Fataluku language

Fataluku (also known as Dagaga, Dagoda', Dagada) is a Papuan language spoken by approximately 37,000 people of Fataluku ethnicity in the eastern areas of East Timor, especially around Lospalos. It is a member of the Timor-Alor-Pantar language family, which includes languages spoken both in East Timor and nearby regions of Indonesia.^[2] Fataluku's closest relative is Oirata,^[3] spoken on Kisar island, in the Moluccas of Indonesia.^[4] Fataluku is given the status of a national language under the constitution. Speakers of Fataluku normally have a command of Tetum and/or Indonesian,^[5] those speakers who are educated under Portuguese rule or from younger generation educated under Portuguese-language educational system during independence speak Portuguese.

Fataluku
Region	Eastern East Timor
Ethnicity	Fataluku people
Native speakers	48,000 (2020)[1] regional usage
Language family	Trans–New Guinea ? West Bomberai ? Timor–Alor–Pantar Eastern Timor Oirata–Fataluku Fataluku–Rusenu Fataluku
Official status
Recognised minority language in	East Timor
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ddg
Glottolog	fata1247
Distribution of Fataluku in East Timor

It has a considerable number of Austronesian loanwords, and it has borrowed elements of Sanskrit and Arabic vocabulary via Malay and elements of Portuguese.^[3]

The five main Fataluku dialects are identified as follows: East Fataluku, South Fataluku, Central Fataluku, North Fataluku and Northwest Fataluku.^[6] The differences that exist between these dialects, especially beyond phonology, are unclear and require more research. Dialects differ with respect to the phonetic realization of palatal obstruents, the presence of a glottal stop phoneme and a voicing distinction in stops, as well as aspects of the stress system.^[7]

Phonology

Vowels

Fataluku vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i /i/		u /u/
Mid	e /e/		o /o/
Open		a /a/

Consonants

Fataluku consonants

		Bilabial	Labiodental	Coronal	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasals		m /m/		n /n/
Plosive		p /p/		t /t/		k /k/	' /ʔ/
Affricates	voiceless			c /t͡s/[a]	c[b] /t͡ʃ/[a]
	voiced				j /d͡ʒ/
Fricatives	voiceless		f /f/	s /s/			h /h/
	voiced	v /β/[c]	v /v/[c]	z /z/
Flap			v /ⱱ/[c]	r /ɾ/
Lateral				l /l/
Semivowel		v /w/[c]			y /j/

1. Pronunciation of ⟨c⟩ varies in dialects.
2. Spelled ⟨tj⟩ in Nácher orthography.
3. Pronunciation of ⟨v⟩ varies in dialects.

Words and phrases

In the examples below, the letter 'c' and the letter combination 'tx' are pronounced as the 'ch' in the English word 'church'.

Rau ana kapare? / e nicha rau rau / maice ana umpe? "how are you?"
Rau "good"
Kapare "not good"
Hó "yes"
Xaparau "thank you"
Tali even xaparau "thank you very much"
nitawane "you're welcome"
Favoruni "please"
itu nae tini "excuse me"
Ó lai'i "hello"
mua toto, ia toto,purupale " take care"
Kois ta niat ali fanuhene "see you later"

Pronoun						                Possessive pronoun 						
I   :		Aniri/Ana					My: Ahani			
You :		Eri (singular), Iri (plural)			Your:  Eheni(sing), Eheniere (plur) 
We  :		Iniri (excl), Afiri (inclusive) 		Our: Inihini (exc), Afihini: (incl) 
They : 		Tawari, Márafuri				Their: Their Tavarhini, Marafurhini
He/She :	Tavai, marí, mármocoi				His/Her: Tavahini, Marmokoihini
It :		Iví						Its: Ivihini, Tavahini

Vaihoho Sung-Poems

Vaihoho is a sacred form of storytelling for the Fataluku people of Timor-Leste. Vaihoho or sung-stories has been the major form for continuing the Fataluku oral tradition. From 1999 to 2014, cultural leader Justino Valentim recorded a significant amount of Vaihoho material. Funded by the Modern Endangered Archives Program at the UCLA Library, a team from Many Hands International, led by in partnership with the University of Melbourne, digitized 17 field notebooks of sung-songs and five Fataluku language dictionaries collected by Valentim as well as notes, poems and photos involving the practice of Vaihoho.^[8] This collection is available digitally through the UCLA library.^[9]

See also

• Rusenu language
• Languages of East Timor