Kayan language (Borneo)

Kayan
Kajan
Native toIndonesia, Malaysia
RegionBorneo
EthnicityKayans
Native speakers
(35,000 cited 1981–2007)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
xay  Kayan Mahakam
kys  Baram Kayan
bfg  Busang Kayan
xkn  Kayan River Kayan
xkd  Mendalam Kayan
ree  Rejang Kayan
whu  Wahau Kayan
bhv  Bahau
Glottologkaya1333  Kayanic

Kayan (Kajan, Kayan proper) is a dialect cluster spoken by the Kayan people of Borneo. It is a cluster of closely related dialects with limited mutual intelligibility, and is itself part of the Kayan-Murik group of Austronesian languages.

Baram Kayan is a local trade language. Bahau is part of the dialect cluster, but is not ethnically Kayan.