Tehit

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A language of Indonesia

ISO 639-3
kps
Alternate Names
Kaibus, Tahit, Tehid, Teminabuan
Population

10,000 (2000 R. Hesse). 500 monolinguals.

Location

Papua Province, southwest Bird’s Head, Sorong regency, most of Teminabuan subdistrict, half of Sawiat subdistrict. About 31 villages.

Language Maps
Language Status

6b (Threatened).

Classification
West Papuan, West Bird’s Head
Dialects

Fkar, Imyan, Mbol Fle, Saifi, Sawiat Salmeit, Sfa Riere, Tehit Jit. Most similar to Kalabra [kzz]. Lexical similarity: 60% with Kalabra.

Language Use

Vigorous. Parents in villages in the interior pass Tehit on to children. In villages bordering towns, Indonesian [ind] used with children. Users of neighboring languages learn Tehit. All domains. Positive attitudes. Also use Indonesian [ind] or Mai Brat [ayz]. 1% speak Dutch [nld] or English [eng]. Schools in Indonesian, though most teachers speak Tehit. Indonesian is the LWC.

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 5%. Literacy rate in L2: 15%–25%. Taught in primary schools. Bible portions: 1998.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Tehit
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Christian, traditional religion.