the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root is more obvious. It means the same thing in Malay, just w/o the final "a"
July 22, 2025 at 11:14 AM
wordfamilyfriday.bsky.social
I was adding Anuta words to my database, and went down a rabbit hole Malayo-Polynesian *paʀih manuk, literally "bird rayfish", what in English we call an eagle ray
Spotted eagle ray https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Eagle_Ray_Turks_and_Caicos_Dec_15_2006.JPG/960px-Eagle_Ray_Turks_and_Caicos_Dec_15_2006.JPG
February 13, 2026 at 7:01 PM
shjsat.bsky.social
Is it just me or is Palauan quite divergent from the rest of West Malayo-Polynesian languages? 🤔
March 24, 2025 at 7:34 AM
roopekaaronen.net
Beyond play, tops feature in harvest rituals, wind-calling ceremonies, mourning rites, mythology, cosmology… We discuss a *lot* of such top-lore.

Tops are also highly competitive. In some societies, top-spinning was the most popular game, with players trying to split their opponents' tops in half.
A Kayan boy aiming a peg-top, to be thrown at the top of his opponent, in Borneo ca. 1927. Games of this knock-your-opponent variety are especially common throughout Malayo-Polynesian societies. Public domain, original by Hendrik Freerk Tillema available at https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11840/1358849.
March 12, 2026 at 1:25 PM