Banda language (Maluku)

Not to be confused with Banda languages.

Banda is an Austronesian language of the Central Maluku subgroup. Along with Kei, it is one of the two languages of the Kei Islands in the Indonesian province of Maluku.

Banda
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Kei Islands
Native speakers	(3,000 cited 1987)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian (MP) Central–Eastern MP Central Maluku East Central Maluku Banda
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bnd
Glottolog	band1355

Originally, the Banda language was spoken on the Banda Islands until the Dutch military campaign in 1621, during which almost all indigenous inhabitants were killed, enslaved or exiled. Survivors of the campaign found refuge on the island of Kei Besar, where the language is still in active use in the villages Banda Elat and Banda Eli.^[2]

Phonology

Consonants^[3]

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	p b	t d		k
Fricative	f	s
Nasal	m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Approximant	w	r, l	j

Vowels^[3]

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e		o
Low		a