iban language

Iban comes from the Ibanic language group spoken in Sarawak, West Kalimantan, and Brunei within Borneo island. part of the Malayic subshoot of the Malayo-Polynesian branch in the Austronesian language family. The Malayic languages originate from western Borneo,{{Cite book |title=The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |date=2006 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-920942-85-4 |editor-last=Bellwood |editor-first=Peter |location=Canberra |language=en |doi=10.22459/a.09.2006 |editor-last2=Fox |editor-first2=James J. |editor-last3=Tryon |editor-first3=Darrell |doi-access=free}} thus Iban is closely related to Malay, especially the Sarawakian dialect. Other isolects in the Ibanic group of languages are Sebuyau, Mualang, Kantu, and Seberuang. These groups of languages can be identified by the word-final position in certain lexical forms of /-ai/. These lexical forms are similar to other Malayic languages with lexical forms of /-an/, /-ang/, or, less frequently, /-ar/.

The Iban language is also related to other dialects such as Sebuyau, Kendayan, Balau and Selaku.{{cite journal |last1=Su Hie |first1=Ting |last2=Andyson |first2=Tinggang |last3=Mertom |first3=Lily |title=Language use and attitudes as indicators of subjective vitality: The Iban of Sarawak, Malaysia |journal=Language Documentation and Conservation |date=28 July 2021 |volume=15 |pages=190–218 |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstreams/0100bb0c-826f-471a-bb2c-e7fcdb7ad479/download |access-date=15 October 2023 |issn=1934-5275}}

According to the oral history of the Iban people, Benedict Sandin, in 1968, plotted the ancestry of the Iban people as descendants from the Kapuas Hulu Range, the border of Sarawak-Kalimantan. The Iban people arrived in Sarawak in the 16th century, and settled in the regions of Batang Lupar drainage basin and Undop river in southern Sarawak. From there, they migrated north, east, and west, and expanded into Saribas, Batang Sadong, Batang Layar, and Batang Lupar rivers. In the 1800s, they moved into the Rajang basin (middle region of Sarawak) from Batang Lupar river, Katibas river, and Saribas river (Saribas is a tributary of the Rajang River). By 1870s, they had reached Mukah and Oya rivers. In the early 1900s, they reached Balingian, Tatau, and Kemena rivers (near Bintulu). They also reached the Baram area and Limbang rivers around the same time in northern Sarawak and would become the largest ethnic group in Sarawak.

Fearing that the Iban tribes outnumbered the pre-existing local tribes with detrimental environmental effects on lands intended for shifting cultivation, the Brooke government restricted the Iban people from further migration to other river systems such as the Baleh river. However, the Brooke government allowed the Ibans to settle in other areas such as Lundu, Balingian, Bintulu, Limbang and Baram to consolidate the government's authority there. As a result of this policy, several minority ethnic groups such as Bukitans living along the Batang Lupar River were assimilated into the Iban people, thus contributing to the growth of Iban tribe and the expansion of the Iban language in the state. The Iban language was taught in schools in the 1940s during the Brooke era.{{cite journal |last1=Metom |first1=Lilly |last2=Ting |first2=Su-Hie |last3=Ling |first3=Hsin-Nie |title=The Iban of Sarawak, Malaysia Ethnic Language Losing Ground to English and Sarawak Malay |journal=Human Behaviour, Development and Society |date=2021 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=54–64 |url=https://so01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/hbds/article/view/250198 |access-date=19 December 2023 |issn=2651-1762}}

During the period of Crown Colony of Sarawak, the Iban language was used in government official letters, courts, announcements, and notices. Radio Sarawak, started by the British, offered Iban language programmes. The Iban language, known under the name of "Asian language", was offered as an examination subject in the Sarawak Junior Certificate. The "Asian language" was renamed to "Iban language" in 1963. Borneo Literature Bureau (BLB) was founded by the British in 1958 to collect and document oral Iban literature. BLB published more than 60 Iban language books during its lifetime until 1973 when it was replaced by a Malaysian federal government agency Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in 1977. After that, the publication of books in Bornean languages came to a halt.{{cite book|last=Tawai|first=Jimbun A.|year=1998|chapter=Iban mother tongue education|editor=Kia Soong |title= Mother Tongue Education of Malaysia Ethnic Minorities|pages=100–113|location= Kuala Lumpur|publisher=Dong Jiao Zong Higher Learning Center}} The publication of the Nendak (name of an omen bird) magazine, which was started by BLB in 1967 also came to a halt. Jimbun Tawai, the former vice chairman of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association, called this period under Crown Colony as "golden era" of the Iban language.{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Karla J. |date=February 2003 |title=Minority Language Education in Malaysia: Four Ethnic Communities' Experiences |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13670050308667772 |journal=International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=52–65 |doi=10.1080/13670050308667772 |issn=1367-0050}}

After the closure of BLB, other smaller publishers continue in this niche such as the Kuching-based publishing company named Klasik. Examples of works include ensera (Iban epic story) and cherita kelulu (morality novellas). Christian churches such as the Catholic church publish prayer books that adopt certain aspects of Iban adat (culture). Thus, Christian texts bear greater significance as cultural repositories of the Iban language when to compared to other genres after the demise of BLB.

State-sponsored media such as Berita Rakyat was founded in 1974 and ended in the 1990s. The magazine was started by Rajang Security Command (RASCOM) in Sibu to defeat the communists' activities in the Rajang basin. The magazine stopped publication after the cessation of the communist insurgency in Sarawak in 1990. The state government's information department published another magazine named Pembrita and aimed to provide developmental news to the rural Iban populace, such as exemplary longhouses, lucrative cash crops, and animal husbandry. The magazine also called on the rural Ibans to modernise their ways of farming. There were no Iban newspapers in the 1990s and early 2000s. The high cost of imported paper materials and low advertising revenues contributed to the difficulties of Iban newspaper publishing.

The Tun Jugah Foundation was established in 1985 after the death of Jugah Barieng, paramount chief of the Iban, to record the oral history of the Iban people, producing Iban dictionaries and surveys of the rural-urban migration of the Iban people.{{cite web |title=Tun Jugah Remembered As Sarawak's Greatest Hero - Taib |url=https://www.nreb.gov.my/modules/web/pages.php?mod=news&sub=news_view&nid=40 |publisher=Natural Resources and Environment Board Sarawak |access-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726131832/https://www.nreb.gov.my/modules/web/pages.php?mod=news&sub=news_view&nid=40 |archive-date=26 July 2022}}{{cite web |title=Report on Research Projects |url=https://tunjugahfoundation.org.my/oral-history/report-of-research-projects/ |publisher=Tun Jugah Foundation |access-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529161709/https://tunjugahfoundation.org.my/oral-history/report-of-research-projects/ |archive-date=29 May 2023}}

Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) expanded their Iban radio broadcasts to 10 hours on Sundays and 9 hours on rest of the week by the 1980s as WaiFM Cats FM is the first commercial radio station to broadcast in Iban opening in 1997.{{cite book|first=John|last=Postill|title=Media and Nation Building: How the Iban became Malaysian|date=15 May 2006|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-0-85745-687-8|pages=59, 71–8}}

The Iban language was included in the primary school curriculum in 1968 and a few secondary schools in 1988. From 1968 to 1969, teachers' training colleges offered Iban as an elective subject. It was only in 1988 that Iban was formalised as part of the Malaysian national curriculum. There are no Iban-medium schools in Sarawak. In 2008, Iban was taught as an elective language subject in Malaysian Form 5 secondary schools for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate examination. A survey done in Sarawak in 2008 showed that a total of 367 primary schools and 55 secondary schools have taught the Iban subjects since 1968. The number of primary schools offering the Iban language subject increased to 1,264 in 2015, while the number of secondary schools reduced to 52 in 2015. Most schools have a significant Iban population in the Kapit, Sibu, Sri Aman, and Sarikei Divisions. The Iban language subject is also offered in undergraduate programmes in two teachers' institutions in Sarawak. In Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, the Iban language is offered as a minor subject for Iban students majoring in Malay studies. The introduction of Iban language subjects in schools results in the standardisation of Iban language spelling, dialect, and pronunciation from regional variations.{{cite news |title=Union chief calls on Sarawak communities to avoid language disputes |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2024/11/18/union-chief-calls-on-sarawak-communities-to-avoid-language-disputes |access-date=18 November 2024 |work=The Star (Malaysia) |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241118001006/https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2024/11/18/union-chief-calls-on-sarawak-communities-to-avoid-language-disputes |archive-date=18 November 2024}}

In 2003, Malaysian federal authorities banned the Iban-language Bible or Bup Kudus as its use of the word "Allah" for God overlaps with the use of Allah as the name of God in Islam. While Christianity is the majority faith of the Iban, Islam has official federal status, which the government argues can "confuse" the Muslim populace in the state. The ban was lifted by the then deputy prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after persistent protests.{{cite news |last1=Anis |first1=Mazwin Nik |title=Ban on Iban Bible lifted |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2003/04/26/ban-on-iban-bible-lifted |access-date=6 January 2024 |work=The Star (Malaysia) |date=26 April 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106104939/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2003/04/26/ban-on-iban-bible-lifted |archive-date=6 January 2024}}

