Sangiric languages


The Sangiric languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in North Sulawesi, Indonesia and several small islands to the north which belong to the Philippines. They are classified as a branch of the Philippine subgroup.

Classification

The following classification scheme is from James Sneddon.
  • Sangiric
  • *North Sangiric
  • **Talaud
  • **Sangirese
  • *South Sangiric
  • **Bantik
  • **Ratahan
The North Sangiric languages are spoken in the Sangir and Talaud archipelagos of Indonesia just north of Sulawesi, as well as the Sarangani Islands of the Philippines just south of Mindanao. The South Sangiric languages are spoken in scattered locations on the northern tip of Sulawesi. Bantik is spoken in the Manado region, while Ratahan is spoken just south of Lake Tondano.

Reconstruction

Proto-Sangiric has been reconstructed by Sneddon.

Phonology

FrontCentralBack
Close*i*u
Mid*e*ə*o
Open*a

The exact phonetic nature of *R is unclear. Its reflexes are Sangil, Sangir, Ratahan, Talaud, Bantik zero. Sneddon speculates that it may have been a coarticulated apical trill with velar friction, which is the usual realization of Sangil.

Later sound changes

Many of these sound changes are noticeably similar to those of South Sulawesi languages, spoken on the opposite side of Sulawesi.
  • Diphthongs *ey and *ow are still retained in Bantik and Ratahan, and have been monophthongized to e and o elsewhere.
  • Coda simplification:
  • * All final stops *-p, *-t, *-k are still partially retained in Ratahan and Talaud, but have been simplified to simple -ʔ elsewhere.
  • * Final nasals *-m, *-n and *-ŋ are still retained in Ratahan and Talaud, but have been simplified to -ŋ elsewhere.
  • * All other final consonants are subject to paragoge, see below.
  • Paragoge:
  • * -əʔ in Sangir and Sangil;
  • * -Vʔ in Bantik ; and
  • * -a in Talaud.
  • * *uRas → urasəʔ : uhasaʔ : užasa
  • Reflexes of *R:
  • * h in Bantik, Ratahan, and Sangir;
  • * r in Sangil; and
  • * k when word final or following *ə, and ž elsewhere in Talaud.
  • Reflexes of *l;
  • * ḷ in Bantik in all positions, and in Sangil and Talaud when not word-final and following back vowels *a, *o, and *u ;
  • * ∅ in Sangil between back vowels and back vowels; and following back vowels but word final ; and
  • * l elsewhere.

    Vocabulary

The comparison table illustrates the correspondences between the Sangiric languages, including inherited vocabulary as well as Sangiric innovations.