Buol (Bual, Bwo’ol, Bwool, Dia) is an Austronesian language spoken in northwestern Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Buol
Apadu Vuolo
Pronunciation['apadu 'βuɔʎɔ]
Native toIndonesia
RegionBuol Regency, Central Sulawesi
Native speakers
96,000 (2000 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3blf
Glottologbuol1237
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Phonology

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The vowels of Buol are /a e i o u/.[2] Stress falls on penultimate syllable, with sequence of like vowels counting as one syllable.

The consonants are as follows:

Buol Consonants
Labial Apical Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p k (ʔ)
voiced b d () ɡ
Fricative β (s) (h)
Approximant l j w
Trill r

/dʒ/ occurs in loans. /h/, /s/, /ʔ/ are found in loans and a small number of native words, such as /buahaŋa/ 'k.o. cricket', /sio/ 'nine', /naʔal/ 'bark slippers'.

/β/ only occurs before /u/, but there are near-minimal pairs such as /βuŋo/ 'fruit', /buŋol/ 'leaf'.

/l/ is pronounced [l] after a front vowel, as in [dila] 'tongue'; [ɽ] if not preceded, but followed by a front vowel, as in [aɽe] 'chin'; and [ʎ] elsewhere. However, there is an exception with the sequences /lala, lola, lolo/, where the first /l/ is pronounced [l], as in /lolo/ [loʎo] 'face'.

References

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  1. ^ Buol at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Zobel, Erik (2005). "Buol". In Adelaar, K. Alexander; Himmelmann, Nikolaus (eds.). The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar. London: Routledge. pp. 625–648. ISBN 0-7007-1286-0.

Further reading

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  • Ahmad, Garantjang; Arnir Kadir; Dahlan Kajia; Zohra Mahmud (1986). Struktur Bahasa Buol [Buol Language Structure] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa.