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    Sahu language

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min
    Not to be confused with the Saho language.
    Sahu
    Native toIndonesia
    RegionHalmahera
    Native speakers
    		(7,500 cited 1987)[1]
    Language family
    West Papuan?
    • North Halmahera
      • Sahu
        • Sahu
    Dialects
    • Waioli
    • Pa'disua
    • Gamkonora
    • Tala'i
    • Ibu †
    Language codes
    ISO 639-3Either:
    saj – Sahu
    ibu – Ibu
    Glottologsahu1245  Sahu
    ibuu1240  Ibu
    ELPIbu

    Sahu (Sa’u, Sahu’u, Sau) is a North Halmahera language. Use is vigorous; dialects are Pa’disua (Palisua), Tala’i, Waioli, and Gamkonora. A fifth dialect, Ibu, used to be spoken near the mouth of the Ibu River.[2]

    Sahu has many Ternate loanwords, a historical legacy of the dominance of the Ternate Sultanate in the Moluccas.[3]

    Phonology[4][edit]

    Sahu, like other North Halmahera languages, is not a tonal language.

    Consonants[edit]

    Sahu consonant phonemes
    Labial Alveolar Palato-alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
    Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
    Plosive/Affricate voiceless p t tʃ k ʔ
    voiced b d dʒ ɡ
    implosive ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ
    Fricative voiceless f s
    Approximant central w j h
    lateral l
    Trill r

    When preceding /a/, /o/, and /u/, the consonants /d/, /ɗ/, and /l/ become retroflex (/ɖ/, /ᶑ/, and /ɭ/, respectively). The trill /r/ alternates freely with /ɾ/, but, according to Visser and Voorhoeve, /r/ is the more usual allophone. The glottal /h/ may be realized as the unvoiced uvular fricative /χ/ by educated speakers for certain words deriving from Arabic.

    Vowels[edit]

    Sahu vowel phonemes
    Front Central Back
    High i u
    Mid e ə o
    Low a

    The phoneme /ə/ is only found in loans (primarily from Indonesian).

    References[edit]

    1. ^ Sahu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
      Ibu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
    2. ^ Visser, L. E. and C.L. Voorhoeve. 1987. Sahu-Indonesian-English Dictionary and Sahu Grammar Sketch. Dordrecht: Foris.
    3. ^ Holton, Gary; Klamer, Marian (2018). "The Papuan languages of East Nusantara and the Bird's Head". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 569–640. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
    4. ^ Visser, L. E. and C.L. Voorhoeve. 1987. Sahu-Indonesian-English Dictionary and Sahu Grammar Sketch. Dordrecht: Foris.

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    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahu language
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