Salawati language

Salawati
Salawati
Maden
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Bird's Head Peninsula
Native speakers	600 (2001)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian Eastern Malayo-Polynesian South Halmahera–West New Guinea Raja Ampat–South Halmahera Salawati; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xmx
Glottolog	made1253
	Salawati Salawati
	Coordinates: 1°07′S 130°52′E / 1.12°S 130.87°E

Salawati is an Austronesian language spoken on Salawati Island, in the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesian New Guinea. There is some uncertainty as to whether the dialects comprise a single language or two separate ones (divided geographically between the west and east sides of the island).^: 29

Salawati is a vulnerable-to-endangered language (6b-7 on the EGIDS scale), with younger community members having only a passive command of the language. Anecdotal reports suggest that younger speakers may be learning the language in some Tepin-dialect villages, but these reports are unconfirmed.^: 27–28

Like its related languages of the Raja Ampat Islands, Salawati has approximately 15 consonants and 5-6 vowels and lexical tone. It is mainly head-initial in noun phrases, and primarily uses prepositions over postpositions.^: 28, 30