Serua language

Serua
Serua
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Seram Island
Extinct	(date missing)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Central–Eastern Timoric Southwest Maluku Teun–Nila–Serua Serua; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	srw
Linguist List	srw.html
Glottolog	seru1245

Serua is an extinct Austronesian language originally spoken on Serua Island in Maluku, Indonesia. Speakers were relocated to Seram due to volcanic activity on Serua. The language continues in communities in Waipia in Seram, where the islanders were resettled, along with those also from Nila and Teun. Here, the older generation retained the island language as a strong form of identity. It was found to be extinct in 2024.^[2]

At the end of WWII, many Seruans were relocated to the Netherlands. Having fought on the side of the Dutch during Indonesian independence, they became part of the KNIL resettlement. The TNS (Teun Nila Serua) groups maintain an island community in the Netherlands, but the language is not maintained.

Phrases

Noko may – 'How are you?'

Mel melleh taroʼoh – 'I am well'

Kupna – 'Money'

Kupna tell tella waitna – 'I have no money'

Wauka – 'whisper'

Ternosri. Am salalu metoranowa – 'Farewell till later, I will always wait for you.'

A song of heave-ho to accompany pulling boats to shore: Wauka, wauke; Tiki lowati, Sapi lowati; Timore; Timotei; Wateo^[3]

References

^ Serua at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
^ "11 Indigenous Languages Declared Extinct: Education Ministry". Jakarta Globe. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
^ Taber, Mark (1993). "Toward a better understanding of the Indigenous Languages of Southwestern Maluku". Oceanic Linguistics. 32 (2): 389–441. doi:10.2307/3623199. JSTOR 3623199.

Phrases

References

Further reading