Saluan language

Saluan
Loinang
RegionSulawesi, Indonesia
EthnicitySaluan people
Native speakers
(76,000 cited 1978)
Language codes
ISO 639-3loe
Glottologsalu1253
ELPSaluan

Saluan, also known as Loinang after one of its dialects, is the main language spoken by the Saluan people on the eastern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi.

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate		 voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d dʒ ɡ
Fricative s h
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Approximant w j

In some dialects, the distinction between /l/, /r/ and /n/ is neutralized to /n/ in word-final position, as in putan 'rope' (pronounced putal in most dialects).

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e (ə) o
Open a

The central vowel [ə] is restricted to certain dialects.

In final position, there is a phonemic distinction between long and short vowels, as in /ikuː/ 'tail' vs. /siku/ 'elbow'.

References

  1. ↑ Saluan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 Pamolango, Valantino (2012). Geografi Dialek Bahasa Saluan. Manado: Universitas Sam Ratulangi.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  3. 1 2 Mead, David and Edy Pasanda (2015). An Initial Appreciation of the Dialect Situation in Saluan and Batui (Eastern Sulawesi, Indonesia). SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2015-013. SIL International.