Kairui-Midiki language

Kairui-Midiki
RegionNortheast East Timor
Native speakers
18,600: 14,600 Midiki and 4,000 Kairui (2015 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3krd
Glottologkair1265
ELP
Distribution of Midiki
Distribution of Kairui
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Kairui-Midiki (also known simply as Midiki or Kairui, or Hoso by its speakers) is a language of East Timor spoken by 23,000 people in 2015, primarily in Venilale Administrative Post in Baucau, parts of the Viqueque Municipality, and suco Kairui (Manatuto Municipality).[1]

Kairui-Midiki is closely related to the Waima'a and Naueti languages. These four varieties' level of mutual intelligibility has led some to categorize them as dialects of a single language: Kawaimina.[2]

Kairui and Midiki were listed separately in the Timor-Leste 2010 Census, but are often considered dialects of a single language, in the literature named Kairui-Midiki.[3] Kairui is spoken in and around the village of that name in Manatuto, and Midiki is heard in of Lacluta, Liaruca and Venilale. In some districts the names Midiki and Kairui are used interchangeably.

Examples

Numerals [2]
Numeral Tetun Kairui Midiki
1 ida se se
2 rua kirua kairuo
3 tolu kitele kaitelu
4 haat kihoo kaihaa
5 lima kiliim kailime
6 neen kinee kainee
7 hitu kihiti kaihitu
8 walu kikoho kaikaha
9 sia kisia kaisiwe
10 sanulu bosé basé

References

  1. ^ a b Kairui-Midiki at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b Geoffrey Hull (2004-08-24). "The Languages of East Timor". Macquarie University. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20.
  3. ^ Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2023. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-sixth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.


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