| Matbat | |
| Also Known As: | Misool |
| States: | Indonesia |
| Region: | Misool, Raja Ampat Islands |
| Ethnicity: | Matbat and Matlow |
| Speakers: | 1,000–1,500 |
| Date: | 2001 |
| Familycolor: | Austronesian |
| Fam2: | Malayo-Polynesian |
| Fam3: | Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian |
| Fam4: | Eastern Malayo-Polynesian |
| Fam5: | South Halmahera–West New Guinea |
| Fam6: | Raja Ampat–South Halmahera |
| Fam7: | Raja Ampat |
| Fam8: | Nuclear Raja Ampat |
| Iso3: | xmt |
| Glotto: | matb1237 |
| Glottorefname: | Matbat |
| Coordinates: | -1.88°N 130.07°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Indonesia Western New Guinea |
| Dia1: | Aduwei |
| Dia2: | Gam |
| Dia3: | Matlow |
| Dia4: | Me Yot (Me Tip) |
Matbat is a heavily Papuan-influenced Austronesian language spoken in Southwest Papua, Indonesia, on the island of Misool, Raja Ampat Islands. Its dialects are Magey and Tomolol.[1] 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.
Matbat is spoken in the following locations within Raja Ampat Regency:[2]
The Matbat language is divided into several dialects, but generally four distinct dialects: Aduwei, Gam, Matlow, and Me Yot (Me Tip). Based on their speech area, they are as follows:
The phonology of the Matbat language is summarized below:[4]
| Plosive | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Glide | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /link/ | ||
Matbat has five lexical tones: high falling pronounced as /˥˩/ 41, high pronounced as /˦/ 3, low rising pronounced as /˩˨/ 12, low level pronounced as /˩/ 1, and low falling pronounced as /˨˩/ 21, which in open syllables has a peaking allophone, pronounced as /˩˨˩/ 121. Most Matbat words are monosyllabic; additional syllables in polysyllabic words are often weak and toneless, though a few words do have two tonic syllables. Examples of some of the longer monomorphemic words are pronounced as //kamow˩˨// 'star', pronounced as //wuj˦te// 'sea shore', pronounced as //sapu˥˩luj˩˨// 'round', pronounced as //bim˦bom˩˨˩pu// 'butterfly'.
Tonogenesis in Matbat remains unclear. Some Matbat reflexes of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) proto-forms are listed below.[6]
Matbat, a Malayo-Polynesian language, shares a basic numeral vocabulary. Here's a comparison with Indonesian and its translation.[7]
| Gloss | Matbat | Indonesian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | sa | satu | |
| two | lu | dua | |
| three | tol | tiga | |
| four | itat | empat | |
| five | ilim | lima | |
| six | inom | enam | |
| seven | ifit | tujuh | |
| eight | iwal | delapan | |
| nine | isiu | sembilan | |
| ten | iya | sepuluh | |
| eleven | yamaten | sebelas | |
| twenty | yalu | dua puluh | |
| fifty | yun | lima puluh | |
| one hundred | yip | seratus |
