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Greater North Borneo languages

New Guinea and Pacific Language Families

The Greater North Borneo languages are a proposed subgroup of the Austronesian language family, historically covering languages spoken throughout much of Borneo and Sumatra, as well as parts of Java and mainland Southeast Asia. The hypothesis was first proposed by Robert Blust in 2010 and further elaborated by Alexander Smith, on solely lexical evidence. Despite its name, the branch is now understood to be widespread across maritime Southeast Asia, with the exception of the Philippines.

Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language Status
Contested grouping; described by Smith in 2023 as a zone of lexical diffusion rather than a proper branch 1
Region
Maritime Southeast Asia 1
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Greater North Borneo languages, WikipediaLead sentence 2
Quote, Lead sentence 2
The subgroup historically covers languages that are spoken throughout much of Borneo (excluding the areas where the Greater Barito and Tamanic languages are spoken) and Sumatra, as well as parts of Java, and Mainland Southeast Asia.
East Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Maritime Southeast Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Southeast Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Greater North Borneo languages, WikipediaLead sentence 2
Quote, Lead sentence 2
The subgroup historically covers languages that are spoken throughout much of Borneo (excluding the areas where the Greater Barito and Tamanic languages are spoken) and Sumatra, as well as parts of Java, and Mainland Southeast Asia.
Sources
1. Greater North Borneo languages, Wikipedia
  • Lead section
    Despite its name, this branch has been now widespread within the Maritime Southeast Asia region, with the exception of the Philippines (although this depends on the classification of Molbog).
  • Article text
    Smith reinterprets the Greater North Borneo branch as a "zone of lexical diffusion", considering its lexical innovations are sparsely attested among the languages.
View the Source
Wikidata: Greater North Borneo languages
Wikidata Q1427907, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
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