Selaru
PrintA language of Indonesia
ISO 639-3
Alternate Names
Salaru
Population
8,000 (2001 SIL).
Location
Southest Maluku Province, at least 6 villages. Tanimbar island group; Selaru island off southwest tip of main island Yamdena; Yamdena island itself; Nuswotar island off Yamdena west coast. Some in Saumlake, Ambon towns.
Language Maps
Language Status
6b (Threatened).
Classification
Dialects
Kandar. Slight dialect differences. Not closely related to nearby languages. Lexical similarity: 56% with Seluwasan [sws].
Language Use
Vigorous.
Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: 25%–50%. Grammar. Bible portions: 1997–2010.
Writing
Latin script.
Christian.