title: Selayar language
text: # Selayar language
  
  Selayar or Selayarese is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by about 100,000 people on the island of Selayar in South Sulawesi province, $Indonesia.^{:210}$
  
  ## Phonology
  
  ### Vowels
  
  | | Front | Back |
  | - | - | - |
  | High | i | u |
  | Mid | e | o |
  | Low | a | a |
  
  Vowels are lengthened when stressed and in an open syllable.
  
  **Nasalization**
  
  Nasalization extends from nasal consonants to the following vowels, continuing until blocked by an intonation break or a consonant other than a glottal stop:
  
      [lamẽãĩʔĩ ãːsu] "A dog urinated on him."
      [sassaʔ lamẽãĩʔĩ | ʔaːsu lataiːʔiʔi] "A lizard urinated on him, and a dog defecated on $him."^{:225–226}$
  
  ### Consonants
  
  | | | Bilabial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |
  | Plosive | prenasalized | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᶮɟ | ᵑɡ | |
  | Plosive | voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | |
  | Plosive | voiceless | p | t̪ | | k | ʔ |
  | Fricative | Fricative | | s | | | h |
  | Lateral | Lateral | | l | | | |
  | Rhotic | Rhotic | | ɹ | | | |
  
  Of the coronals, the voiceless stop is dental, while the others are alveolar.
  
  ## Morphology
  
  Selayarese intransitive verbs index pronominal arguments via an absolutive $enclitic.^{:162}$
  
  a'lumpa'=a
  
  jump=1S
  
  a'lumpa'=a
  
  jump=1S
  
  'I jump'
  
  mangang=a
  
  tired=1S
  
  mangang=a
  
  tired=1S
  
  'I am tired'
  
  In transitive verbs the less agent-like argument is indexed by the absolutive $enclitic.^{:163}$
  
  ku=isse'=i
  
  1S=know=3S
  
  ku=isse'=i
  
  1S=know=3S
  
  'I know him'
  
  