It is not mutually intelligible with Blagar, which is spoken on the north side of Pura Island, and is unrelated to Alorese, which is spoken on the north side of Ternate.[citation needed]
Classification
Retta is a member of the Timor–Alor–Pantar languages, a group of approximately 30 languages at the western edge of the Papuan languages (the non-Austronesian languages of New Guinea and surrounding islands). It is part of the Alor–Pantar branch within the TAP languages. Bayesian analysis suggests that Retta is most closely related to the Blagar language, followed by the Pura language. These three languages, called the "Straits languages", form a group apart from the Pantar languages.[1]:146–147[2]:275,298–299
Geographic distribution
Retta is spoken in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. It is primarily spoken on two small islands, Pura and Ternate[a], plus two recent nearby settlements on the coast of Alor facing the islands. The language's namesake village, Retta, is on the southern coast of Pura.[1]:147
Phonology
Consonants
Retta has 16 consonants, which is a larger consonant inventory than most Alor–Pantar languages:[3]:190–191
The palatal approximant [j] also occurs in Retta (and Blagar) but is analyzed as an allophone of the vowel /i/ rather than a separate phoneme. /s/ occurs mostly in loanwords or other non-native words.[3]:190–191
Vowels
Retta has eight single vowels (monophthongs), which differ in length, height, and backness. Three are always long vowels (eːoːaː), two are always short vowels (ɛɔ), and the remaining three are short in most contexts but can be made long via phonological processes.[3]:193
Retta has both diphthongs (two vowels within a single syllable) and vowel sequences (two adjacent vowels in separate syllables). All attested diphthongs move from low-to-high or back-to-front, and the high vowels /i/ and /u/ may manifest as the glides [j] and [w] in diphthongs.[3]:194
Phonological processes
Like many other languages, Retta features nasal place assimilation, in which a nasal's place of articulation (optionally) moves to the place of a neighboring consonant. It does not require consonants at the start of a word, but if there is no word-initial consonant, the initial vowel is pre-aspirated. For instance, 'fruit' is underlyingly /aːhi/ but is pronounced as [ʰaːhi]. This pre-aspiration is distinct from a word-initial voiceless glottal fricative [h]; [ʰaːhi] 'fruit' forms a minimal pair with [haːhi] 'rough'.[3]:191
Morphology
Sound-symbolic contrast
Retta has a unique non-productive morphophonological process. In approximately 30 words, replacing an /l/ sound with an /r/ sound changes the meaning of the word, increasing its "vulgarity, severity, force of action, or size". Examples include:[3]:191
L-to-R intensification in Retta
L gloss
L form
R form
R gloss
pull
bili
biri
pull hard, yank
not good
ɓɛlɑ
ɓɛrɑ
bad, terrible
break it
gɑlɑbvɑk
gɑrɑbvɑk
destroy it
penis
-oːl
-oːr
penis (vulgar)
Reduplication
A common morphological process in Retta is reduplication. Both partial and full reduplication is observed in Retta. Reduplication has a variety of meanings depending on the word being reduplicated, and reduplication can occur on nouns, verbs, interrogatives, and numbers.[3]:198–201
Retta is considered endangered, and is used primarily by older generations. The Indonesian government has piloted language revitalization programs include writing and teaching Retta songs.[4]
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