Newspapers The Borneo Post and Utusan Borneo started Iban language sections in 2010{{cite web |title=Berita Iban |date=28 December 2009 |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/tag/berita-iban/page/2722/ |publisher=The Borneo Post |access-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612014513/https://www.theborneopost.com/tag/berita-iban/page/2722/ |archive-date=12 June 2021}} and 2014 respectively.{{cite web |title=Berita Iban |url=https://www.utusanborneo.com.my/iban?page=2557 |publisher=Utusan Borneo |access-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106013510/https://www.utusanborneo.com.my/iban?page=2557 |archive-date=6 January 2024}} The Borneo Post stopped the Iban section in 2017.{{cite news |title=Berita Iban |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/tag/berita-iban/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |publisher=The Borneo Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531191835/https://www.theborneopost.com/tag/berita-iban/ |archive-date=31 May 2021}} A monthly Iban magazine named Pegari was also published by a small company named PEGARI Iban Production from 2012 to 2018.{{cite web |title=Majalah PEGARI |date=5 January 2012 |url=https://pegari02.wordpress.com/servis/majalah-pegari/ |publisher=PEGARI Iban Production |access-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103054739/https://pegari02.wordpress.com/servis/majalah-pegari/ |archive-date=3 January 2014}}{{cite news |last1=Bigol |first1=Alvestor |title=Sukung mih Radio Pegari Web FM (Please support Pegari Web FM Radio) |url=https://suarasarawak.my/sukung-mih-radio-pegari-web-fm/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |publisher=Suara Sarawak |date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610214425/https://suarasarawak.my/sukung-mih-radio-pegari-web-fm/ |archive-date=10 June 2023}} Borneo Media Solutions, a subsidiary of PEGARI Iban Production, also published several books in Iban language.{{cite news |title=Seven Iban books published by Borneo Media Solutions so far |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2014/01/03/seven-iban-books-published-by-borneo-media-solutions-so-far/ |access-date=19 February 2024 |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=3 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609174740/https://www.theborneopost.com/2014/01/03/seven-iban-books-published-by-borneo-media-solutions-so-far/ |archive-date=9 June 2021}}

RTM opened their first Borneo-oriented channel TVi in 2011 which later became TV Okey in 2018 which includes a 30-minute Iban news slot.{{cite web |date=7 April 2011 |title=New TV channel for Sabah and Sarawak |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2011/04/07/new-tv-channel-for-sabah-and-sarawak |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=The Star (Malaysia) |agency=Bernama}}{{cite news |last1=Suzianah |first1=Jiffar |last2=Olivia |first2=Miwil |title=TV OKEY guna bahasa tempatan (TV OKEY uses local languages) |url=https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2018/03/402206/tv-okey-guna-bahasa-tempatan |access-date=21 February 2024 |publisher=Berita Harian |date=21 March 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240221120807/https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2018/03/402206/tv-okey-guna-bahasa-tempatan |archive-date=21 February 2024}} TV Sarawak started the Iban language section in October 2020.{{cite news |title=TVS nyerungkai pengidup Iban (TVS unwraps the Iban way of life) |url=https://suarasarawak.my/tvs-nyerungkai-pengidup-iban/ |access-date=21 February 2024 |publisher=Suara Sarawak |date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240221120748/https://suarasarawak.my/tvs-nyerungkai-pengidup-iban/ |archive-date=21 February 2024}} Iban language support was added to Malaysian domain of Google Translate in 2024.{{cite news |last1=Aubrey |first1=Samuel |title=Iban among new languages added to Google Translate |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2024/06/29/iban-among-new-languages-added-to-google-translate/ |access-date=1 July 2024 |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=29 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629022155/https://www.theborneopost.com/2024/06/29/iban-among-new-languages-added-to-google-translate/ |archive-date=29 June 2024}}

The Iban language is allowed in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly with the special permission from the Speaker and simultaneous interpretations will be provided during the assembly sitting and when written into the Hansard.

