| Also Known As: Sea Dayak,Iban
Description:
The Iban language is spoken by the Iban, a branch of the Dayak ethnic group formerly known as "Sea Dayak" who live in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, the Indonesian province of Kalimantan Barat and in Brunei. It belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, and is related to Malay, more closely to Sarawakian Malay. The Iban language is also a subject tested in PMR and SPM, the Malaysian public examination for Form 3 and Form 5 students respectively. Students comment that questions from these exams mostly cover the classic Iban language, making them a daunting task for many who are more fluent in the contemporary tongue. The language is mostly taught to students in rural areas with a majority Iban population, including Baleh (Kapit), Betong, Saratok, Lubok Antu and Pelagus (Kapit).
Anthony Richards, An Iban-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1981. [Paperback reprint in the 1990s by Penerbit Fajar Bakti, Petaling Jaya.]
Otto Steinmayer, Jalai Jako' Iban, a basic grammar of the Iban language of Sarawak. Klasik Publishing House: Kuching, 1999.
Renang Anak Ansali, Jaku Iban serta basa kitai. University of London Magazine, 2002...... full article at Wikipedia |
