Salawati

Salawati is an Austronesian language spoken on Salawati Island, in the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesian New Guinea. There is some uncertainty as to whether the dialects comprise a single language or two separate ones (divided geographically between the west and east sides of the island).

Salawati is a vulnerable-to-endangered language (6b-7 on the EGIDS scale), with younger community members having only a passive command of the language. Anecdotal reports suggest that younger speakers may be learning the language in some Tepin-dialect villages, but these reports are unconfirmed.

Like its related languages of the Raja Ampat Islands, Salawati has approximately 15 consonants and 5-6 vowels and lexical tone. It is mainly head-initial in noun phrases, and primarily uses prepositions over postpositions.

From Wikipedia · Salawati language · CC BY-SA 4.0