Wetarese is an Austronesian language of Wetar, an island in the south Maluku, Indonesia, and of the nearby island Liran.

Background

The four identified principal varieties of Wetarese on Wetar Aputai, Iliʼuun, Perai and Tugun are distinct enough that some may consider them to be different languages.

Wetarese is closely related to Galoli (spoken on the north coast of East Timor and by an immigrant community on the south coast of Wetar) and to Atauran (spoken on Atauro island).

Phonology

The following represents the Tugun dialect:

Consonants

• may also be heard as in free variation.

• is mainly heard as in word-final position or in slower speech, it is heard as elsewhere.

• only occurs in word-medial positions.

Vowels

• Sounds are also heard as .

Citations

References