Wolio | |
---|---|
Region | Sulawesi |
Native speakers | 65,000 (2004) [1] |
Austronesian
| |
Buri Wolio ( Arabic script) | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
wlo |
Glottolog |
woli1241 |
Wolio is an Austronesian language spoken in and around Baubau on Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. It belongs to the Wotu–Wolio branch of the Celebic subgroup. [2] [3] Also known as Buton, it is a trade language and the former court language of the Sultan at Baubau. Today it is an official regional language; street signs are written in the Buri Wolio alphabet, based on the Arabic script.
The five vowels are /i e a o u/. The consonant system is characterized by the presence of prenasalized stops, which are treated as a single sound in Wolio. [4]
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
Plosive | voiceless | plain | p | t | c | k | ʔ |
prenasalized | ᵐp | ⁿt | ᶮc | ᵑk | |||
voiced | plain | b | d | ɟ | g | ||
prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑg | |||
implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
Fricative | voiceless | f | s | h | |||
voiced | v | ||||||
Trill | r | ||||||
Lateral | l |
/b, d, f/ are found in loans, mostly from Arabic. [5]
Stress is on the penultimate syllable, and only open syllables are allowed. [6]
Wolio personal pronouns have one independent form, and three bound forms. [7]
independent | actor | object | possessive | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1.sg. | iaku | ku- | -aku | -ngku |
1.pl. incl. | ingkita | ta- | -kita | -ta |
1.pl. excl. | ingkami | ta- | -kami | -mami |
2.sg. | ingkoo | u- | -ko | -mu |
2.pl. | ingkomiu | u- | -komiu | -miu |
3. | incia | a- | -a/-ia | -na |
Number is not distinguished in third person. Optionally, plural number can be expressed by means of the plural-marker manga: manga incia 'they'. [8]