← Language & communication Language & communication · Advanced English

Sumba–Hawu languages

Subgroup of the Austronesian languages

1 min
estimated reading
3
complete sections
16.45
algorithmic grade estimate

Before you read

Use the article and the local dictionary together

The complexity label is calculated from sentence length and syllable estimates; it is guidance, not an assessment of you. Open any highlighted word below for its full local dictionary page.

Words
110
Native text
934 characters
Dictionary match
56%
Revision
1274940636 · 2025-02-10T03:49:27Z
Key vocabulary

Words to check before reading

Overview

The Sumba–Hawu languages are a group of closely related Austronesian languages, spoken in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The most widely spoken Sumba–Hawu language is Kambera, with a quarter million speakers on the eastern half of Sumba Island. The Hawu language of Savu Island is suspected of having a non-Austronesian substratum, but perhaps not to a greater extent that other languages of central and eastern Flores, such as Sika, or indeed of Central Malayo-Polynesian in general.

Classification

The Sumba–Hawu languages are all closely related. Blust (2008) found convincing evidence for linking Kambera (representing the Sumba languages) with Hawu. *Sumba–Hawu **Hawu–Dhao ***Hawu ***Dhao **Sumba languages ***Central–East Sumbanese ****East Sumbanese: Kambera (dialect cluster) ****Mamboru ****Central Sumbanese *****Anakalangu *****Wanukaka *****Ponduk *****Baliledu ***Wejewa–Lamboya ***Kodi–Gaura

External links

* Sumba–Hawu at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019).

Language & communication

Continue with related local reading