lingvo.wikisort.org - Language

Kui is a Timor–Alor–Pantar language spoken in several enclaves on Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The language is called 'Masin lak' in Kui.[1] Although the exact number of speakers is unknown, Kui is an endangered language since speakers are shifting to Alor Malay.

Kui
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara
Native speakers	ca. 800[1]
Language family	Trans–New Guinea ? West Bomberai ? Timor–Alor–Pantar Alor–Pantar Alor Kui
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kvd
Glottolog	kuii1253
ELP	Kui (Indonesia)

Kui is mainly spoken in the towns of Moru, Bouraga and Lerabarang. Kirramung and Kui have some sort of dialect relationship, being considered by some as being the same language and some others as being two different languages. This is typical of Timor-Alor-Pantar (TAP) languages. It has verb-final word order which means that the verb comes last in a sentence, unlike in English where the verb usually comes in the middle.[2]

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant phonemes are shown in the chart below. Marginal phonemes are enclosed in parenthesis.[1]

Consonant phonemes

	Bilabial		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Plosive	p	b	t	d			k	g	(ʔ)
Fricative			s
Nasal		m		n		(ɲ)		ŋ
Affricate						(d͡ʒ)
Rhotic				r
Lateral approximant				l		(ʎ)
Approximant		w				j

Vowels

Monophthongs

Monophthong phonemes

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i • iː		u • uː
Close-mid	e		o • oː
Open-mid	ɛ • ɛː
Open		a • aː

References

---