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Western Pantar speaker and linguist Mahalel Lammakoly
Western Pantar (also known as Lamma; ISO 693-3 lev) is a Papuan language spoken in the western part of Pantar island in the Alor archipelago of Indonesia. Western Pantar is spoken widely in the region by at least 10000 speakers.
[edit] Dialects
There are three primary dialects.
- Tubbe (spoken in Puntaru and Air Panas)
- Mauta (spoken in Kakamauta, Alimakke, Lauki, Kapas, Kolihabbang, and Alikallang)
- Lamma (spoken in Kalondama and Latuna)
Dialect differences are primarily lexical:
| Tubbe |
Mauta |
Lamma |
|
| niar |
nisser |
niba |
‘my father’ |
| niaku |
nebu |
nekul |
‘my younger sibling’ |
| niu |
niau |
nau |
‘my mother’ |
| ganiaka |
ganeka(r) |
ginaka |
‘see (it)’ |
| dia |
si |
yel |
‘go’ |
[edit] Sound System
The Western Pantar consonant inventory includes: voiced and voiceless stops /p t k ’/ and /b d g/; voiceless fricatives /s h/; nasals /n m ng/; trill /r/ and lateral /l/; and glides/w/ and /y/.
| |
labial |
alveolar |
velar |
glottal |
| plosive |
p |
t |
k |
' |
| b |
d |
g |
|
| fricative |
|
s |
|
h |
| nasal |
m |
n |
ng |
|
| liquid |
|
r |
|
|
| |
l |
|
|
| approximant |
w |
|
y |
|
The glottal fricative /h/ is very lightly articulated. It occurs in both word-initial and word-medial positions. Words which begin with a glottal fricative can be difficult to distinguish from vowel-initial forms, which actually begin with a glottal stop.
| ai ‘clothing louse’ |
hai ‘boat’ |
| ar ‘root’ |
har ‘for you’ |
| abbang ‘shake’ |
habbang ‘village’ |
Consonants /p t k b d g s m n l/ contrast in length with longer (geminate) counterparts (written double).
| duba ‘slippery’ |
dubba ‘push’ |
| dake ‘now’ |
dakke ‘dry pandanus’ |
| dala ‘ripe’ |
dalla ‘tomorrow’ |
| asi ‘roof thatch’ |
assi ‘bite you’ |
| wenang ‘old man’ |
wannang ‘near’ |
[edit] Grammar
[edit] Numbers
[edit] Classification
Together with the other Papuan languages of Alor and Pantar, Western Pantar has been tentatively classified as part of the Trans-New Guinea family.
[edit] References
- Grimes, Charles E., Tom Therik, Barbara Dix Grimes & Max Jacob. 1997. A guide to the people and languages of Nusa Tenggara. (Paradigma series B 1). Kupang, Indonesia: Universitas Kristen Artha Wacana and Alfa Omega Foundation.
- Stokhof, W. A. L. 1975. Preliminary notes on the Alor and Pantar languages (East Indonesia). (Pacific Linguistics B-43). Canberra: Australian National University.
[edit] External links