Rentap's battle cry while fighting against James Brooke in 1860s “Agi Idup, Agi Ngelaban!” (“I will fight as long I will live!”) is adopted by Sarawak Royal Ranger Regiment as their motto. The battle cry is also used in speeches and car stickers to evoke the warrior spirit of the Iban people. The word "Oo-ha", an Iban call for celebration, was popularised by the former chief minister of Sarawak Adenan Satem as a form of "hello" before giving speeches in order to motivate a crowd. The Chinese-predominant Sarawak United Peoples' Party used the Iban word "Sa'ati" (United) as their party slogan.{{cite news |title=SUPP members told to move forward with 'Sa'ati' |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2014/06/04/supp-members-told-to-move-forward-with-saati/ |access-date=17 October 2023 |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=4 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604225341/https://www.theborneopost.com/2014/06/04/supp-members-told-to-move-forward-with-saati/ |archive-date=4 June 2021}}{{cite news |title=SUPP to set up Sa'Ati Education Foundation to aid students |url=https://dayakdaily.com/supp-to-set-up-saati-education-foundation-to-aid-students/ |access-date=17 October 2023 |publisher=Dayak Daily |date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705125203/https://dayakdaily.com/supp-to-set-up-saati-education-foundation-to-aid-students/ |archive-date=5 July 2022}} Another Chinese-predominant Sarawak Democratic Action Party has been using the Iban language to garner support from the Iban population.{{cite web |title=YES! Jom Aram Neh Berubah! (Yes! Let's just change!) |url=http://lib.perdana.org.my/PLF/Digitisation/OCR/OCR6/000018/1008899.pdf |website=Perdana Leadership Foundation Library |publisher=Democratic Action Party |access-date=16 October 2023}}{{cite web |title=Dayaks As The Kingmaker In Coming State Election |date=6 November 2020 |url=https://en.dapsarawak.org/dayaks-as-the-kingmaker-in-coming-state-election/ |publisher=Sarawak Democratic Action Party |access-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602151432/https://en.dapsarawak.org/dayaks-as-the-kingmaker-in-coming-state-election/ |archive-date=2 June 2023}} Other words include "Segulai sejalai" (going together) that was selected as the slogan for Malaysian national unity,{{cite news|title=PM: Segulai sejalai, cogan kata perpaduan dari bahasa Iban (Prime Minister: "Segulai sejalai" slogan from the Iban language)|url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/667864 |access-date=16 October 2023 |publisher=Malaysiakini |date=7 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165245/https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/667864|archive-date=8 June 2023}} and "Ngap Sayot" (literally means "eat vegetables") used by Sarawak FA football team battle cry to signify taking down opponents just like eating vegetables.{{cite web |last1=Lau |first1=Ceres |title=Ngap Sayot |url=https://www.behance.net/gallery/57947215/Ngap-Sayot |website=Behance |date=November 2017 |access-date=17 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017011332/https://www.behance.net/gallery/57947215/Ngap-Sayot |archive-date=17 October 2023}}{{cite news |title='Don't use Ngap Sayot for politics' |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2013/06/16/dont-use-ngap-sayot-for-politics/ |access-date=17 October 2023 |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=16 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608183003/https://www.theborneopost.com/2013/06/16/dont-use-ngap-sayot-for-politics/ |archive-date=8 June 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Masilamany |first1=Joseph |title=Ngap sayot! Sarawakians upbraid 'Harimau Malaya' on Malaysia Day |date=16 September 2021 |url=https://www.thevibes.com/articles/sports/41733/ngap-sayot-sarawakians-upbraid-harimau-malaya-on-malaysia-day |publisher=The Vibes |access-date=17 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917064944/https://www.thevibes.com/articles/sports/41733/ngap-sayot-sarawakians-upbraid-harimau-malaya-on-malaysia-day |archive-date=17 September 2021}}

Iban churches in Sarawak conduct services in the Iban language.

Trades in the Sarawak bazaars are also frequently conducted in the Iban language.

Iban has the following consonant inventory:{{sfnp|Asmah Haji Omar|1969|p=38}}

Iban has a six-vowel system, with five cardinal vowels plus schwa:{{sfnp|Asmah Haji Omar|1969|p=51}}

Vowel sounds are nasalized when preceded by a nasal consonant.{{sfnp|Asmah Haji Omar|1969|p=51}}

{{more citations needed section|date=March 2021}}

Lexical roots can be expanded by many affixes in Iban, as exemplified here with the verb {{Lang|iba|gagai}}.

• {{Lang|iba|gagai}} 'chase'
• {{Lang|iba|begagai}} 'chasing/playing with each other'
• {{Lang|iba|begagaika}} 'chasing something/someone'
• {{Lang|iba|ngagai}} 'to chase'
• {{Lang|iba|digagai}} 'being chased by'
• {{Lang|iba|dipegagaika}} 'being chased by many'
• {{Lang|iba|pengagai}} 'chaser'
• {{Lang|iba|tegagaika}} 'outrun/outpace'

There are four types of affixes in Iban, namely prefixes, suffixes, circumfixes and infixes.

