Balantak
Wurung Balantak
Native toIndonesia
RegionSulawesi
EthnicityBalantak people
Native speakers
30,000 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3blz
Glottologbala1315

Balantak is an Austronesian language spoken at the head of the eastern peninsula of Sulawesi. It is classified as a member of the Saluan-Banggai branch of the Celebic subgroup. The Balantak language is the primary language of the Balantak people. Although 90% of the population are also proficient in Indonesian, the vernacular is still vigorously used in everyday contexts, and most children only speak Balantak before entering school.[2]

Phonology

Balantak has the following phoneme inventory:[3]

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ ng
Plosive voiceless p t t͡ʃ c[lower-alpha 1] k ʔ '
voiced b d d͡ʒ j[lower-alpha 1] g
Fricative s h[lower-alpha 1]
Lateral l
Trill r
Approximant w j y
  1. 1 2 3 Only occur in loanwords
Vowels
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid ɛ e ɔ o
Low a

Sequences of like vowels are phonetically realized as long vowels, e.g. toop [tɔ:p] 'cigarette', nuur [nu:r] 'coconut'.

References

Further reading

  • Busenitz, Robert L.; Busenitz, Marilyn J. (1991). "Balantak Phonology and Morphophonemics" (PDF). In Sneddon, James N. (ed.). Studies in Sulawesi Linguistics, Part II. NUSA 33. Jakarta: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya. pp. 29–47.
  • van den Berg, René; Busenitz, Robert L. (2012). A Grammar of Balantak: A Language of Eastern Sulawesi. SIL e‑Books 40. Dallas: SIL International.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.