Raja Ampat–South Halmahera languages

The Raja Ampat–South Halmahera languages are a branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages of eastern Indonesia. They are spoken on islands in the Halmahera Sea, and on its margins from the south-eastern coast of Halmahera to the Raja Ampat Islands off the western tip of New Guinea.

Raja Ampat–South Halmahera
Halmahera Sea
Geographic distribution	Halmahera Sea and Raja Ampat Islands
Linguistic classification	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian Eastern Malayo-Polynesian South Halmahera–West New Guinea Raja Ampat–South Halmahera
Proto-language	Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera (Proto-RASH)
Subdivisions	Waigeo (Ambel) - As Ma'ya-Matbat (Nuclear Raja Ampat) South Halmahera
Language codes
Glottolog	raja1255

The languages of the Raja Ampat Islands show a strong Papuan substratum influence; it is not clear that they are actually Austronesian as opposed to relexified Papuan languages.^[1]

Remijsen (2001) and Blust (1978) linked the languages of Raja Ampat to the South Halmahera languages.

Historical morphology

Reconstructions of subject markers and inalienable possessive markers for Raja Ampat–South Halmahera proto-languages according to Kamholz (2015). Note that V = vocalic conjugation, C = consonantal conjugation:

Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera:

1sg.	*k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-y- (C)	1pl.	*t- (incl.), *am- (excl.)
2sg.	*my- (V), *m-y- (C)	2pl.	*m-
3sg.	*n- (V), *n- (C)	3pl.	*d-

1sg.	*-g	1pl.	*-nd (incl.), *-mam (excl.)
2sg.	*-m	2pl.	*-meu
3sg.	*-∅	3pl.	*-ndri, *si-

Proto-Ma'ya-Matbat:

1sg.	*k-, *y- (V), *k-, *-y- (C)	1pl.	*t- (incl.), *m-? (excl.)
2sg.	*my- (V), *m-y- (C)	2pl.	*m-
3sg.	*n- (V), *n- (C)	3pl.	?

1sg.	*-g	1pl.	*-n (incl.), *-m (excl.)
2sg.	*-m	2pl.	*-m
3sg.	*-∅	3pl.	*-n

Subject markers and personal pronouns of Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera according to Arnold (2023):

1sg.	*-y-	1pl.	*t- (incl.), *am- (excl.)
2sg.	*m-y-	2pl.	*m-
3sg.	*n-	3pl.	*l-

1sg.	*yak	1pl.	*tit (incl.), *am (excl.)
2sg.	*aw	2pl.	*mew
3sg.	*i	3pl.	*si

Languages

From Kamholz (2024). The earlier classification in Kamholz (2014) grouped Ambel and Biga together, but the innovation posited for Proto-Ambel-Biga (innovation of the inalienable possessive plural suffix -n/-no) did not in fact exist:

• Raja Ampat–South Halmahera
  • Waigeo (Ambel)
  • Biga
  • Batta
  • Salawati
  • As
  • Ma'ya-Matbat
    • Ma'ya
    • Matbat
  • South Halmahera (see more)

Laura Arnold (2024) presents a revised classification, placing Biga within Ma'ya and unifying all Raja Ampat languages into a branch with two subgroups, one containing most Raja Ampat languages into a Nuclear Raja Ampat subgroup and the other containing Ambel and As.

• Raja Ampat–South Halmahera
  • Raja Ampat
    • Ambel-As
      • Waigeo (Ambel)
      • As
    • Nuclear Raja Ampat (= Ma'ya-Matbat)
      • Matbat
      • Ma'ya-Salawati
        • Ma'ya
        • Salawati-Batta
          • Batta
          • Salawati
  • South Halmahera (see more)

Lexical reconstructions

Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Raja Ampat–South Halmahera according to Arnold (2020, 2025):

Proto-RASH	Gloss
*tela	'banana'
*fa-	'causative prefix'
*fi	'good'
*su	'fart'
*-opak	'to fly'
*boe	'to give'
*kuita	'octopus'
*wu	'rainbow'
*du	'rattan'
*lu	'two'
*pnu	'village'
*mora	'wind'

Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Ma'ya-Salawati according to Arnold (2023, 2024, 2025):

