Ternate language
| Ternate | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Indonesia |
| Region | North Maluku, islands of Ternate and some areas of Halmahera. |
Native speakers | 42,000 (1981 Wurm and Hattori). |
West Papuan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tft |
| ELP | Ternate |
Ternate is a living language spoken in various places in eastern Indonesia, including the island of Ternate, Kayoa, Bacan, Halmahera and other areas in North Maluku. This language is used by Sultanate of Ternate, famous for its role in spice trade.
This language is considered to be part of the West Papuan language family. Therefore this language is unlike most language spoken in Indonesia, which belong to Austronesian language family, but rather related to language spoken in Bird's Head peninsula in Papua. [1]
It is closely related to Tidore, which spoken in its southern neighboring island of the same name.
This language is distinct from Ternate Malay, which is a variation of Malay language. Most inhabitants of Ternate use Ternate language as first language but will use Ternate Malay for inter-ethnic or trade communication. [2]
References
- ^ Lewis, M. Paul (2009). "Ternate - A language of Indonesia (Maluku)". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. SIL International.
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Litamahuputty, Betty (March 10, 2007). "Description of Ternate Malay". Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Jakarta station.
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