Other examples:

• {{Lang|iba|Sayau}} 'love'
• {{Lang|iba|Dikesayauka}} 'was loved by'
• {{Lang|iba|Penyayau}} 'affection'
• {{Lang|iba|Kiruh}} 'busy'
• {{Lang|iba|Ngiruhka}} 'to make someone busy'
• {{Lang|iba|Pengiruh}} 'preoccupied'
• {{Lang|iba|Pengiruh-ngiruh}} 'really preoccupied'
• {{Lang|iba|Enjuk}} 'give'
• {{Lang|iba|Berenjuk}} 'giving each other' (present)
• {{Lang|iba|ngenjuk}}{{Clarify|date=December 2022}}
• {{Lang|iba|Dienjuk}} 'gave' (past)
• {{Lang|iba|Deka ngenjuk}} 'will be given' (future)
• {{Lang|iba|Pengenjuk}} 'giver'
• {{Lang|iba|Kangau}} 'call'
• {{Lang|iba|Bekangau}} 'calling each other' (present)
• {{Lang|iba|Ngangau}} 'calling' (present)
• {{Lang|iba|Dikangau}} 'was called' (past)
• {{Lang|iba|Deka dikangau}} 'will be called' (future)
• {{Lang|iba|Pengangau}} 'caller'

Iban has separate words for inclusive and exclusive we, and distinguishes singular, dual, and plural.{{sfnp|Asmah Haji Omar|1969|p=185}}

Sample

• {{Lang|iba|Ke nuan}} 'for you'
• {{Lang|iba|Ke aku}} 'for me'
• {{Lang|iba|Ke kami}} 'for us'
• {{Lang|iba|Bup aku}} 'my book'
• {{Lang|iba|Bakih aku}} 'my friend'
• {{Lang|iba|Apai aku}} 'my father'
• {{Lang|iba|Gamal nuan}} 'your look'
• {{Lang|iba|Sulu nuan}} 'your beloved'
• {{Lang|iba|Sekula kami}} 'our school'
• {{Lang|iba|Ke pangan aku}} 'for my beloved'
• {{Lang|iba|Ke anak aku}} 'for my child'
• {{Lang|iba|Ari indai di}} 'from your mother'
• {{Lang|iba|Ari bakih aku}} 'from my friend'

Pronouns are primarily put after subjects.

Sample phases:

• {{Lang|iba|baju tu engku}} 'This shirt is mine.'
• {{Lang|iba|Tu enggi nuan}} 'This is yours.'
• {{Lang|iba|Siti nyin enggi tua}} 'That one belongs to both of us.'

There are three demonstrative determiners in Iban. {{Lang|iba|Tu}} 'this, these' is used for a noun which is generally near to the speaker, {{Lang|iba|nya}} 'that, those' is used for a noun which is generally far from the speaker, and {{Lang|iba|nyin}}, which is the furthest from the speaker.

These words can also act as demonstrative pronouns where they can stands on theirs own, replacing rather than modifying a noun.

Example:

• {{Lang|iba|Nyamai tu.}} 'This is good.'
• {{Lang|iba|Ok meh nya.}} 'That's ok.'
• {{Lang|iba|Peda di nyin dih.}} 'Look at that.'

In Iban, demonstrative pronouns are words that show which person or thing is being referred in relation to the location of the addressee to the speaker. There are three demonstrative pronouns in Iban depending on location to the speaker. They can only be used to refer to an addressee (human) and cannot be used to refer to inanimate objects.

Examples:

• {{Lang|iba|Nama gaga iya tu baka nya?}} 'Why is this person acting in such a way?'
• {{Lang|iba|Kini ke iya nya tadi?}} 'Where is he going?' (Referring to the second closest person to the speaker)
• {{Lang|iba|Ni iya nyin tadi dih?}} 'Where is the other (person) one?' (referring to third person which is the furthest from the speaker)

Demonstrative adverbs in Iban are closely related to the demonstrative pronouns in Iban grammar. For example, corresponding to the demonstrative pronouns are the adverbs such as {{Lang|iba|kitu}} ('going here'), {{Lang|iba|kia}} ('going there') and {{Lang|iba|kin}} ('going there (farthest)') equivalent adverbs corresponding to the demonstrative pronoun this are {{Lang|iba|tu}}, {{Lang|iba|nya}} and {{Lang|iba|nyin}}.

Examples:

• {{Lang|iba|Kitu nuan.}} 'Come here (you).'
• {{Lang|iba|Kini di kia?}} 'Why are you going there?' (within the sight of the speaker)
• {{Lang|iba|Aram kin tua.}} 'Let's go there.' (referring to location far away from speaker)

Examples:

• {{Lang|iba|Ditu ku nganti nuan.}} 'I wait for you here.'
• {{Lang|iba|Dia ku nganti nuan.}} 'I wait for you there.' (not far from the speaker's location)
• {{Lang|iba|Din ku nganti nuan.}} 'I wait for you there.' (referring to a far place)

Iban also has a set of adverbs referring to manner. They are a combination of {{Lang|iba|baka (ke)}} ('like/as') and the abbreviated determiner forms {{Lang|iba|tu}}, {{Lang|iba|nya}} and {{Lang|iba|nyin}}.