Proto-Ma'ya-Salawati	Gloss
*hayˈwa³n	'animal'
*-sa³	'to ascend'
*kaˈla¹²p	'ash'
*go³f	'bamboo'
*ˈtala³	'banana'
*faˈnyi³	'bat'
*-sʊ³p	'to bathe'
*du¹²w (?)	'beetle'
*ˈnyana³	'betel pepper'
*ˈmani³	'bird'
*ˈmete³m	'black'
*ˈlomo³s	'blood'
*maˈla³w	'blue'
*kaˈbo³m	'bone'
*su³s	'breast'
*faˈsi³l (?)	'to breathe'
*saˈsa¹²y (?)	'broom'
*wa³g	'canoe'
*kaˈlo³w	'cassowary'
*fa-	'causative prefix'
*si³f	'cloth'
*mnye³t	'cloud'
*aˈko³p	'cockatoo'
*kaˈliti³f	'cockroach'
*nyu¹²w	'coconut'
*kaˈbluti³	'cold'
*si¹²w (?)	'comb'
*-bʊ³t	'to come'
*wi¹²f	'crocodile'
*-ˈtini³s	'to cry'
*mo¹²y	'current'
*-ˈale³	'to descend'
*-ma³t	'to die'
*-maˈnya¹²l	'to dream'
*ˈsili³p	'drum'
*baˈla³	'earth'
*-aˈpo³n	'to eat (intr.)'
*-a	'to eat (tr.)'
*ˈtolo³	'egg'
*-su³n	'to enter'
*-ˈsapa³n	'to exit'
*kaˈli³	'feces'
*la³p	'fire'
*ˈyini³	'fish'
*ˈwana³t	'flesh'
*-ˈapo³	'to fly'
*panˈpo³n	'food'
*fo³n	'full'
*-bɪy	'to give'
*kalaˈbe³t	'goanna'
*fi³y	'good'
*maˈna³	'grease'
*-ˈdono³	'to hear'
*maˈsyono³	'heavy'
*haˈba³t (?)	'to hit'
*-bu³n	'to kill'
*ˈfunu³	'king'
*-un	'to know'
*ˈlʊnʊ³	'ladder'
*kaˈnya³t	'land turtle'
*kaˈlu¹²w (?)	'leech'
*-ˈene³f	'to lie down'
*maˈla¹²s	'long'
*mʊ³s	'low tide'
*kaˈya³w	'machete'
*ˈmana³	'man'
*pɪ¹²t	'moon'
*ˈlyama³	'needle'
*galaˈwa¹²w	'new'
*maˈle³m	'night'
*si³w	'nine'
*kɪ³t	'octopus'
*kaˈte³m	'one'
*ˈpʊsʊ³	'paddle'
*-ˈbyaya³	'to play'
*ˈgoli³m	'rain'
*wu¹²w	'rainbow'
*kaˈlu³f	'rat'
*ˈbulu³f	'raw'
*maˈme³	'red'
*lefˈli³f	'roof'
*ˈwali³	'rope'
*faˈyow³	'rose apple'
*-ˈtati³	'to run'
*bi³y	'sago'
*le³n	'sand'
*binsaˈla¹²y (?)	'sandfly'
*fɪ³n	'sea turtle'
*kaˈwa¹²	'seaweed'
*-ten	'to share (food)'
*ˈwono³m	'six'
*na¹² (?)	'sky'
*ko³k	'snake'
*-fa³n	'to shoot'
*-ˈene³f	'to sleep'
*ˈsulu³	'spoon'
*kaˈpa³t	'stone'
*tʊ³p	'sugarcane'
*kaˈlene³	'taro'
*ˈlafe³	'ten'
*tʊ³l	'three'
*taˈbaka³	'tobacco'
*taˈmi³	'urine'
*pnu³w	'village'
*ˈwali³	'vine'
*-da³g	'to walk'
*kanˈdyɪ³n	'wall'
*ˈwVyV³	'water'
*-faˈnyo³w	'to wash'
*-faˈba¹²m	'to wash clothes'
*maˈlomo³	'wet'
*ˈlaba³t	'wound'
*-ma¹²h	'to yawn'

Further reading

• Kamholz, David (2015). The reconstruction of Proto-SHWNG morphology
• Arnold, Laura (2020). Highs and lows: A previously unattested tone split from vowel height in Metnyo Ambel
• Arnold, Laura (2023). Multiple uncommon word-prosodic changes in the Austronesian languages of Raja Ampat
• Arnold, Laura (2023). Progress report on the subclassification of the Austronesian languages of Raja Ampat
• Arnold, Laura (2024). A closer look at *ə in South Halmahera-West New Guinea
• Kamhold, David (2024). "Historical linguistics of the South Halmahera–West New Guinea subgroup". In Alexander Adelaar; Antoinette Schapper (eds.). The Oxford Guide to the Malayo-Polynesian Languages of Southeast Asia. Oxford University Press. pp. 181–187. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198807353.003.0012.

• Arnold, Laura (2025). The Diachrony of Word Prosody in the Maˈya-Salawati Languages of Raja Ampat. Oceanic Linguistics: University of Hawai'i Press.
• Arnold, Laura (2025). Word prosody as a window into the prehistory of Northwest New Guinea