Serua is an almost extinct

Austronesian Austronesian may refer to: *The Austronesian languages *The historical Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, M ...

language originally spoken on Serua Island in Maluku, Indonesia. Speakers were relocated to

Seram Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...

due to volcanic activity on Serua. The language continues in communities in Waipia in Seram, where the islanders were resettled, along with those also from Nila and Teun. Here, the older generation retain the island language as a strong form of identity. At the end of WWII, many Seruans were relocated to the Netherlands. Having fought on the side of the Dutch during Indonesian independence, they became part of the KNIL resettlement. The TNS (Teun Nila Serua) groups maintain an island community in the Netherlands, but the language is not maintained.

Phrases

– 'How are you?' – 'I am well' – 'Money' – 'I have no money' – 'whisper' – 'Farewell till later, I will always wait for you.' A song of heave-ho to accompany pulling boats to shore:

Phrases

References

Further reading