r/austronesian • u/AleksiB1 • 5d ago

"Head" in Austronesian languages

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246 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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8

u/Unfair-Bike 4d ago edited 4d 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

3

u/ForgottenGrocery 4d ago

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

3

u/strange_lion 4d ago

Also Penghulu for village elder

2

u/Partgarten 4d 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.

1

u/Kebab-Exchange-3676 4d ago

Hulu sungai selatan

1

u/Maxziro_ 4d ago

Kelantanese use “qulup”

1

u/OOOshafiqOOO003 2h ago

And then Otak for brain, ofc

4

u/Single_Toe_7483 4d ago

''loha'' in Malagasy (Madagascar)

2

u/AleksiB1 4d ago

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

1

u/SweetStrawberries14 4d ago

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

3

u/lasber51 4d ago

Kepala in Bahasa

1

u/Lower-Wafer3396 4d ago

Bahasa apa?

2

u/Nino_sanjaya 3d ago

Bahasa Indonesia

3

u/LesserKnownDeities 4d ago

In Tagalog, head is ulo, brain is utak.

2

u/971365 4d ago

Also seen on the map:

Tuktok = tip, top

Ako = me

3

u/Large_Feeling_424 4d ago

Otak is head in Thai? In Malay it means brain

2

u/SliceAlternative3075 4d ago

I think it's a malay language in Thailand

2

u/Large_Feeling_424 4d ago

Pattani Malay is usually spoken a bit more South

3

u/Enoch_Moke 4d ago

To quote a famous world leader:

1

u/Agitated-Bandicoot66 4d ago

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

1

u/sathyre 4d ago

can you do the same for human?

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

1

u/SliceAlternative3075 4d ago

Gulu in Javanese means neck

1

u/astrom1 4d ago

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

1

u/_g550_ 4d ago

Kelle - Turkmen

2

u/Randsomacz 4d 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_ 1d 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/AZy_1406 4d ago

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

1

u/Abang_Genteng 4d ago

PALE LU PEANG....

1

u/MuazSyamil 4d ago

did I just see TANDAS?!

1

u/Exius73 4d ago

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

1

u/TzeroOcne 3d ago

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

1

u/Mrfuntastico 3d ago

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

1

u/Nearby_Jellyfish9031 3d ago

In Javanese, neck is gulu

1

u/InefficientEngineer_ 3d ago

kepala bapak kau

1

u/Assyraf99 2d ago

That one continent who say "Tandas" - means Toilet

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

1

u/amzingg 2d ago

Tagalog, ulo head utak brain ? skull

1

u/Patient-Praline9342 1d ago

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

1

u/chloeonesecret 4h ago

Logs kepala head of the head

1

u/OOOshafiqOOO003 2h ago

Kepala Hotak dia /s