Sawai language
# Sawai language

The Sawai language (also Weda) is a South Halmahera language of the Austronesian language family spoken in the Weda and Gane Timor districts of southern Halmahera, northern Maluku Province, Indonesia. There are approximately 12,000 speakers.

## Sounds

Below is a description of the Kobe dialect of Sawai spoken in the villages of Lelilef Woyebulan and Kobe Peplis, as well as from Whistler (1995).

### Consonants

Sawai has 15 consonants:

| | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Stop | p b | t d | | k ɡ |
| Fricative | f | s | | |
| Nasal | m | n | | ŋ |
| Semivowel | w | | j | |
| Liquid | | l ɾ | | |

### Vowels

Sawai has eight vowels:

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| High | i | | u |
| High-Mid | e | ə | o |
| Low-Mid | ɛ | | ɔ |
| Low | | a | |

### Syllable

Sawai has the following syllable structure:

    (C)(C)V(C)

Examples:

| word | gloss | syllable type |
| - | - | - |
| /i/ | 's/he/it' | V |
| /in/ | 'fish' | VC |
| /wo/ | 'alcoholic drink' | CV |
| /npo/ | 's/he/it gives' | CCV |
| /kot/ | 'magic statue' | CVC |
| /nfan/ | 's/he/it goes' | CCVC |
