Luang language

Luang
Luang
Literi Lagona
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Babar Islands
Native speakers	(18,000 cited 1995)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian (MP) Central–Eastern MP Timoric South–East Timor Luangic–Kisaric Luangic Luang; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Lakor; Luang; Moa; Wetan (Wetang);
Language codes
ISO 639-3	lex
Glottolog	luan1263
ELP	Luang

Luang, also known as Literi Lagona (Letri Lgona), is an Austronesian language spoken in the Leti Islands and the Babar Islands in Maluku, Indonesia. It is closely related to the neighboring Leti language, with 89% shared basic vocabulary.^[2]

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Dorsal	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t̪	k	ʔ
Plosive	voiced		d	ɡ
Fricative		f	s		h
Nasal		m	n
Trill			r
Lateral			l
Approximant		w		j

Palatalization and labialization [ʲ, ʷ] among sounds may occur when preceding glide sounds /w, j/.
/ɡ/ can be heard as [ɣ] in free variation.

/m, n/ can be heard as [ŋ] when preceding /k/.

/w/ can be heard as [ʋ] when preceding a consonant. It can be heard as [v] when between two high vowels, and can also be heard freely as [β] when between a non-high vowel and a high vowel.

/r/ can be heard as [ɾ] in fast speech.
/t̪, d/ when palatalized as [t̪ʲ, dʲ], can be heard as affricate sounds [tʃ, dʒ] when in fast speech.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

An epenthetical schwa [ə̆] can be heard in between homorganic consonants.

/e/ can be heard as [ɛ] word-medially in closed syllables, and in stressed and pre-stressed syllables.

/a/ can be heard as [ə] word-finally and in both stressed and post-stressed syllables.^[3]

References

^ Luang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Taber, Mark (1993). "Toward a Better Understanding of the Indigenous Languages of Southwestern Maluku." Oceanic Linguistics, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Winter, 1993), pp. 389–441. University of Hawai'i.
^ Taber, Kathleen & Mark (2015). Luang Grammar and Phonology Sketch. SIL International.

External links

Luang Bible
Taber, Kathleen B.; Taber, Mark H. (2015). Luang Grammar and Phonology Sketch. SIL e‑Books, 63. Dallas: SIL International.

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[e18-1] Luang at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Taber, Mark (1993). "Toward a Better Understanding of the Indigenous Languages of Southwestern Maluku." Oceanic Linguistics, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Winter, 1993), pp. 389–441. University of Hawai'i.

[3] Taber, Kathleen & Mark (2015). Luang Grammar and Phonology Sketch. SIL International.

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