Luang language

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]

Luang
Literi Lagona
Native toIndonesia
RegionBabar Islands
Native speakers
(18,000 cited 1995)[1]
Austronesian
Dialects
  • Lakor
  • Luang
  • Moa
  • Wetan (Wetang)
Language codes
ISO 639-3lex
Glottologluan1263
ELPLuang

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Dental/
Alveolar		 Dorsal Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t̪ k ʔ
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
  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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