| Sumba | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Indonesia |
| Linguistic classification: | Austronesian |
| Subdivisions: |
Savu
Sumba Island
|
The Sumba languages are a group of clearly related Central Malayo-Polynesian languages.
The most widely spoken Sumba language is Kambera, with a quarter million speakers on the eastern half of Sumba Island.[1]
The Hawu language of Savu Island is suspected of having a non-Austronesian substratum, but perhaps not to a greater extent that other languages of central and eastern Flores, such as Sika, or indeed of Central Malayo-Polynesian in general.
The Sumba languages are all closely related. Blust (2009)[2] found full support for linking Sumba with Hawu, the most divergent language, and a 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database[3] found 99% support for the same.