Tombonuwo (Tambonuo) is a Paitanic language spoken in the Pitas and Labuk-Sugut Districts of northwest Sabah, Malaysia.
Phonology Source: Consonants LabialDentalAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalPlosive FricativeAffricateNasalLateralTapSemi-vowel The phonemes are voiceless. All other expressions are voiced.
Vowels FrontBackHighNon-high
is often pronounced as unrounded .
is neutralized to in a pre-stressed syllable.
Morphology
Focus Sabahan languages are characterized by "focus" morphology, which marks a syntactic relationship between the predicate of a clause and the "focused" noun phrase of the clause (see Austronesian alignment).
Tombonuwo has four focus categories, conventionally labelled "actor", "patient", "referent" and "theme". Focus is marked by affixation on the verb. Actor: -um- / m(u)- Patient: -on (Present tense) / -∅ (Past tense) Referent: -an Theme: i-
Tense and aspect Source:
The only marked tense in Tombonuwo is past tense. Past tense: n- (-in-) Stative: o- Perfective: ko- Non-volitional past tense: n-o- Accomplishment: n-o-ko-
Demonstratives Source: Near the speaker: Far from the speaker: Medium distance from the speaker:
References