Lamaholot language

Last updated
Lamaholot
Solorese
Native to Indonesia
Region Flores and Solor
Ethnicity Lamaholot people
Native speakers
180,000 (2010) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
aol    Alor
adr    Adonara
lmr    Lamalera
slp   Lamaholot
ila    Ile Ape
lwt    Lewotobi
lvu    Levuka
lmj    West Lembata
lmf    South Lembata
lmq    Lamatuka
lwe    Lewo Eleng
Glottolog lama1277   Lamaholot
puka1244   Pukaunu

Lamaholot, also known as Solor or Solorese, is a Central Malayo-Polynesian dialect cluster of Flores, Indonesia. The varieties may not be all mutually intelligible; Keraf (1978) reports that there are 18 languages under the name. [2]

Contents

The Lamaholot language shows evidence of a Papuan (non-Austronesian) substratum, with about 50 percent of the lexicon being non-Austronesian. [3]

Various Lamaholot dialects are presented as independent languages by Ethnologue. For example, Lewotobi is presented as a separate language by Ethnologue and Grimes (1997). [4] Nagaya (2011) disputes this, classifying it instead as a dialect of Lamaholot.

An additional dialect of Lamaholot not found in Ethnologue, Muhang, is spoken by the Ata Tana 'Ai people living in Sikka Regency. [5] The first children's book in Muhang, Walde Nenang Uran Wair was published in 2022. [6]

Lamaholot is similar to Sika to the west and Kedang to the east. Lamaholot dialects are often divided into three groupings: western (Flores), central (east Flores, Adonara, and Solor) and eastern (Lembata). Alorese (parts of the coast of northern Pantar and western Alor) is partially intelligible with Lamaholot and is often considered to be a dialect of it.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p ( t͡ʃ ) k ʔ
voiced b d ( d͡ʒ ) g
Fricative voiceless ( f ) s h
voiced ( v )
Nasal m n ( ɲ ) ŋ
Trill r
Lateral l
Approximant w j

Phonemes in parentheses are used in loanwords. [7]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ĩ u ũ
Mid ə ə̃ o õ
Open-mid ɛ ɛ̃
Open a ã

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References

  1. Alor at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Adonara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Lamalera at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Lamaholot at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Ile Ape at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Lewotobi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    (Additional references under 'Language codes' in the information box)
  2. Keraf, Gorys. 1978. Komposisi. Ph.D. dissertation, Flores.
  3. Hanna Fricke. 2019. The mixed lexicon of Lamaholot. 11th International Austronesian and Papuan Languages and Linguistics Conference (APLL11), 13-15 June 2019, Leiden University.
  4. Grimes, Charles (1997). A guide to the people and languages of Nusa Tenggara (PDF). Kupang: Artha Wacana Press.
  5. E. Douglas Lewis, People of the Source: The Social and Ceremonial Order of Tana Wai Brama on Flores. Foris Publications, 1988. "A small enclave of speakers of the Lamaholot (Solorese) language of Larantuka and East Flores, who are called Muhang by the Sikkanese, is found along the northern coast of the Tana 'Ai region of Sikka."
  6. Setelah Satu Tahun Tidak Bertemu, Inilah Saya.... Agnes Bemoe, April 2022.
  7. Kroon, Yosep B. (2016). A Grammar of Solor - Lamaholot: A Language of Flores, Eastern Indonesia. The University of Adelaide, Australia.

Bibliography