Malayo-Polynesian languages

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Malayo-Polynesian
Geographic distribution:	Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Genetic classification:	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian
Subdivisions:	Borneo-Philippines Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian

The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages used by some 351 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia. Malagasy is a geographic outlier, spoken in the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

A characteristic of the Malayo-Polynesian languages is a tendency to use reduplication (repetition of all or part of a word) to express the plural, and like other Austronesian languages have simple phonologies; thus a text has few but frequent sounds. The majority also lack consonant clusters (e.g., [str] or [mpt] in English). Most also have only a small set of spoken vowels, five being a common number.

1 Classification
- 1.1 Outer Hesperonesian languages
- 1.2 Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian
2 Ethnologue.com Classification
3 External links

[edit] Classification

Traditional classifications would divide Malayo-Polynesian into Western and Central-Eastern branches. However, Western MP and has been sub-divided into inner and outer groups. For a more modern classification, see Austronesian languages.

[edit] Outer Hesperonesian languages

Borneo-Philippines languages has about 130 million speakers and includes Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Bikol, Kapampangan, and Waray-Waray, Buginese, Malagasy,

[edit] Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian

Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages fall in two subgroups: Sunda-Sulawesi and Central-Eastern. Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian languages has about 230 million speakers and includes Indonesian Malay, Malaysian Malay, and Sundanese, Javanese, Acehnese, Chamorro and Palau (Belau).Gilbertese,Nauruan, Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan and Tuvaluan.

[edit] Ethnologue.com Classification

Ethnologue has classified these languages into 23 groups. The country or countries listed beside individual group(s) is where the group is primarily spoken.

Bali-Sasak, Gayo, Javanese, Kayan-Murik, Lampungic, Madurese, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Sundanese- Indonesia

Meso-Philippine, Northern Philippine, Sama-Bajaw, South-Mindanao, South-Philippine- Philippines

Land Dayak, Malayic, Northwest- Indonesia and Malaysia

Barito- Indonesia and Madagascar

Central-Eastern- Indonesia, Pacific Islands including New Guinea

Punan-Nibong- Malaysia

Chamorro- Guam and Northern Marianas Islands

Palauan- Palau

Unclassified- Gorap and Hukumina of the Moluccas, Indonesia; Rejang of Sumatra, Indonesia; and Katabaga of the Philippines