Yamdena language

Yamdena
Yamdena
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Maluku Islands
Native speakers	69,000 (2023)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian (MP) Central–Eastern MP Kei–Tanimbar Yamdena–North Bomberai Yamdena; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	jmd
Glottolog	yamd1240

Last updated November 10, 2025

Yamdena is an Austronesian language of Yamdena and surrounding islands in the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. In 1991, there were an estimated 25,000 speakers of the language. Current BPS data has the present number of speakers at 69,000.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k
	voiced	b	d
	prenasal	ᵐp	ⁿd
Fricative		f	s
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Rhotic			r
Lateral			l
Approximant		w		j

Stops /b,t/ can very rarely be realized as coarticulated sounds [ɡ͡b,k͡t] by some speakers.
/m/ can be heard as voiceless [m̥] in free variation when before initial voiceless stops, or after voiceless stops.
/ŋ/ is heard as labialized [ŋʷ] when occurring before liquids, or in word-final position.
/r/ can be heard as [ɺ] in free variation intervocalically, and as [ɾ] when before voiceless consonants.
/d,ⁿd/ when occurring before /i/ can also be heard as palatal stops [ɟ,ᶮɟ].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

Vowels /a,o/ can be heard as [ə] within unstressed syllables.
/i/ can be heard as [ɪ] word-finally, after vowels.
/o/ can be heard as [ɔ] when before /r/.^[2]

References

↑ Yamdena at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
↑ Mettler, Heidi & Anton (1990). Yamdena phonology. Workpapers in Indonesian Languages and Cultures 8: Pattimura University. pp. 29–79.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

External links

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[e18-1] Yamdena at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Mettler, Heidi & Anton (1990). Yamdena phonology. Workpapers in Indonesian Languages and Cultures 8: Pattimura University. pp. 29–79.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

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