| Ambelau | |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Ambelau | |
| Native to | Indonesia (Maluku) |
| Region | Ambelau |
Native speakers | (5,700 cited 1989)[1] |
| none | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | amv |
| Glottolog | ambe1248 |
Ambelau (Indonesian:Bahasa Ambelau) is anAustronesian language; in 1989, it was spoken by about 5,700Ambelau people, of whom more than 5,000 lived on theIndonesian islandAmbelau (Indonesian:Pulau Ambelau) and most others in the village Wae Tawa of the nearby islandBuru (Indonesian:Pulau Buru).[3]
The language is traditionally classified in aCentral Maluku branch ofMalayo-Polynesian languages; more recent classifications have placed it with theSula–Buru languages.[2] Although Ambelau island is only 20 km away from the much larger Buru island (population 135,000), the Ambelau language is rather different from all languages and dialects of Buru. The preservation of the language was also unaffected by the fact that Ambelau people compose only half of the Ambelau island population, and the communication with theBugis and Javanese people composing the other half usually occurs in the official language of the country, Indonesian. The Ambelau language has no dialectal variation; so the Ambelau community on Buru island speaks identical language to that used on Ambelau. The language has no writing system.[3][4]
The most detailed study of Ambelau language was conducted in the 1980s by Charles E. Grimes and Barbara Dix Grimes – Australian missionaries and ethnographers, active members ofSIL International (they should not be confused with Joseph E. Grimes and Barbara F. Grimes, Charles' parents, also known Australian ethnographers).[5][6][7]