Examples:

• {{Lang|iba|Aku ka iya baka tu.}} 'I want it to be like this.'
• {{Lang|iba|Nama di ngaga iya baka nya?}} 'Why did you treat him like this?'
• {{Lang|iba|Uji gaga di baka ke nyin.}} 'Try to do it like that.'

Iban also has a few interrogative words: {{Lang|iba|sapa}}, {{Lang|iba|nama}}, {{Lang|iba|ni}}, {{Lang|iba|lapa}}, {{Lang|iba|kemaya}} and {{Lang|iba|berapa}}.

• {{Lang|iba|Sapa}} – Who

{{interlinear|indent=3

|Sapa empu jam tu?

|Who own watch this

|Who owns this watch?|lang=iba}}

• {{Lang|iba|Nama}} – What

{{interlinear|indent=3

|Nama gaga nuan ditu?

|What doing you here

|What are you doing here?|lang=iba}}

• {{Lang|iba|Ni}} – Where (Dini and Ba ni also used to ask for specific location)

{{interlinear|indent=3

|Ni ai ku tadi?

|Where water/drink my {just now}

|Where is my drink?|lang=iba}}

• {{Lang|iba|Lapa}} – Why ({{Lang|iba|Nama kebuah}} also used.)

{{interlinear|indent=3

|Lapa nuan nyabak?

|Why you crying

|Why are you crying?|lang=iba}}

• {{Lang|iba|Kemaya}} – When

{{interlinear|indent=3

|Kemaya tua deka betemu?

|When we {going to} meet

|When are we going to meet?|lang=iba}}

• {{Lang|iba|Berapa}} – How many

{{interlinear|indent=3

|Berapa iku manuk tupi nuan?

|{How many} CL chicken raise you

|How many chicken you raise?|lang=iba}}

• {{Lang|iba|Bakani}} – How

{{interlinear|indent=3

|Bakani gaya {mua ari} saritu?

|How look weather today

|How is the weather today?|lang=iba}}

The first Iban-English Dictionary was published in 1900 by Rev. William Howell, an Anglican priest based at Sabu, near Simanggang (Sri Aman) and D.J.S. Bailey, a Brooke administrative officer as A Sea Dyak Dictionary.{{cite journal |last1=Clifford |first1=Sather |title=A Comprehensive Iban-English Dictionary. |journal=Borneo Research Bulletin |date=2016 |volume=47 |pages=256–261 |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+Comprehensive+Iban-English+Dictionary.-a0503262457 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107101415/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+Comprehensive+Iban-English+Dictionary.-a0503262457 |access-date=7 January 2024|archive-date=2024-01-07 }}

A Comprehensive Iban-English Dictionary, jointly published by The Dayak Cultural Foundation and The Tun Jugah Foundation in 2016, contains 31,000 entries and about 1900 pages.

The Iban-Malay dictionary was first published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), in 1989. The second edition was published in 2015. It contains 11,530 entries dan 9,710 subentries.{{cite news |last1=Bahaudin |first1=Nurul Hidayah |title=Unik dan kepentingan kamus Iban - Melayu (The uniqueness and the importance of the Iban-Malay dictionary) |url=https://www.bharian.com.my/bhplus-old/2015/12/106635/unik-dan-kepentingan-kamus-iban-melayu |access-date=7 January 2024 |publisher=Berita Harian |date=20 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824123038/https://www.bharian.com.my/bhplus-old/2015/12/106635/unik-dan-kepentingan-kamus-iban-melayu |archive-date=24 August 2020}}

According to Iban legend, an ancestor named Renggi devised a writing script on the skin of wood, but it was soaked in water and the writing vanished. Anguished with the tragedy, Renggi munched the script and swallowed it where the script became ingrained in Renggi's brain and blood and also his descendants. Since then, the Ibans became adept at memorising oral traditions, just like exactly written in books.{{cite news |last1=David |first1=Jacqueline |title=Dunging Script into the millennium |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/07/11/dunging-script-into-the-millennium/ |access-date=20 December 2023 |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027081422/https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/07/11/dunging-script-into-the-millennium/ |archive-date=27 October 2022}} Occasionally, the Ibans used personalised symbols as memory aids on their writing boards (papan turai).{{cite book |last1=Pringle |first1=Robert |title=Rajahs & Rebels - The Ibans of Sarawak under Brooke Rule (1841-1941) |date=1970 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=New York |pages=37 |url=https://archive.org/details/rajahs-rebels-robert-pringle |access-date=12 August 2023}}{{cite news |title=The Sarawak Hieroglyphics: A Lost Legacy? |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2024/05/13/the-sarawak-hieroglyphics-a-lost-legacy1187066/#:~:text=It%20consists%20of%20a%20series,during%20the%20Gawai%20Batu%20ceremony. |access-date=13 May 2024 |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=13 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513111146/https://www.theborneopost.com/2024/05/13/the-sarawak-hieroglyphics-a-lost-legacy1187066/ |archive-date=13 May 2024}} Papan turai was used to record ritual poems such as pengap and sabak.{{cite web |last1=Kenneth |first1=Christopher |title=Bab III - Metodologi (Chapter 3 - Methodology) |url=https://kc.umn.ac.id/id/eprint/17717/6/BAB_III.pdf |publisher=Universitas Multimedia Nusantara |access-date=1 November 2024}}

