Timoric languages

The Timoric, or sometimes Timor–Babar, languages are a group of fifty Austronesian languages (belonging to the Central–Eastern subgroup) spoken on the islands of Timor, neighboring Wetar, and (depending on the classification) the Babar Islands to the east.

Not to be confused with Timor–Alor–Pantar languages.

Timoric
Timor–Babar
Geographic distribution	Indonesia, East Timor
Linguistic classification	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Central–Eastern Timoric
Subdivisions	(disputed)
Glottolog	None timo1260  (Ramelaic)[1] timo1259  (Fabronic/Extra-Ramelaic)[2]

Within the group, the languages with the most speakers are Uab Meto of West Timor 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

Unclassified Nauete is not close to other Timorese languages. Habu is structurally similar to Waima'a.

The Babar languages form their own group:

• Babar languages (see)

Hull (1998)

Geoffrey Hull (1998) proposes a Timoric group as follows:

• Ramelaic (near the Ramelau range)
  • West: Kemak, Tukudede
  • Central: Mambai
  • East (Idalaka): Idaté, Isní, Lakalei, Lolein
• Extra-Ramelaic (Fabronic; whatever is not Ramelaic)
  • West: Dawan (Uab Meto)–Amarasi, Helong, Roti (Bilba, Dengka, Lole, Ringgou, Dela-Oenale, Termanu, Tii)
  • Central: Tetun, Bekais
  • North: Wetar, Galoli
  • East: Kairui, Waimaha, Midiki; Luang, Makuva

Van Engelenhoven

Van Engelenhoven sets up a South–East Timor branch including Tetun, Waimaha, and Luangic–Kisaric; the latter is as follows:[3]

• South–East Timor
  • Tetun
  • Waimaha
  • Luangic–Kisaric
    • Kisar–Roma: Kisar, Romang
    • Luangic: Luang, Wetan, Leti

Taber (1993)

Languages of Timor Island

Taber (1993:396) gives a Southwest Maluku and Babar group as follows, along with West Damar as an isolate.

• Southwest Maluku group
  • East Damar
  • Wetar subgroup
    • Talur
    • Wetar cluster
      • Aputai
      • Perai
      • Tugun
      • Iliun
  • Kisar-Roma subgroup
    • Kisar
    • Roma
  • Luang
    • Leti
    • Luang
    • Wetan
  • TNS (Teun-Nila-Serua) subgroup
    • Teun
    • Nila-Serua cluster: Nila, Serua
• Babar group
  • North Babar subgroup
    • North Babar
    • Dai
    • Dawera-Daweloor
  • South Babar subgroup
    • Southwest Babar cluster
      • Emplawas
      • Tela-Masbuar
      • Imroing
    • Masela – Southeast Babar cluster
      • Southeast Babar
      • Serili
      • East Masela
      • Central Masela
• West Damar (isolate)

Edwards (2018)

Edwards (2018) proposes a Rote-Meto branch, with languages spoken on Rote Island and in West Timor.[4]

Rote-Meto

• West Rote-Meto
  • Dela, Oenale
  • Dengka-Meto
    • Dengka, Lelain
    • Meto
• Nuclear Rote
  • Tii, Lole
  • Termanu, Ba'a, Korbafo, Bokai, Talae, Keka
  • Bilbaa, Diu, Lelenuk
  • Rikou, Landu, Oepao

Edwards (2019) also proposes a Central Timor branch that includes the recently documented language Welaun.[5]

Central Timor

• Kemak, Tokodede, Mambae, Welaun

References

1. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Timoric B". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Timoric A". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
3. Adelaar 2005:26
4. Edwards, Owen (2018). Top-down Historical Phonology of Rote-Meto. JSEALS 11.1 (2018).
5. Edwards, Owen (2018). Reintroducing Welaun. Oceanic Linguistics, Volume 58, Number 1, June 2019, pp. 31-58. https://doi.org/10.1353/ol.2019.0002

• 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