| Lisela | |
|---|---|
| Li Enyorot | |
| Native to | Indonesia,Maluku |
| Region | Buru Island |
Native speakers | (12,000 cited 1989)[1] |
| none | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | lcl |
| Glottolog | lise1239 |
| ELP | Lisela |
Lisela (Indonesian:bahasa Lisela), also called Li Enyorot,[2] is anAustronesian language; in 1989 it was spoken by about 11,900Lisela people mostly living in the northern part ofIndonesian islandBuru (Indonesian:Pulau Buru). It is also preserved among the small Lisela community on theAmbon Island.[3]
The language belongs to theSula–Buru group ofCentral Maluku branch ofMalayo-Polynesian languages. It has two dialects, major Lisela and minor Tagalisa, the latter is used by the inhabitants of the north-east coast of Buru.[3][4][5] The language is dying as most Lisela people switch either to the national language of Indonesia,Indonesian, or to the Ambonese variety of theMalay language (Melayu Ambon). The latter is widely used in theMaluku Islands as a lingua franca and is a local form of Malay with additions of the local lexicon.[3][4]
The language most closely related to Lisela isBuru, especially its dialectMasarete – their lexical similarity is 68%.[6] Thus many sources regard Lisela as a dialect, though the most diverging, of Buru. Lisela had also borrowed much from the Sula language, as a result of the interaction between the Lisela and Sula people living together as the northern Buru coast.[2] The language has no writing system. The most detailed study of Lisela 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).[7][8][9]