CLASSIFICATION OF MIRIEK VARIANT (VM): PROOF OF LINGUISTIC INTEGRATION

This study is an effort to classify the sub-ethnic of the Miriek language variant in Miri, Sarawak. Classification is the second most important task after the reconstruction task which is both an important task in the field of historical comparative linguistics. This study employs a qualitative method to describe the linguistic variation in Kampung Bakam, South of Miri, through the comparison method to check and see the hypothesis form of proto Miriek language (BMkP). In this study, the method of reconstruction and internal classification is applied by looking at the comparison criteria of five VM sub-ethnic sourced from the same language. Based on the comparison data between BMkP and VM sub-ethnic shows that there are some BMkP phonemes that are still maintained (retention) and that have undergone changes (innovation) in VM sub- ethnic. These changes and characteristics are an important element in the effort to do classification. Findings of the data show that VM sub-ethnic is not so far apart from BMkP and this can explain the kinship relationship between VM sub-ethnic using diagrams to see its attachment in fostering integration relationships among VM.