As the Iban language had no extant writing system of its own, Christian missionaries adopted the Latin alphabet in an attempt to codify the language. A Sea Dyak Dictionary, published in 1900, was important in the early development of the Iban as a written language. During the Crown Colony era, the Borneo Literature Bureau also worked on the written form of the Iban language.

From 1947 to 1962, Dunging anak Gunggu invented an Iban syllabary known as the Dunging script.{{Cite web |title=Iban |url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/iban.htm |access-date=20 August 2019 |website=Omniglot}}{{Cite news |last=Churchill Edward |date=20 June 2012 |title='Long Lost' Iban Alphabet Script 'Found' |work=The Borneo Post |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/06/20/long-lost-iban-alphabet-script-found/ |access-date=20 August 2019}} In 2010, Dr. Bromeley Philip of Universiti Teknologi MARA, who is also a grandnephew to Dunging, created digital fonts for Dunging script, named "LaserIban", available for Windows and Macintosh computers. Dr Bromeley also launched a course to promote the use of LaserIban and had transcribed several traditional folktales from Latin alphabet into Dunging script.{{cite web |title=Reviving the Iban alphabet |url=https://news.uitm.edu.my/reviving-the-iban-alphabet/ |publisher=UiTM News Hub |access-date=19 December 2023 |date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030094108/https://news.uitm.edu.my/reviving-the-iban-alphabet/ |archive-date=2019-10-30 }} However, the Dunging script is not widely adopted. As of 2011, only three people in the world mastered the Dunging script, namely Dr Bromeley himself, longhouse chief Tuai Rumah Bagat Nunui and teacher Ngambong Katoi.{{cite news |last1=Edward |first1=Churchill |title='Pioneer Iban alphabet students will promote system' |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2011/09/19/%E2%80%98pioneer-iban-alphabet-students-will-promote-system%E2%80%99/ |access-date=16 January 2024 |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=19 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602151513/https://www.theborneopost.com/2011/09/19/%E2%80%98pioneer-iban-alphabet-students-will-promote-system%E2%80%99/ |archive-date=2 June 2021}}

Iban can be subdivided into different sub-ethnic groups, each of which speak in different dialects. The most formal, intermediate, and working dialect is the Saribas dialect, and mainly Betong and Saratok. Others such as Balau, Sebuyau, Ulu Ai, and Rejang are mutually intelligible throughout the Sarawak region. The exception is the Iban Remun/Milikin dialect, which is still understood by Ibans from other districts. In West Kalimantan, dialects such as Bugau, Seberuang, Mualang, Chengkang, Sebaru, and Dau are more disparate.

Sample text (Luke 2:10-11)

Mualang (West Kalimantan, Indonesia)

:10 Baroꞌ mlikat Tuhan Allah madah ke sidaꞌ: “Nang kitaꞌ takot! Ku madah brita bayek ari Tuhan Allah ke kitaꞌ, te nyuroh gaga ugaꞌ bansa.

:11 Malam toꞌ de kuta Daod^e udah adai Penyelamat kitaꞌ, Al Maseh Raja te dedanyi Tuhan Allah, nyaꞌ mah Tuhan.

Iban (Sarawak, Malaysia)

:10 Tang ku melikat nya bejaku ngagai sida, “Anang takut! Laban aku mai ngagai kita Berita Manah ti ngasuh ati semua mensia gaga:

:11 sehari tu, di nengeri David, Juruselamat kita udah ada, iya nya Kristus ti Tuhan!

Sebuyau (Sarawak, Malaysia)

:10 Tapi kenu mlikat nia bepadah ka hida-eh, “Nang kita takut! Tegal aku minching ka kita Behita Badas te mela ati semua mensia hindang:

:11 chahi tia, de nenggehi David, Penyelamat kita udah ada, iya nia Kehistus te Petaha!

Sample phases in Iban Remun

• {{Lang|lkj|Entai ku ngilau}} – {{Lang|lkj|Nadai aku meda.}} ('I did not see it.')
• {{Lang|lkj|Entauk ku badak}} – {{Lang|lkj|Enda ku nemu.}} ('I don't know.')

