The Piru Bay languages are a group of twenty
Malayo-Polynesian languages
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...
, spoken on
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon to the south and various districts (''kecamatan'') o ...
and around
Piru Bay on the island of
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 ...
. None of the languages have more than about twenty thousand speakers, and several are endangered with extinction.
Classification
The languages are as follows:
[James T. Collins. 1983. ''The historical relationships of the languages of Central Maluku, Indonesia.'' Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. (Pacific Linguistics: Series D-47.)]
*West Piru Bay (Seram and Ambon islands)
**
Asilulu
**Hoamoal:
Luhu (Piru),
Manipa
Manipa Island is an island in West Seram Regency, Maluku Province, Indonesia. It is located 8 km off the western coast of Kelang at the western end of Seram Island and 25 km off the western coast of Buru. Including adjacent small islands ...
;
Larike-Wakasihu,
Boano
*East Piru Bay
**
Sepa,
Teluti
**Solehua
***
Paulohi
***Seram Straits
****
Kaibobo
****Ambon:
Hitu,
Tulehu;
Laha,
Seit-Kaitetu
****Uliase (
Lease Islands
The Lease Islands, formerly called the Uliasers or Uliassers, are a group of three inhabited islands (and smaller uninhabited islets), lying immediately to the south of Seram and east of Ambon Island in the province of Maluku, in Indonesia. The ...
)
*****
Kamarian
*****Hatuhaha
******
Haruku
******Saparuan
*******Elpaputi:
Amahai,
Nusa Laut
Nusa Laut is the smallest inhabited island in the Lease Islands group east of Ambon, in Indonesia's Maluku province.
It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fringed ...
*******Saparua:
Saparua
Saparua is an island east of Ambon Island in the Indonesian province of Maluku; the island of Haruku lies between Saparua and Ambon. The main port is in the south at Kota Saparua. The island of Maolana is located near its southwestern side and ...
,
Latu
Many of the Piru Bay languages form a
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
.
References
Languages of Indonesia
Central Maluku languages
Seram Island
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