From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tarangan
Native to Indonesia
Region Aru Islands
Native speakers
14,000 (2011) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
tre – East Tarangan
txn – West Tarangan
Glottolog east2465  East
west2538  West

Tarangan is one of the Aru languages, spoken by inhabitants of the Aru Islands in eastern Indonesia. There are two varieties of Tarangan: East and West Tarangan. These varieties are divergent, perhaps no closer than they are to Manombai, also spoken in the Arus. West Tarangan is a trade language of the southern islands. [2]

Phonology

The following is the description for West Tarangan: [3]

Consonants

Consonant phonemes [3]
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless ( p) k ( ʔ)
voiced b d ( ) ( ɡ)
Fricative ɸ s
Flap ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant j w
  • /k/ can occur as a glottal [ ʔ] intervocalically between two non-high vowels. [3]
  • /ɸ/ is heard as a stop [ p] syllable-final position. [3]
  • /w j/ are heard as voiced stops [ ɡ ] in word-initial position and within a stressed noninitial syllable onset. [3]

Vowels

Vowel phonemes [3]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a
  • /a i/ in unstressed positions are heard as [ ə ɪ]. [3]
  • Sounds /e o/ are phonetically [e̝ o̝]. [3]

References

  1. ^ East Tarangan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    West Tarangan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Hughes, Jock (1987). "The languages of Kei, Tanimbar and Aru: Lexicostatistic classification" (PDF). In Soenjono Dardjowidjojo (ed.). Miscellaneous studies of Indonesian and other languages in Indonesia, part 9. NUSA 27. Jakarta: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya. pp. 71–111.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Nivens, Richard (1992). "A Lexical Phonology of West Tarangan". Phonological Studies in Four Languages of Maluku. Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington.