Matbat language

---

title: "Matbat language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["south-halmahera–west-new-guinea-languages", "languages-of-western-new-guinea", "tonal-languages-in-non-tonal-families"] description: "Austronesian language spoken in West Papua, Indonesia" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matbat_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Austronesian language spoken in West Papua, Indonesia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]

Field	Value
name	Matbat
altname	Misool
states	Indonesia
region	Misool, Raja Ampat Islands
ethnicity	Matbat and Matlow
speakers	1,000–1,500
date	2001
ref
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
pushpin_map	Indonesia Western New Guinea
dia1	Aduwei
dia2	Gam
dia3	Matlow
dia4	Me Yot (Me Tip)
::

|name=Matbat |altname=Misool |states=Indonesia |region=Misool, Raja Ampat Islands |ethnicity=Matbat and Matlow |speakers=1,000–1,500 |date=2001 |ref= |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= |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. 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.

Distribution

Matbat is spoken in the following locations within Raja Ampat Regency:

• Misool Timur District: Tumolol, Lenmalas, Lenmalas Timur Barat, Audam, Foley, and Eduai villages
• Misool Utara District: Atkari and Salafen villages
• Misool Barat District: Magei village

Dialects

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 Aduwei dialect is spoken in the north and a small part in the south, including the villages of Salafen, Aduwei, and Atkari.
• The Gam dialect is spoken in the villages of Waya Gam, Magey, and parts of Kapatcol.
• The Matlow dialect is spoken on the south and east coast of Misool Island, especially in the villages of Fafanlap, Kafopop (Kayerepop), Yellu, Dabatan, and Gamta. It is also considered a separate language by the Language Development and Fostering Agency. However, in general, the differences are not very pronounced. This dialect is also known as Matbat Laut or Misool.
• The Me Yot (Me Tip) dialect is the dialect with the most speakers. This dialect covers most of southern Misool Island and the interior, including areas such as the villages of Me Yot, Bemlol, Audam, Temulol (Tomolol), Folley (Me Fol), Lenmalas, and Atkari.

Phonology

The phonology of the Matbat language is summarized below: ::data[format=table title="'''Consonant sounds'''"]

Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal	Plosive	Fricative	Nasal	Lateral	Glide
::

can be heard freely as or in word-initial position. ::data[format=table title="'''Vowel sounds'''"]

Front	Back	Close	Mid	Open
::

Tones

Matbat has five lexical tones: high falling 41, high 3, low rising 12, low level 1, and low falling 21, which in open syllables has a peaking allophone, 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 'star', 'sea shore', 'round', 'butterfly'.

Evolution

Tonogenesis in Matbat remains unclear. Some Matbat reflexes of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) proto-forms are listed below.

• PMP *bunuq Mayá bu³n 'kill'
• PMP *penuq fo¹²n 'full'
• PMP *salaq sa³l 'error'
• PMP *qateluR ( *teluR) to¹²l 'egg'
• PMP *matay ma¹²t 'die'
• PMP *kutu u³t 'louse'

Numerals

Matbat, a Malayo-Polynesian language, shares a basic numeral vocabulary. Here's a comparison with Indonesian and its translation. ::data[format=table]

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
::

References

References

1. Kamholz, David. (2014). "Austronesians in Papua: Diversification and Change in South Halmahera–West New Guinea". University of California, Berkeley.
2. Ronsumbre, Adolof. (2020). "Ensiklopedia Suku Bangsa di Provinsi Papua Barat". Penerbit Kepel Press.
3. (2006). "Atlas Sumberdaya Pesisir Kabupaten Raja Ampat Provinsi Irian Jaya Barat". Konsorsium Atlas Sumberdaya Pesisir Kabupaten Raja Ampat.
4. Remijsen, Bert. (2010). "Nouns and Verbs in Magey Matbat". Australian National University.
5. Remijsen, A. C. L.. (2002). "Word-Prosodic Systems of Raja Ampat Languages". Leiden University.
6. Blust, Robert. (2013). "The Austronesian Languages". Pacific Linguistics.
7. (2013). "Kearifan Lokal Sistem Berladang Etnis Matbat di Kampung Magey Distrik Misool Barat Kabupaten Raja Ampat". Kepel Press.

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