Wetarese language

Wetarese
Wetar
Tutunohan
Native toIndonesia
RegionWetar Island
Native speakers
(11,000 cited 1990–2010)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
apx – Aputai
ilu – Iliʼuun
wet – Perai
tzn – Tugun
Glottologweta1245
ELPAputai
Aputai is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

Wetarese is an Austronesian language of Wetar, an island in the south Maluku, Indonesia, and of the nearby island Liran.

Background

The four identified principal varieties of Wetarese on Wetar – Aputai, Iliʼuun, Perai and Tugun – are distinct enough that some may consider them to be different languages.

Wetarese is closely related to Galoli (spoken on the north coast of East Timor and by an immigrant community on the south coast of Wetar) and to Atauran (spoken on Atauro island).

Phonology

The following represents the Tugun dialect:

Consonants

Consonant phonemes
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t tʃ k ʔ
voiced dʒ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v
Nasal m n ŋ
Tap/Trill ɾ ~ r
Lateral l
  • /v/ may also be heard as [w] in free variation.
  • /r/ is mainly heard as [r] in word-final position or in slower speech, it is heard as [ɾ] elsewhere.
  • /ʔ/ only occurs in word-medial positions.

Vowels

Vowel phonemes
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open a
  • Sounds /e u/ are also heard as [ɛ ʊ].