Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands languages


The Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands languages are a group of languages spoken by the Batak and related peoples in the interior of North Sumatra and by the Nias, Mentawai people, and others on the Barrier islands off the western coast of Sumatra.

Classification

The languages of the Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands subgroup are:
This subgroup was first proposed by Lafeber, who called it "Batak-Nias". Nothofer presented lexical and phonological evidence in support of this subgroup, calling it "Barrier Islands-Batak".
The position of the highly divergent Enggano language is controversial. Both Lafeber and Nothofer include Enggano as a probable daughter language. This is rejected by Edwards who considers Enggano a primary branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages. Recent research by Smith however supports the inclusion of Enggano within his tentative "Sumatran" subgroup, which is an extended version of Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands that further includes the Nasal language spoken in Bengkulu in southwestern Sumatra.

Lexicon

Edwards provides the following table comparing body part vocabulary items across various languages of the Barrier Islands. Edwards considers the aberrant Enggano language as not part of the Barrier Islands-Batak languages.
GlossPMPEngganoMentawaiNiasSikuleSimeulue
head*qulue-uduuteʔhəɡətuhuulu
hair, head*buheke-pududuialaibububuʔ
face*daqihe-bakamatabavamukobobaŋon
eye*matae-bakamatahərəmatamata
nose*ijuŋẽ-pãnũasakixunixuixuŋ
mouth*baqbaqe-kaʔaŋaŋabavabafababa
lips*biRbiRe-ukudipobibobevebefebefil
tongue*dilaqe-dio†lila, ʤalalelal/neladila
tooth*nipene-kaʔaʧonifɨifɨehen
ear*taliŋae-kadihataliŋataliŋaɡuɡuyuoeuʔ
neck*liqeRẽ-ũʔũlolokatbaɡiʔoɡuleŋɡəl
hand*kamay/*limae-ʔapokabeibələxa,taŋataŋakaoʔ,siʔu
fingernail*kanuhkuhẽ-kanũʔũnũsuletsiʔatenatenab˺
breast*titi/*susue-kokotottotsusutotoʔtotuʔ
belly*tiane-kitaibaɣataluamatanbesil
leg*qaqaye-aedereaheaehaɨ
knee*tuhudẽ-pũʔũ u-aebókolotuhibohunboxul
hair, body*bulue-pududuibulubububuʔ
skin*kulite-ʔudikulitulibebibebiʔ
meat/flesh*hesie-hedaakkelaknaɡoleöiisi
fat/grease*miñak/*himaRẽ-mĩnãʔã‡lainaktavətafɨtafɨ
bone*tuqelaŋe-ʔaatolattəlatɨ/ölasod˺
heart*pusuqe-báhau, ẽ-kẽmãteinuŋtədəɨlaxa, ohoate
blood*daRaqe-kiakiloɣaudododala
liver*qatayẽ-nĩũnĩũateiatebala
urine*iheqẽ-ĩkõkiaiəxiɨk/xiɨ
excrement*taqie-kaitanaitaitaitai