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Tonsawang
Native to Indonesia
RegionNorthern Sulawesi
Native speakers
(20,000 cited 1981) [1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3 tnw
Glottolog tons1239
ELP Tonsawang

Tonsawang, also known as Tombatu, [2] is an Austronesian language of the northern tip of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It belongs to the Minahasan branch of the Philippine languages. [3] [4] [5]

Location

According to linguist James Sneddon, the language is "one of the most isolated languages", spoken in southeast Minahasa, [6] while linguist Robert Blust situated it, along with the others of the Minahasan group, near Lake Tondano, "in the northern peninsula of Sulawesi". [7]

Orthography

Alphabet

  • a – [ä]
  • b – [b]
  • e – [ə]
  • è – [ɛ]
  • g – [g]
  • i – [i]
  • j – [d͡ʒ]
  • k – [k]
  • l – [l]
  • m – [m]
  • n – [n]
  • ng – [ŋ]
  • o – [o̞]
  • p – [p]
  • r – [ɾ]
  • s – [s]
  • t – [t]
  • u – [u]
  • w – [w]
  • ' – [ʔ] [8] [9]

References

  1. ^ Tonsawang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Sneddon, J. N. (1970). "The Languages of Minahasa, North Celebes". Oceanic Linguistics. 9 (1): 11–36. doi: 10.2307/3622930. JSTOR  3622930.
  3. ^ "8 Genetic Classification of the World's Languages". A Guide to the World's Languages. 1987. pp. 275–380. doi: 10.1515/9781503621336-015. ISBN  9781503621336. S2CID  244724303.
  4. ^ Sneddon, J. N. (1993). "The Drift Towards Final Open Syllables in Sulawesi Languages". Oceanic Linguistics. 32 (1): 1–44. doi: 10.2307/3623095. JSTOR  3623095.
  5. ^ Adelaar, K. Alexander & Himmelmann, Nikolaus (2005). The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar. London: Routledge.
  6. ^ Sneddon, J. N. (1970). "The Languages of Minahasa, North Celebes". Oceanic Linguistics. 9 (1): 11–36. doi: 10.2307/3622930. JSTOR  3622930.
  7. ^ Blust, Robert (1991). "The Greater Central Philippines Hypothesis". Oceanic Linguistics. 30 (2): 73–129. doi: 10.2307/3623084. JSTOR  3623084.
  8. ^ "Tonsawang language, alphabet, and pronunciation". Omniglot. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  9. ^ Sneddon, James N. Proto-Minahasan: phonology, morphology, and wordlist. Canberra: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1978. pp. 5, 54-57.

Further reading

External links