Prolonged multilingualism among the Sebuyau: An ethnography of communication by Stan J. Anonby M.A. (Linguistics), University of North Dakota 1997 B.A., University of Saskatchewan 1989 B.Th., Horizon College (CPC) 1987 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Linguistics Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Stan J. Anonby 2020 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2020 Declaration of Committee Name: Stan J. Anonby Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Linguistics) Thesis Title: Prolonged multilingualism among the Sebuyau: An ethnography of communication Committee: Chair: Chung-hye Han Professor, Linguistics Panayiotis Pappas Supervisor Associate Professor, Linguistics John Alderete Committee Member Professor, Linguistics Donna Gerdts Committee Member Professor, Linguistics Roumiana Ilieva Internal Examiner Associate Professor, Education Lindsay Whaley External Examiner Professor Departments of Classics, Cognitive Science Program and Linguistics Program Dartmouth College ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This thesis describes the Sebuyau language and seeks to explain how this small group as maintained their culture and way of speaking in the shadow of very large languages like Malay, English and Chinese. I use the ethnographic method to study this ethnic group. Specifically, I based this ethnography of communication on two texts told by twenty-four people, who all belong to the community of practice of Keluarga Church. The study is divided into two broad areas. Part of the thesis is more synchronic linguistics, and describes the lexicon, phonology and morphology of Sebuyau. The conclusion is that Sebuyau is a variety of Iban. The lexicon exhibits considerable borrowing from languages that are no longer spoken in the area – such as Sanskrit. But most of the non-Sebuyau words are English or Malay. There are some lexicographic signs of the beginning of language shift to Malay, but the phonology shows signs that the language is being reincorporated into Iban. The other theme of the thesis is an examination of the reasons why Sebuyau has not been swallowed up by Malay or some other language. It is a more general description of the history and linguistic ecology of the area in Malaysia that is their homeland. In particular, the study shows how the linguistic ecology has helped the Sebuyau maintain their identity and way of speaking. Keywords: language maintenance; language shift; sociolinguistics; Borneo; Sebuyau; Iban iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to God, and to all the speakers of small languages. v Acknowledgements I am grateful to Sandy Anonby, my wife, who accompanied me to Borneo and helped immensely with my research. With her help, we were able to become an organic part of a Sebuyau speaking community. I would like to thank the people who helped me learn Sebuyau – Andrew, Leman, Lily and Lala. I am also very grateful to Otto Steinmayer and his wife, Nusi Baki for the in-depth knowledge they gave me about all things Sebuyau. Otto gave me access to his library, steered me to a lot of pertinent information and became a friend. I am grateful to Jayl Langub and Shahren Ahmad Zaidi Adruce from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak for sponsoring my Malaysian research visa. Additionally, SIL, Simon Fraser University and SSHRC provided the funding for my studies in Borneo. Thanks as well to the members of my committee: Panayiotis Pappas, my supervisor, for the many hours he spent guiding my research and writing; Donna Gerdts, for pushing me to be better; and John Alderete, for his enthusiasm and encouragement. In addition to my committee members, David Eberhard, Karl Anderbeck and Mike Cahill looked at some of my early attempts at writing, and gave good feedback. Near the end of the process, Charles Ulrich’s keen eye pointed out my numerous inconsistencies. Thank you to Catherine Louie who made thesis formatting a joy. vi Table of Contents Declaration of Committee ................................................................................................... ii Ethics Statement ................................................................................................................. iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiii Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 Importance of the work .............................................................................................. 2 Research questions ..................................................................................................... 4 Synopsis of chapters .................................................................................................. 7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 9 Linguistic background of Sebuyau ......................................................... 11 Proto-Austronesian .................................................................................................. 11 Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ........................................................................................ 12 Proto-Malayo-Chamic ............................................................................................. 13 Proto-Malayic .......................................................................................................... 13 Ibanic ....................................................................................................................... 14 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 16 Community background of Sebuyau ...................................................... 17 The Sebuyau communities ....................................................................................... 18 History ........................................................................................................ 18 Economy ..................................................................................................... 23 Kuching ...................................................................................................... 26 Lundu .......................................................................................................... 27 Demography/Lifestyle ................................................................................ 29 Interaction between Kuching and Lundu Sebuyau ..................................... 31 Surrounding groups .................................................................................................. 32 Malay .......................................................................................................... 36 Chinese ....................................................................................................... 51 English ........................................................................................................ 60 Iban ............................................................................................................. 67 Other tribes ................................................................................................. 79 Religious Communities ............................................................................................ 81 Traditional religion ..................................................................................... 82 Anglican ..................................................................................................... 83 Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) ........................................................................... 84 Keluarga ..................................................................................................... 85 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 90 vii Methodology .............................................................................................. 92 The story .................................................................................................................. 92 Finding a community of practice ................................................................ 93 My relationships and activities ................................................................... 96 Observer’s paradox ................................................................................................ 100 Ethnography of communication ............................................................................. 101 Observation ............................................................................................................ 104 Guide for planning the future of our language 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