There is some lexical influence from Malay and Ternate,[4][5][6] as well as the Indonesian national language.[7] It is a threatened language, with a shift to Manado Malay in the younger generation.[8] The moribund Lolak language has borrowed much of its lexicon from Mongondow, but appears to be more closely related to Gorontalo.[9][10]
Phonology
Mongondow has the following phoneme inventory:[11]
^Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019), "Lolak", Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22 ed.), Dallas, Texas: SIL International, archived from the original on 2019-06-06
Sneddon, J.N. (1989). "The North Sulawesi microgroups: In search of higher level connections". In Sneddon, J.N. (ed.). Studies in Sulawesi Linguistics I. NUSA 31. Jakarta: Badan Penyelenggara Seri NUSA. pp. 83–107.
Sneddon, J.N. (1991). "The position of Lolak". In Harlow, Ray (ed.). VICAL 2. Western Austronesian and Contact Languages. Papers from the Fifth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. Auckland: Linguistic Society of New Zealand. pp. 299–318. ISBN0-908928-00-9. OCLC59606647.
Usup, Hunggu Tadjuddin; Rompas, Henkie; Kuhon, J.; Moningkey-Rumambi, S.V.; Toding Datu, M.M.; Rattu, A.B.G. (1981). Morfologi dan Sintaksis bahasa Bolaang Mongondow (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. OCLC568558060.
Babcock, Tim (1990). "History: Colonial Stronghold in the North". In Volkman, Toby Alice; Caldwell, Ian (eds.). Sulawesi: Island Crossroads of Indonesia. Lincolnwood: Passport Books. pp. 192–193. ISBN0-8442-9906-5. OCLC26056424.