Kaupelanese
Kaupelanese, or basa
kaupèlan, is the mother tongue for the majority of Kaupelanese
people and, beside English, the official language of the Kingdom of
Kaupelan. It is an Austonesian language descendant of makuwa
(or old Kaupelanese), the lingua franca of the archipelago in the
fifteenth century. Kaupelanese has five dialects, Kauta (the standard
form), Haimarata (spoken in northern Kiwangar), Wisanyo (spoken in
western Wisanu), Palayanga (spoken in Nilau) and Terong (spoken in the
Terong islands).
Kaupelanese
is written in Kiwangar, a writing system derived from an
ancient Indian script introduced in Kaupelan in the tenth century. By
influence of European colonizers, the Roman alphabet is also largely
employed. Since 1960, an official transliteration of Kiwangar was adopted, replacing the
existing variants.
Atawodo
Atawodo
is a non-Austronesian language spoken in the small island of Homafak by
only 1,000 people in a bilingual community. It is the most endangered
language of Kaupelan. It is classified as a Trans-New Guinean
language, belonging to West
Trans-New Guinean, Banda-Arafuran,
Central and Hubic subdivisions. It is
related to Hubian and Belahu languages, spoken in Kiwangar before
the arrival of the Austronesian people. It is also related to Libaru,
the ancient language of Wisanu and Suduk, spoken in Nilau.
Forti
Spoken
in the eastern islands of Terong archipelago by about 30,000 people,
Forti is a creole of Portuguese, introduced in those islands in the 16th
century. It has influenced the Kaupelanese dialect spoken in the
eastern islands, Terong.
Hakerehe
Hakerehe,
spoken in the East of Hakerehe by approximately 2,000 people is one of
the non-Austronesian languages of Kaupelan. It is classified as a Trans-New
Guinean language, belonging to West Trans-New Guinean, Banda-Arafuran and Matutu-Hakerehe
subdivisions. It is derived of Matutu-Hakerehe language, spoken in the
eastern Terong islands in ancient times. Nowadays, it is considered an
endangered language.
Moinate
Moinate,
spoken in Central and Southwestern Nilau by about 17,000 people, is the
most divergent non-Austronesian language. Nowadays it is classified as
belonging to an isolate group of West Trans-New Guinea
branch of Trans-New Guinean phylum, influenced by some very
ancient Austronesian tongues. Moinate was strongly influenced by Suduk
and, lately, by the Kaupelanese dialect spoken in Nilau.
Suduk
Suduk,
spoken in central and eastern Nilau by around 13,000 people, is a
non-Austronesian language of the Trans-New Guinean phylum,
classified as belonging to the West Trans-New Guinea
branch and to Banda-Arafuran, Central and Southern
subdivisions. It is related to Atawodo and to the ancient
non-Austronesian languages of Kiwangar. There are two dialects, Suduk
Kelo or High Suduk, spoken in the central highlands and Suduk Paro or
Low Suduk, spoken in the Southeastern coast. Suduk was slightly
influenced by the language of the ancient realm of Tjanwadulan and
lately, by Kaupelanese.
Taumelan
Taumelan
is a creole language spoken in the eastern and northeastern
Kiwangar by approximately 170,000 people. Its basic structure and
vocabulary are derived from Ambon Malay spoken in Maluku Islands in the
eighteenth century. It has a substratum from Belahu, an ancient
aboriginal language of Kiwangar and a strong influence of Old and
Modern Kaupelanese. Some Arabic words are found in this language due to
the Muslim religion.
Waimahui
Although
Waimahui, spoken in the mountains of central Wisanu by about 30,000
people, is closely related to Kaupelanese, both languages are not
mutually intelligible. Waimahui is classified as belonging to Austronesian
family;
Central Eastern Malayo-Polynesian; Bandanic;
Western-Bandanic.
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Whether
you want to know more about Kaupelanese language or any other language
of Kaupelan or whether you have any comment, suggestion or correction
to do, please write to kaupelan@hotmail.com.
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