Fataluku language

Fataluku
Region	Eastern East Timor
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

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.

It has a considerable amount 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]