Amarasi

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A language of Indonesia

ISO 639-3
aaz
Alternate Names
Timor Amarasi, Uab Meto
Population

70,000 (2011 UBB-GMIT).

Location

East Nusa Tenggara Province. Southwest tip, Timor island, 80 villages. Dialect locations: Kotos is central and east, Ro’is is west, Ro’is Tais Nonof is south, Ro’is Hero surrounded by Helong [heg] language area.

Language Maps
Language Status

5 (Developing).

Classification
Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Timor-Babar, Nuclear Timor, Uab Meto
Dialects

Kotos, Ro’is, Ro’is Hero (Kopa), Ro’is Tais Nonof. Part of Uab Meto language chain. Similar to Uab Meto [aoz] but with differences in phonology, vocabulary, and discourse, with semantic shifts, structural differences, intelligibility problems. Ro’is Tais Nonof dialect has intonation like Ro’is dialect, vocabulary like Kotos dialect.

Language Use

Some also use Indonesian [<a href=show_language.asp?code=ind>ind</a>].

Language Development
Poetry. Newspapers. Bible portions: 2002–2011.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Amarasi
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Interspersed with Helong [heg]. Most literature in Kotos dialect. Christian.