Kerinci language

Kerinci
Baso Kincai
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Sumatra
Native speakers	290,000 (2000 census)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian (MP) Nuclear MP Malayic Malayan Kerinci
Dialects	Ulu Mamaq Akit Talang Sakei
Writing system	Kaganga, Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kvr
Glottolog	keri1250

Kerinci (Karinchi or Kincai) is a Malayan language spoken in Jambi province, Sumatra especially in Kerinci Regency and Sungai Penuh city. It has a high dialectical diversity, with dialects consists of Ulu, Mamaq, Akit, Talang and Sakei.

Lempur Malay and Rantau Panjang Malay, two recently described divergent Malay varieties spoken in the western part of Jambi province, share features with both Kerinci and Jambi Malay.

Van Reijn (1974) notes that Kerinci shares many phonological similarities with Austroasiatic languages, such as sesquisyllabic word structure and vowel inventory.

References

• McKinnon, Timothy A. (2011). The Morphology and Morphosyntax of Kerinci Word Shape Alternations. University of Delaware, Doctoral Dissertation.
• McKinnon, Timothy, Yanti, Peter Cole, Gabriella Hermon. 2012. Divergent Varieties of Malay in Upstream Jambi. Paper given at ISMIL 16.
• McKinnon, Timothy A. What is Kerinci? An closer look at the geography of its core properties.
• Usman, A. Hakim (1988). Fonologi dan Morfologi Bahasa Kerinci Dialek Sungai Penuh. Jakarta: Universitas Indonesia Fakultas Pascasarjana Doctoral Dissertation.
• Van Reijn, E.O. (1974). "Some Remarks on the Dialects of North Kerintji: A link with Mon-Khmer Languages." Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 31, 2: 130-138.