Buru language

Buru or Buruese (Indonesian: Bahasa Buru) is a Malayo-Polynesian languages of the Central Maluku branch. In 1991 it was spoken by approximately 45,000 Buru people who live on the Indonesian island of Buru (Indonesian: Pulau Buru).^[3] It is also preserved in the Buru communities on Ambon and some other Maluku Islands, as well as in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and in the Netherlands.^[4]

The most detailed study of Buru language was conducted in the 1980s by Charles E. Grimes and Barbara Dix Grimes – Australian missionaries and ethnographers, active members of SIL International (they should not be confused with Joseph E. Grimes and Barbara F. Grimes, Charles' parents, also known Australian ethnographers).^[5][6][7]

Dialects

Three dialects of Buru can be distinguished, each of which is used by its corresponding ethnic group on Buru island: Rana (named after the lake in the center of Buru; more than 14,000 speakers), Masarete (more than 9,500 speakers) and Wae Sama (more than 6,500 speakers). Some 3,000–5,000 of Rana people along with their main dialect use the so-called "secret dialect" Ligahan. The dialect of Fogi which once existed in the western area of the island is now extinct.^[8] Lexical differences between the dialects are relatively small: about 90% between Masarete and Wae Sama, 88% between Masarete and Rana and 80% between Wae Sama and Rana. Aside from native dialects, most Buru people, especially in the coastal regions and towns, have at least some understanding of the official language of the country, Indonesian. The coastal population also uses the Melayu Ambon, also known as Ambonese Malay^[4][9]

Naming and Taboo

Buru people, along with the Muslim or Christian names, also use traditional ones, the most common being Lesnussa, Latbual, Nurlatu, Lehalima, Wael and Sigmarlatu. The language has several sets of taboo words, which are both behavioral and linguistic. For example, relatives refer to each other by kin names, but not by proper names (i.e., father, but not Lesnussa). However, contrary to many other Austronesian cultures, Buru people do refer to the deceased relatives by name. Other restrictions apply to the objects of nature, harvest, hunting and fishing, for which certain words should be chosen depending on the island area. These taboos have explanations in associated myths of legends. In all cases, the words for taboo items are not omitted, but substituted by alternatives.^[8] All Buru dialects have loanwords. Many of them originated from Dutch and Portuguese during the Dutch colonization and referred to the objects not previously seen on the island. Other types of borrowed words came from Malayan languages as a result of inflow of people from the nearby island.^[8]

Phonology

The Buru Language has 5 vowels and 17 consonants.^[3] They are illustrated on the tables below:

Writing System

Contrary to other indigenous languages of Buru and the nearby island of Ambelau (Lisela, Kayeli and Ambelau), Buru has a functional writing system based on the Latin alphabet. Buru Christians worship with a Bible written in their native language, the first translations of which were made back in 1904 by Dutch missionaries.^[4]

Grammar

The Buru language can be classified as an SVO language, prepositional, with modifiers following the head noun in a noun phrase, and the genitive occurring before the noun.

Pronouns and Person Markers

Free pronouns may be used equally for the subject and object of intransitive verbs (marking either actor or undergoer).^[3]

Examples:

(1)	Yako	paha	ringe
	1SG	hit	3SG
	"I hit him."

(2)	Ringe	paha	yako
	1SG	hit	1SG
	"He hit me."

(3)	Yako	iko
	1SG	go
	"I go."

(4)	Sira	oli
	3PL	return
	"They come back."

(5)	Yako	glada
	1SG	hunger
	"I am hungry."

(6)	Ringe	mata
	3SG	die
	"He died."

Examples:

(7)	Ya	paha	ringe
	1SG	hit	3SG
	"I hit him."

(8)	da	paha	yako
	3SG	hit	1SG
	"He hit me."

(9)	ya	iko
	1SG	go
	"I go."

(10)	Du	oli
	3PL	return
	"They come back."

(11)	Ya	glada
	1SG	hunger
	"I am hungry."

(12)	Da	mata
	3SG	die
	"He died."

References

Further reading

• Grimes, Barbara Dix (1994). Buru inside out. In: Visser, L.E., ed. Halmahera and beyond. Leiden.