Kadazan
Kadazan (Kadazanusan) has several
dialects and is spoekn by the Dusun/Kadazan people of Malaysia. There are about
50 indigenous languages of Sabah, all belonging to the Austronesian language
family. These languages vary in size from several hundreds to over one hundred
thousand speakers. Most of the languages of Sabah belong to one of four
subgroups: Bajau (Sama-Bajau), Dusunic, Murutic and Paitanic. The Kadazandusun
language belongs to the Dusunic subgroup.
Dusun/Kadazan group is the largest
indigenous group in Sabah. They are actually a collectivity of ethnic groups
speaking similar languages and dialects as well as having similarities in
culture and traditional beliefs. Within this group there exists at least 10
distinct languages with possibly 30 or more dialects. There are some people of
this Dusun/Kadazan group who prefer to call themselves Dusun, while
others particularly in the Penampang/Papar areas prefer the term Kadazan
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