Austroasiatic language spoken in Malaysia
Semai (Engrok Semai) is a Austroasiatic language of western Malaysia spoken by about 44,000 Semai people. It is perhaps the only Aslian language which is not endangered, and even has 2,000 monolingual speakers.
One notable aspect of Semai phonology is its highly irregular pattern of expressive reduplication, showing discontiguous copying from just the edges of the reduplicant's base, thus forming a minor syllable.
Examples of words in Semai:
| English
|
Malay
|
Semai
|
| I
|
Saya
|
Eng
|
| Eat
|
Makan
|
Cak
|
| Drink
|
Minum
|
Ngaut
|
| Bathe
|
Mandi
|
Mehmu
|
| Clean
|
Bersih
|
Parlain
|
| Good
|
Bagus
|
Bor
|
| Chicken
|
Ayam
|
Bafung/Fung
|
| Rice
|
Beras
|
Cengroy
|
| Mushroom
|
Cendawan
|
Cenai
|
| Why
|
Kenapa
|
Jalek
|
| How
|
Bagaimana
|
Rahalook
|
Phonology
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Vowels
Consonants
