Sumba–Hawu languages

The Sumba–Hawu languages are a group of closely related Austronesian languages, spoken in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

Sumba–Hawu
Geographic
distribution
Indonesia
Linguistic classificationAustronesian
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottologsumb1242

The most widely spoken Sumba–Hawu language is Kambera,[1] with a quarter million speakers on the eastern half of Sumba Island.[2]

The Hawu language of Savu Island is suspected of having a non-Austronesian substratum, but perhaps not to a greater extent that other languages of central and eastern Flores, such as Sika, or indeed of Central Malayo-Polynesian in general.

Classification

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The Sumba–Hawu languages are all closely related. Blust (2008)[3] found convincing evidence for linking Kambera (representing the Sumba languages) with Hawu.

References

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  1. ^ Klamer, Marian (2005). "Kambera". In Adelaar, Karl Alexander; Himmelmann, Nikolaus (eds.). The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar. London: Routledge.
  2. ^ "Kambera" at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019).
  3. ^ Blust, Robert (2008). "Is There a Bima-Sumba Subgroup?". Oceanic Linguistics. 47 (1): 45–113. doi:10.1353/ol.0.0006. JSTOR 20172340. S2CID 144311741.
  4. ^ Asplund, Leif (2010). The Languages of Sumba. Paper presented at the East Nusantara Conference in Kupang.
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