Tulehu language

Tulehu
Souw Aman Teru
Native toIndonesia
RegionAmbon Island, Maluku
Native speakers
(19,000 cited 1987)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3tlu
Glottologtule1244

Tulehu (also known as Souw Aman Teru; literally means "the language of three villages") is an Austronesian language spoken on Ambon Island in eastern Indonesia, part of a dialect chain of Seram Island.

Tulehu is also the name of a village; each of the villages, Tulehu, Liang, Tengah-Tengah, and Tial, is said to have its own dialect.

Phonology

Tulehu consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p t k ʔ
Nasal m n ŋ
Fricative s h
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Approximant w j

Voiced stops can also be heard from loanwords.[2]

Tulehu vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

References

  1. ^ Tulehu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Musgrave, Simon (2015). Placename Narratives and Identity in North East Ambon Island (PDF). Paper presented at ICAL 13, Academica Sinica, Taipei.