Northeast Barito languages
The Northeast Barito languages consist of several East [Barito languages] belonging to distinct Dayak subgroups. The languages include Bentian, Benuaq, Lawangan, Paser, and Tawoyan, all of them are spoken in southeastern Kalimantan.
By far, only Lawangan and Tawoyan have received their own ISO 639-3 codes,
lbx and twy, respectively. Because of this, all Northeast Barito languages but Tawoyan, are grouped as 'dialects' of Lawangan for convenience reasons, by Glottolog, for example.Characteristics
This section primarily deals with Benuaq, Taboyan, and Paser, based on Alexander D. Smith's paper in 2018.Rhotacism
In Paser, Taboyan, and Benuaq, *-d and *l went rhotacised into -r. On the last two examples, the instances of *j had been already merged with *d.| PMP | → | Daughter |
| *kapal 'thick' | → | Benuaq kapar |
| *quləj 'maggot, worm' | → | Paser ulor |
| *pusəj 'navel' | → | Taboyan pusər |
Status of schwa
Before the following occurred, final *a had become *ə. Paser rounded all instances of schwa into o, while Taboyan and Benuaq follow that but only in penultimate syllables. In final syllables, Benuaq lowered *-ə and *-əC into -aʔ and -aC, while Taboyan preserved the schwa.| PMP | → | Daughter |
| *duha 'two' | → | Taboyan duəʔ |
| *kaʀəm 'capsize' | → | Paser kayom |