Sama | |
---|---|
Sinama Bajaw |
|
Spoken in | Philippines, Malaysia |
Region | Tawi-Tawi and neighboring islands of the Sulu Archipelago (Sibutu, Siasi), Darvel Bay and north coast of Sabah |
Ethnicity | Sama, Banguingui |
Native speakers | 445,000 (2000–2007) |
Language family | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | variously: ssb – Southern Sama sml – Central Sama sse – Balangingi Sama |
Sama aka Inner Sulu Sama is the language of the Sama people of the Sulu Archipelago. There is some difference between the islands, and Ethnologue divides it into three languages based on mutual intelligibility. Pangutaran Sama to the west is more distinct.
The prestige dialect is that of Simunul.