For extended family in Iban

Example;

• {{Lang|iba|Anak buah bini ku nya.}} 'That is my wife's nibling.'
• {{Lang|iba|Anak buah ke indu laki ku nya.}} 'That is my husband's niece.'
• {{Lang|iba|Entua laki ku nya.}} 'That is my husband's parent-in-law.'
• {{Lang|iba|Entua ke laki laki ku nya.}} 'That is my husband's father-in-law.'
• {{Lang|iba|Petunggal bini ku nya.}} 'That is my wife's cousin.'

Example:

• {{Lang|iba|Tulat tua betemu.}} 'We'll meet again the third day.'
• {{Lang|iba|Ensanus ku bisi meda iya}} 'I saw him two days ago.'

The Iban calendar is one month ahead of the Gregorian calendar as follows:

{{Verse translation|Ba pun iya kelia, lebuh Allah Taala berengkah ngaga langit enggau dunya, dunya endang apin bisi bakal tauka gamal sereta nadai utai nguan. Semina ribut ti deras ari Allah Taala aja ti bepuput atas tasik ti agi petang. Allah Taala lalu bejaku, “Awakka penampak pegari.” Penampak lalu pegari. Allah Taala meda penampak nya manah; lalu Iya nyeraraka penampak nya ari pemetang. Iya ngumbai penampak nya “Siang” lalu pemetang nya dikumbai Iya “Malam.” Lemai ambis lalu pagi pan datai. Nya hari ti keterubah.{{Cite web |title=Bup Kudus Baru |url=http://www.gerijaiban.com/bup_kudus.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022172244/http://www.gerijaiban.com/bup_kudus.php |archive-date=2018-10-22 |website=G-KRIS}}|In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The spirit of God was hovering over the water. Then God said, "Let there be light!" So there was light. God saw the light was good. So God separated the light from the darkness. God named the light "day", and the darkness he named "night". There was evening, then morning, the first day.|lang=iba|attr1=}}

English:

Article 1 – All human beings are born free and equal in rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Malay:

Perkara 1 – Semua manusia dilahirkan bebas dan sama dalam hak. Mereka dikurniakan akal dan hati nurani dan harus bertindak antara satu sama lain dalam semangat persaudaraan.

Standard Iban:

Pekara 1 : Semua mensia ada meratai enggau hak ke sebaka. Sida diberi penau runding enggau ati tuchi lalu enda tau enda begulai enggau pangan diri dalam serakup entara bala menyadi.

Balau Iban Dialect:

Pekaha 1 : Semua mensia ada bebas enggau hak ti sebaka. Sida dibehi penau runding enggau ati behesi alu enda tau enda begulai enggau dihi sama dihi dalam gehempung entaha bala menyadi.

Other Iban Dialect:

Pekaro 1 : Semuo mensio ado bebas enggau hak ti sebako. Sida diberi penau runding enggau ati tuchi lalu enda tau enda begulai enggau diri samo diri dalam serakup entaro balo menyadi.

Pikaro 1 : Simuo minsio ado bibas nggau hak ti sibako. Sida dibiri penau runding enggau ati tuchi lalu endo tau endo bigulai enggau diri samo diri dalam sirakup intaro balo minyadi.

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Richards |first=Anthony |title=An Iban-English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |publication-date=1981|url=https://archive.org/details/AnIbanEnglishDictionaryByAnthonyRichards/page/n17/mode/2up?}} [Paperback reprint in the 1988 by Penerbit Fajar Bakti, Petaling Jaya. {{ISBN|967653384X}}]
• {{Cite thesis |last=Asmah Haji Omar |title=The Iban Language of Sarawak: A Grammatical Description |date=1969 |degree=PhD |publisher=SOAS University of London |url=http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/29481}}
• {{Cite book |last=Asmah Haji Omar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KZkAAAAMAAJ |title=The Iban Language of Sarawak: A Grammatical Description |date=1981 |publisher=Kementarian Pelajaran Malaysia |location=Kuala Lumpur}}
• {{Cite book |last=Steinmayer |first=Otto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6hkAAAAMAAJ |title=Jalai Jako' Iban: A Basic Grammar of the Iban Language of Sarawak |date=1999 |publisher=Klasik Publishing House |location=Kuching}}
• {{Citation |last=Renang Anak Ansali |title=Jaku Iban serta basa kitai |work=University of London Magazine |date=2002}}

{{InterWiki|code=iba}}

{{Wikivoyage|Iban phrasebook|Iban|a phrasebook}}

• [https://digital.soas.ac.uk/iban Digitized books about Iban at the SOAS library]
• [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Malaysia/iban_hc.html Ator Sambiang Mass Baru: The Holy Eucharist in Iban (1980)] Anglican eucharistic liturgy digitized by Richard Mammana

{{Languages of Malaysia}}

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{{Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian languages}}

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