TheSikka language orSikkanese, also known as Sika,^[2] is spoken by around 180,000 people of theSikaethnic group onFlores island inEast Nusa Tenggara province,Indonesia. It is a member of theCentral Malayo-Polynesian branch of theAustronesian language family.

Sikka is notable for being one of the few languages which contain a non-allophoniclabiodental flap. Like many other languages in eastern Indonesia, it shows evidence of having aPapuan (non-Austronesian)substratum, but in the case of Sika, this includes extreme morphological simplification and about 20% lexical replacement in basic vocabulary. It has been hypothesized that the Austronesian languages in that area could be descendants of a creole language, resulting from the intrusion of Austronesian languages into eastern Indonesia.^[3]

Sika has at least three recognized dialects:

• Sikka Natar, which is generally perceived in the region to be the most refined and most prestigious of the Sika speech varieties.
• Sara Krowe, spoken in the central hills of Sika-speaking people.
• Ata Tana 'Ai orSara Tana 'Ai, used by both outsiders and insiders to refer to the people and language of the region; it is also used as aritual language.^[2]

Sika has the following consonant phonemes:^[2]

Sika has the following vowel phonemes:^[2]

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