Katana VentraIP

Fataluku language

Fataluku (also known as Dagaga, Dagoda', Dagada) is a Papuan language spoken by approximately 37,000 people of Fataluku ethnicity in the eastern areas of East Timor, especially around Lospalos. It is a member of the Timor-Alor-Pantar language family, which includes languages spoken both in East Timor and nearby regions of Indonesia.[2] Fataluku's closest relative is Oirata,[3] spoken on Kisar island, in the Moluccas of Indonesia.[4] Fataluku is given the status of a national language under the constitution. Speakers of Fataluku normally have a command of Tetum and/or Indonesian,[5] those speakers who are educated under Portuguese rule or from younger generation educated under Portuguese-language educational system during independence speak Portuguese.

Fataluku

Eastern East Timor

48,000 (2020)[1]
regional usage

It has a considerable amount of Austronesian loanwords, and it has borrowed elements of Sanskrit and Arabic vocabulary via Malay and elements of Portuguese.[3]


The five main Fataluku dialects are identified as follows: East Fataluku, South Fataluku, Central Fataluku, North Fataluku and Northwest Fataluku. [6] The differences that exist between these dialects, especially beyond phonology, are unclear and require more research. Dialects differ with respect to the phonetic realization of palatal obstruents, the presence of a glottal stop phoneme and a voicing distinction in stops, as well as aspects of the stress system. [7]

¹ Spelled <tj> in Nácher orthography.

² Pronunciation of ⟨v⟩ and ⟨c⟩ varies in dialects.

Rusenu language

Languages of East Timor

Fataluku Language Project

Fataluku language website

Archived 2017-05-04 at the Wayback Machine

Fataluku community and language with Fataluku/English and English/Fataluku wordlists

Fataluku wordlist at the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database

Materials on Fataluku are included in the open access collection. (AC2) held by Paradisec.

Arthur Capell

are included in the Ros Dunlop collection held by Paradisec.

Songs in Fataluku

The UCLA Library Modern Endangered Archives Program collection of

Fataluku Language and Culture