Mah Meri language


Mah Meri, also known as Besisi, Cellate, Hma’ Btsisi’, Ma’ Betisek, and “Orang Sabat”, is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula. Along with Semaq Beri, Semelai and Temoq, Mah Meri belongs to the Southern Aslian branch of the Aslian languages. Mah Meri is the only remaining Aslian language spoken in a coastal area and its speaker population is 3,675 as recorded at the Orang Asli Museum in Gombak. A dictionary of the Mah Meri language has been compiled by Nicole Kruspe.

Phonology

Vowels Kruspe, N., & Hajek, J. (2009). https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/mah-meri/9A24F080E4DB641337DD772CE0BC5F76 Mah Meri ''Journal of the International Phonetic Association'', 39(2), 241-248. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025100309003946 doi:10.1017/S0025100309003946

Voice Register

There are two voice registers in Mah Meri:
Register 1: Register 1 vowels have a clear tense voice quality, shorter duration and lower pitch. Register 1 vowels also have fewer phonotactic restrictions.
Register 2: Register 2 vowels are laxer, longer and higher in pitch. Register 2 vowels also have a slight breathy voicing.

Consonants

Grammar

Syntax

In Mah Meri, modifiers and demonstratives occur after the head as shown in examples and while prepositions occur before the head as shown in example.
For transitive clauses, Mah Meri generally follows an Agent-Verb-Object order as shown in example, but a Verb-Agent-Object order is more common during natural discourse as shown in example.
For intransitive clauses in Mah Meri, both Subject-Verb and Verb-Subject orders are possible as shown in examples and respectively.

Morphology

Morphology in Mah Meri is exclusively through prefixation and infixation.

Semi-productive derivations

1. Detransitivizing N- 'DTR

2. Transitive focus ka- 'TR
3. Distributive < l > 'DISTR'

Regular productive derivations

1. Iterative sɘ-RDP-root 'ITER
2. Happenstance tɘ- 'happ
3. Middle voice bɘ- 'MID'

Language Endangerment and Vitality

According to Ethnologue, the language status of Mah Meri is '6b: Threatened', referring to the situation whereby the language is used for face-to-face communications within all generations, but is losing users. This status is based on Lewis and Smino's Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale.
A study by Coluzzi, Riget & Wang on language use and attitudes across 4 different Mah Meri villages on Carey Island suggests that while Mah Meri is still holds a strong and positive status in the community, there is a possibility of a complete language shift towards Malay in the future due to lesser usage of Mah Meri amongst the younger generation.