The Timoric languages are a group of Austronesian languages (belonging to the Central–Eastern subgroup) spoken on the islands of Timor, neighboring Wetar, and (depending on the classification) Southwest Maluku to the east.
Timoric | |
---|---|
Geographic distribution | Indonesia East Timor |
Linguistic classification | Austronesian |
Proto-language | Proto-Timoric |
Subdivisions | (disputed) |
Within the group, the languages with the most speakers are Uab Meto of West Timor, Indonesia and Tetum of East Timor, each with about half a million speakers, though in addition Tetum is an official language and a lingua franca among non-Tetum East Timorese.
Languages
Hull (1998) & van Engelenhoven (2009)
Geoffrey Hull (1998) proposes a Timoric group as follows:
- Timoric
- Timoric A ("Extra-Ramelaic", Fabronic; whatever is not Ramelaic)
- Timoric B ("Ramelaic", near the Ramelau range)
Van Engelenhoven (2009) accepts Hull's classification, but further includes Makuva and the Luangic–Kisaric languages (Kisar, Romang, Luang, Wetan, Leti) in the Eastern branch of Timoric A.[1]
Taber (1993)
In a lexicostatistical classification of the languages of Southwest Maluku, Taber (1993:396) posits a "Southwest Maluku" branch of the Timoric languages, that comprises all languages of the area, except for West Damar and the Babar languages.
- Timoric
- (other branches of CMP, including Babar languages and West Damar)
Edwards (2021)
Edwards (2021) divides the languages of Timor and Southwest Maluku into two main branches, Central Timor and Timor–Babar:[3]
References
- Hull, Geoffrey. 1998. "The basic lexical affinities of Timor's Austronesian languages: a preliminary investigation." Studies in Languages and Cultures of East Timor 1:97–202.
- 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.
External links
- LexiRumah (part of the Lesser Sunda linguistic databases)
- Reconstructing the past through languages of the present: the Lesser Sunda Islands
- The Languages of East Timor: Some Basic Facts (Revised 24.8.2004) Geoffrey Hull