Wetarese language explained

Wetarese
Also Known As:Wetar
Nativename:Tutunohan
States:Indonesia
Region:Wetar Island
Date:1990–2010
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Austronesian
Fam2:Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:Central–Eastern
Fam4:Timoric
Fam5:Wetar–Galoli
Lc1:apx
Ld1:Aputai
Lc2:ilu
Ld2:Iliuun
Lc3:wet
Ld3:Perai
Lc4:tzn
Ld4:Tugun
Glotto:weta1245
Glottorefname:Wetar
Elp:1347
Elpname:Aputai

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

!Labial!Alveolar!Palatal!Velar!Glottal
Plosivevoicelesspronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
voicedpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Fricativevoicelesspronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
voicedpronounced as /link/
Nasalpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Tap/Trillpronounced as /link/ ~ pronounced as /link/
Lateralpronounced as /link/

Vowels

Vowel phonemes!! Front!Central! Back
Closepronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Close-midpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Openpronounced as /link/

References