Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 4, 2026

Bonggi language

Bonggi (Banggi) is an Austronesian language spoken primarily by the Bonggi people of Banggi Island, off the northern tip of Sabah, Malaysia.

Last revised
Jul 4, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
221 w
Citations
3
Source
Bonggi
Native toMalaysia
RegionSabah
Ethnicity1,400 (1990)1
Native speakers
Unknown1
Language codes
ISO 639-3bdg
Glottologbong1289
Bonggi
Location of Banggi Island, where Banggi is spoken.
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Bonggi
Bonggi (Malaysia)
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Coordinates: 7°15′0″N 117°10′0″E / 7.25000°N 117.16667°E / 7.25000; 117.16667

Bonggi (Banggi) is an Austronesian language spoken primarily by the Bonggi people of Banggi Island, off the northern tip of Sabah, Malaysia.

Orthography

Vowels and diphthongs

  • a – [a/ã/ə̃], [ə] unstressed
  • e – [e/ə]
  • i – [i/ɪ]
  • o – [o/ɔ/ɔ̃]
  • u – [u/ʊ]
  • aa – [aː]
  • ee – [eː]
  • ii – [iː]
  • oo – [ɔː]
  • uu – [uː]
  • ai – [aj/ai]
  • ou – [ou]

Consonants

  • b – [b], [β] between vowels, [bʷ/βʷ] before u
  • d – [d], [dʲ] before i
  • f – [f]
  • g – [g], [gʷ] before u
  • h – [k/h], [hʲ] before i, [ʔ] at the end of a word
  • j – [j/d͡ʒ]
  • k – [k/k']
  • l – [l], [lʲ] before i
  • m – [m/mʷ]
  • n – [n/dn/n]
  • ng – [ŋ]
  • p – [p/ɸ/ɸʷ]
  • r – [ɾ/r]
  • s – [s]
  • t – [t/t']
  • w – [w]
  • y – [j]

At the ends of words, k, p, and t are not released.2

References

References

  1. Bonggi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. "Bonggi language". Omniglot. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
Further reading

Further reading