Tunjung, or Tunjung Dayak, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan. It is the only living member of Mahakam linguistic branch, following the extinction of very poorly attested Ampanang language.Hudson, Alfred B. 1994. Linguistic relations among Bornean peoples with special reference to Sarawak: An interim report. In Peter W. Martin (ed.), Shifting patterns of language use in Borneo, 1-40. Williamsburg, Va.: Borneo Research Council.
Phonological shifts Tunjung has distinct features among the greater Barito area languages, and has strengthened the glides *-y- > -j- as well as *-w- > -g-. Even though glide strengthening is common in Borneo, it is uncommon in the geographical area in which Tunjung is spoken and is probably not influenced by neighboring languages.
Tunjung has also devoiced *z to c and has split reflexes of *s, either as Ø or h. Among the Barito languages, only Tunjung reflects the schwa as a in the final syllable.Smith, Alexander. 2017. The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification . PhD Dissertation: University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Vocabulary + Tunjung wordlist (Hudson 1967, via Blust) Hudson, A.B. (1967) The Barito isolects of Borneo: A classification based on comparative reconstruction and lexicostatistics. Data Paper No. 68. New York:Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University.Language: Tunjung https://abvd.eva.mpg.de/austronesian/language.php?id=189, in Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283. Accessed July 28, 2026. English Tunjung Notes hand aŋaʔ left ulay right tauʔ leg/foot uneŋ to walk calan road/path loroŋ to come moot to turn nencaŋ to swim karaŋoy dirty marotaʔ dust dəbu loanword skin kulit back puŋuŋ belly naiʔ bone lah intestines usiʔ ŋaiʔ liver limpa breast tosoq shoulder bahuq to know, be knowledgeable togaʔ to think pikir loanword to fear bihin blood rahaʔ head kuhuŋ neck lohoŋ hair alaw nose uruŋ to breathe ŋasaŋ to sniff, smell karak mouth oncoŋ tooth kəsiŋ tongue celaʔ to laugh tagaʔ to cry naŋi to vomit notaʔ to spit məcuh to eat kuman to cook əncak to drink muruʔ to bite ŋeket to suck mosoʔ ear neneŋ to hear kəheneŋ eye uee to see neaw to sleep tiro to lie down tempoŋ to dream ñùßí to sit dacuŋ to stand tege person/human being ulun man/male lihaʔ woman/female waweʔ child tuhiʔ husband wanaʔ wife sagan mother meʔ father maʔ house dapeq thatch/roof sapaw jemiaq name nama loanword to say bagahaʔ rope taliʔ to tie up, fasten məcat to sew ŋabet needle cahumph to hunt mahaw to shoot nemak to stab, pierce mancak to hit bajagur to steal noq dadak to kill pakateʔ to die, be dead mateʔ to live, be alive bəlum to scratch ŋərogot to cut, hack motok stick/wood leŋan to split məkaʔ sharp masuk dull, blunt kacar
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