Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Alor
CLASSIFICATION		Timor-Alor-Pantar, Alor
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		adn
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “The Grammar of Adang: A Papuan Language Spoken on the Island of Alor East Nusa Tenggara - Indonesia” . Johnson Welem Haan (2001)

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
7,000
Native speakers worldwide

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Some situational variations or registers of Adang like pohang, pepel and baneharl no longer exist. Only two or three Adang speakers still have the knowledge of these language varieties. These varieties are no longer used in gatherings or events where they were formerly used. Such events are, for example, harvesting time for 'pepel' and also 'pohang'. One variety of Adang normally found in a traditional dance called 'holeng holeng' seems to have become extinct with the loss of the traditional dance itself.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

No government support

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

No institutional support

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Indonesian

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

Parents tend to teach and speak Bahasa Indonesia, rather than Adang, with their children. The reason is not only in order to make their children able to communicate with people from other language speaking backgrounds but also because Bahasa Indonesia is regarded as more prestigious than local languages. Therefore, the number of Adang speakers is decreasing very fast. The migration of Adang speakers to other places also contributes to the rapid decline in the number of Adang speakers.

PLACES: Indonesia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: The villages where Adang speakers live are Adang-Buom, located on the western border of Kalabahi, the capital of Alor regency, and Pitung bang (O't fai) north of Kalabahi. Other villages where Adang speakers live are Kenarilang, O'a, Afeng Male (Bang Palol), 'Eh don, Aimoli, Adang-Kokar, Bot Bag (Bota), Alila and Bu Mol.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Along the coastal area, to the west of Kalabahi, Adang speakers mix with the speakers of the Alor language, which is the only Austronesian language in Alor. They also mix with the speakers of Pura (Blagar) and Reta, who have recently migrated from the islands of Pura and Ternate. The speakers of Alor, however, mostly live in the villages of Dulolong, Ampera, Alor Kecil and Alor Besar. They are also found in some parts of the islands of Pantar, Marica and Ternate, and in the islands of Tereweng and Buaya.

Threatened

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~7,000
Native speakers worldwide

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"Adang is an endangered language; parents are choosing to teach their children Indonesian (and Alor Malay) instead of Adang. Certain special registers of Adang have disappeared entirely (Haan 2001: 6), and an experimental study shows that even supposedly bilingual young adults are beginning to lose proficiency in Adang (Hamilton et al. 2013)."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Indonesian
Alor Malay

PLACES: "Villages in the Bird's Head region of Alor, which includes the city of Kalabahi."

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
3,000
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 2000

MORE ON VITALITY

Ethnologue (2013) lists the vitality of Adang as: 6a (Vigorous)

PLACES: East Nusa Tenggara Province. Northwest (Bird’s Head), Alor island, northwest of Kalabahi town towards Banda Sea coast.

	17th	2013	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 17th Edition (2013)		Paul M. Lewis; Gary F. Simons; and Charles D. Fennig	Dallas, Texas: SIL International			http://www.ethnologue.com Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 17th Edition (2013)		Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.), 2013. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 17th edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.		3,000	2000	1000-9999					Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Ethnologue (2013) lists the vitality of Adang as: 6a (Vigorous)				East Nusa Tenggara Province. Northwest (Bird’s Head), Alor island, northwest of Kalabahi town towards Banda Sea coast.
	3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger			UNESCO Publishing	Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub																-8.19, 124.45
		2001	The Grammar of Adang: A Papuan Language Spoken on the Island of Alor East Nusa Tenggara - Indonesia					University of Sydney		Johnson Welem Haan	Haan, Johnson Welem. The Grammar of Adang: A Papuan Language Spoken On the Island of Alor East Nusa Tenggara - Indonesia. PhD thesis, University of Sydney, 2001.	HHOLD	7,000		1000-9999	Indonesian	No government support	Parents tend to teach and speak Bahasa Indonesia, rather than Adang, with their children. The reason is not only in order to make their children able to communicate with people from other language speaking backgrounds but also because Bahasa Indonesia is regarded as more prestigious than local languages. Therefore, the number of Adang speakers is decreasing very fast. The migration of Adang speakers to other places also contributes to the rapid decline in the number of Adang speakers.	No institutional support	Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12	Some situational variations or registers of Adang like pohang, pepel and baneharl no longer exist. Only two or three Adang speakers still have the knowledge of these language varieties. These varieties are no longer used in gatherings or events where they were formerly used. Such events are, for example, harvesting time for 'pepel' and also 'pohang'. One variety of Adang normally found in a traditional dance called 'holeng holeng' seems to have become extinct with the loss of the traditional dance itself.	14	13	Along the coastal area, to the west of Kalabahi, Adang speakers mix with the speakers of the Alor language, which is the only Austronesian language in Alor. They also mix with the speakers of Pura (Blagar) and Reta, who have recently migrated from the islands of Pura and Ternate. The speakers of Alor, however, mostly live in the villages of Dulolong, Ampera, Alor Kecil and Alor Besar. They are also found in some parts of the islands of Pantar, Marica and Ternate, and in the islands of Tereweng and Buaya.	Indonesia	The villages where Adang speakers live are Adang-Buom, located on the western border of Kalabahi, the capital of Alor regency, and Pitung bang (O't fai) north of Kalabahi. Other villages where Adang speakers live are Kenarilang, O'a, Afeng Male (Bang Palol), 'Eh don, Aimoli, Adang-Kokar, Bot Bag (Bota), Alila and Bu Mol.	-8.195, 124.484
978-1-61451-723-8		2014	Adang	The Papuan Languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar: Volume 1		De Gruyter				Laura C. Robinson and John W. Haan			~7,000		1000-9999	Indonesian, Alor Malay				Threatened (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12	"Adang is an endangered language; parents are choosing to teach their children Indonesian (and Alor Malay) instead of Adang. Certain special registers of Adang have disappeared entirely (Haan 2001: 6), and an experimental study shows that even supposedly bilingual young adults are beginning to lose proficiency in Adang (Hamilton et al. 2013)."				"Villages in the Bird's Head region of Alor, which includes the city of Kalabahi."

Adang

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

7,000

Threatened

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~7,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

3,000

Discussion

Adang

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

7,000

Threatened

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~7,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

3,000

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

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Sources of information

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