| Ternate | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Indonesia |
| Region | North Maluku, islands of Ternate and some areas of Halmahera. |
| Coordinates | |
| Native speakers | unknown (42,000 cited 1981) |
| Language family |
West Papuan
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tft |
Ternate of eastern Indonesia is a language centered on the island of Ternate but also spoken in neighboring areas such as Kayoa, Bacan, Halmahera and other areas in North Maluku. It is used by Sultanate of Ternate, famous for its role in spice trade.
A Papuan language, Ternate is unlike most language spoken in Indonesia, which belong to the Austronesian language family. It appears to be related to languages spoken in Bird's Head peninsula in Papua.[1]
It is closely related to Tidore, which spoken in its southern neighboring island of the same name.
This language is distinct from Ternate Malay, which is a variation of Malay language. Most inhabitants of Ternate use Ternate language as first language but will use Ternate Malay for inter-ethnic or trade communication.[2]