Kula language

Not to be confused with Kula language (Bantu), Kula language (Australian), or Kula language (Vanuatu).
Kula
Tanglapui
Native toIndonesia
RegionAlor Island
Native speakers
(5,000 cited 1997)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3tpg
Glottologkula1280
ELPKula

Kula (Kola) or Lamtoka (Lantoka), also known as Tanglapui, is a Papuan language spoken in villages on the north coast, south coast and mountainous interior of Alor Island in Indonesia. Dialects are Kula proper, Kulatela, Watena, Kula Watena, Iramang, Larena, Sumang, and Arumaka. Most settlements where Kula is spoken are "new villages" that have only been inhabited since the 1960s. Due to this recent resettlement, and since usage of the language is discouraged in schools, Kula is an endangered language.[2]

Phonology

The data in this section are taken from Williams (2017).[2] Phonemes in brackets are "marginal phonemes".

Consonants

Consonant phonemes
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
plain labial
Nasal m n ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive voiceless p t k (kʷ) ⟨kw⟩
voiced b d g (gʷ) ⟨gw⟩
Affricate (d͡ʒ) ⟨j⟩
Fricative (β) ⟨w⟩ s
Liquid trill (r)
lateral l
Semivowel j ⟨y⟩ w

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
ɪ ⟨í⟩
Mid e o
Low ɐ ⟨á⟩
a

References

  1. ^ Kula at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Williams, Nicholas J. (2017). "Kula". In Schapper, Antoinette (ed.). The Papuan Languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar: Volume 2. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 185–266.
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