Matbat language

Matbat
Misool
Native toIndonesia
RegionMisool, Raja Ampat islands
Native speakers
1,000–1,500 (2001)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3xmt
Glottologmatb1237
Approximate location where Matbat is spoken
Approximate location where Matbat is spoken
Matbat
Coordinates: 1°53′S 130°04′E / 1.88°S 130.07°E / -1.88; 130.07

Matbat is a heavily Papuan-influenced Austronesian language spoken in West Papua, Indonesia, on the island of Misool, Raja Ampat islands.[1] Its dialects are Magey and Tomolol.[2]: 17  Similar to the neighboring Ma'ya language, Matbat is one of a handful of Austronesian languages with true lexical tone rather than a pitch-accent system or complete lack of phonemic tonal contrasts as with most other Austronesian languages.[3]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference remijsen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Kamholz, David (2014). Austronesians in Papua: Diversification and Change in South Halmahera–West New Guinea (Ph.D. thesis). University of California, Berkeley.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Blust-AN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).