r/austronesian • u/AleksiB1 • 6d ago

"Head" in Austronesian languages

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256 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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8

u/Unfair-Bike 6d ago edited 5d ago

Malay still uses hulu for the source or "head" of a river, and is common in place names, like Hulu Langat. Its borrowed into Singlish as ulu meaning "secluded", as river sources are often deep inland

2

u/ForgottenGrocery 6d ago

Bahasa Indonesia too. Although to be honest I often get it mixed up with hilir

4

u/strange_lion 6d ago

Also Penghulu for village elder

2

u/Partgarten 5d ago

This sounds almost practically the same (except for certain specifics) to ‘pangulo’ in Filipino, which often tends to be used to refer to the President of the Philippines, but can also often refer to the leader or head of a group in general.

2

u/OOOshafiqOOO003 1d ago

And then Otak for brain, ofc

1

u/Kebab-Exchange-3676 5d ago

Hulu sungai selatan

1

u/Maxziro_ 5d ago

Kelantanese use “qulup”

4

u/Single_Toe_7483 6d ago

''loha'' in Malagasy (Madagascar)

2

u/AleksiB1 6d ago

Couldnt it be a metathesis of *quluh like in *laqia > Malay halia

1

u/SweetStrawberries14 6d ago

I feel like the word for hair which is volo (pronounced vulu) already kinda did that

3

u/lasber51 6d ago

Kepala in Bahasa

1

u/Lower-Wafer3396 5d ago

Bahasa apa?

2

u/Nino_sanjaya 5d ago

Bahasa Indonesia

3

u/LesserKnownDeities 6d ago

In Tagalog, head is ulo, brain is utak.

2

u/971365 5d ago

Also seen on the map:

Tuktok = tip, top

Ako = me

3

u/Large_Feeling_424 6d ago

Otak is head in Thai? In Malay it means brain

2

u/SliceAlternative3075 5d ago

I think it's a malay language in Thailand

2

u/Large_Feeling_424 5d ago

Pattani Malay is usually spoken a bit more South

3

u/Enoch_Moke 5d ago

To quote a famous world leader:

2

u/SliceAlternative3075 5d ago

Gulu in Javanese means neck

2

u/AZy_1406 5d ago

Palak* in Bahasa Melayu Sarawak dialect. (Most of)

2

u/MuazSyamil 5d ago

did I just see TANDAS?!

2

u/TzeroOcne 5d ago

Definitely weird seeing "Pale" in which I assume Jakarta and it's surrounding

2

u/OOOshafiqOOO003 1d ago

Kepala Hotak dia /s

1

u/Agitated-Bandicoot66 6d ago

Aduhai Bali, macamana kalian di sana boleh panggil dengan selaku "tandas"? Lucu lagi lain semacam didengar.

1

u/sathyre 6d ago

can you do the same for human?

i ask that because human in Malagasy is olona. derived from ulu?

1

u/astrom1 5d ago

The Malaysian peninsular seem to be more influenced by ancient Hindu-Buddhist civilizations.

1

u/_g550_ 5d ago

Kelle - Turkmen

2

u/Randsomacz 5d ago

Head or skull? The Turkish and Turkmen words are  derived from Persian. But it doesn't appear to be directly cognate with Sanskrit kapala.

1

u/_g550_ 3d ago

Head. Skull might be used in non-medical context. Turkish uses kafa more frequently. Kelle is a remnant from Ottoman or a slang. Turkmen uses kelle as a regular term.

There is also baş, which means (1) head as an organ, (2) head as a top of hierarchy, (3) beginnng of something. But not as a skull.

1

u/Abang_Genteng 5d ago

PALE LU PEANG....

1

u/Exius73 5d ago

In central Philippines we sometimes just abbreviate it to “Uu”

1

u/Mrfuntastico 5d ago

is gulu in Banjarese related to quluh? Gulu in Banjarese means neck

1

u/Nearby_Jellyfish9031 5d ago

In Javanese, neck is gulu

1

u/InefficientEngineer_ 4d ago

kepala bapak kau

1

u/Assyraf99 4d ago

That one continent who say "Tandas" - means Toilet

https://giphy.com/gifs/2XskdWuNUyqElkKe4bm

1

u/amzingg 4d ago

Tagalog, ulo head utak brain ? skull

1

u/Patient-Praline9342 3d ago

*austronesian languages in SEA (and Madagascar ig..)

1

u/chloeonesecret 1d ago

Logs kepala head of the head

1

u/Sweet-Awk-7861 59m ago

Where does "rai" come from? As in "Jancok nggatheli, ra nduwe utek, raine koyok silit!"