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The Punan languages or Rejang-Sajau languages are a group of mutually intelligible isolects spoken by the Punan and related peoples of Borneo in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Classification

Smith (2017) classifies Punan dialects as follows:

• Sru (Seru) †
• Punan Tubu-Bah
  • Punan Tubu, Punan Bah, Sajau, Latti
• Punan
  • Beketan (Bukitan), Punan Lisum, Punan Aput, Ukit, Buket (Bukat)

Austroasiatic influence

Kaufman (2018) notes that some Proto-Punan words (Smith 2017) are of likely Austroasiatic origin, including the following.

• *-iap ‘count’
• *hen ‘3.SG pronoun’
• *buhak ‘white’
• *obet ‘animal trap (general)’

References

1. Smith, Alexander D. (2017). The Languages of Borneo: A Comprehensive Classification (PhD Dissertation). University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
2. Kaufman, Daniel. 2018. Between mainland and island Southeast Asia: Evidence for a Mon-Khmer presence in Borneo. Ronald and Janette Gatty Lecture Series. Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia, Cornell University. (handout / slides)

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