Kula language

Not to be confused with Kula language (Bantu), Kula language (Australian), or Kula language (Vanuatu).

Kula (Kola) or Lamtoka (Lantoka), also known as Tanglapui, is a Papuan language spoken in villages on the north coast, south coast and mountainous interior of Alor Island in Indonesia. Dialects are Kula proper, Kulatela, Watena, Kula Watena, Iramang, Larena, Sumang, and Arumaka. Most settlements where Kula is spoken are "new villages" that have only been inhabited since the 1960s. Due to this recent resettlement, and since usage of the language is discouraged in schools, Kula is an endangered language.^[2]

Kula
Tanglapui
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Alor Island
Native speakers	(5,000 cited 1997)[1]
Language family	Trans–New Guinea ? West Bomberai ? Timor–Alor–Pantar Alor–Pantar Alor East Tanglapui Kula
Language codes
ISO 639-3	tpg
Glottolog	kula1280
ELP	Kula

Phonology

The data in this section are taken from Williams (2017).^[2] Phonemes in brackets are "marginal phonemes".

Consonants

Consonant phonemes

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
					plain	labial
Nasal		m	n		ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k	(kʷ) ⟨kw⟩
	voiced	b	d		g	(gʷ) ⟨gw⟩
Affricate				(d͡ʒ) ⟨j⟩
Fricative		(β) ⟨w⟩	s
Liquid	trill		(r)
	lateral		l
Semivowel				j ⟨y⟩		w

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
	ɪ ⟨í⟩
Mid	e		o
Low		ɐ ⟨á⟩
		a