Ethnologue

Banda

ISO 639-3

Population

3,000 (1987 SIL).

Location

Maluku province: Maluku Tenggara regency, Banda-Eli and Banda-Elat villages, possibly a third; Kei Besar island west and northeast.

Language Maps

Language Status

7 (Shifting).

Classification

Dialects

Eli, Elat. Different from other south Maluku languages.

Language Use

All domains. Also use Kei [kei]. Used as L2 by Kei [kei].

Language Resources

Writing

Unwritten [Qaax].

Other Comments

The people originally came from the Banda Islands, but the language is no longer spoken there. Muslim.