Sula (Sanana) is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Central Maluku branch. It is related to the Buru language. Sula is spoken mainly on the Sulabesi, with the Sanana as its center.
It is definitely endangered, currently under pressure from the local variety of Malay, known as Sula Malay.[2]
Sula has borrowed many lexical items from Ambonese Malay, as well as Ternate, a more dominant language of North Maluku.[2]: 141, 342–535 Dutch loans have entered the language too, perhaps through Malay and Ternate. Standard Indonesian has also been influential.[2]: 141
Mangole is sometimes listed as a distinct language.[2]: 50
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | tʃ | k | ʔ |
| voiced | b | d | dʒ | ɡ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Fricative | f | s | (ʃ) | h | ||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||
Voiced consonant sounds /b d ɡ/ may also be heard as devoiced [b̥ d̥ ɡ̊] in word-final position.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
/e/ can also be heard as [ɛ] in lax form.[2]
References
Further reading
- Bloyd, Tobias (2020). Sula: Its Language, Land, and People (PhD thesis). University of Hawai'i at Manoa. hdl:10125/69017.