Yamdena is an Austronesian language of Yamdena and surrounding islands in the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. In 1991 there were an estimated 25,000 speakers of the language. Current BPS data has the present number of speakers at 69,000.

Phonology

Consonants

• Stops /b, t/ can very rarely be realized as coarticulated sounds [ɡ͡b, k͡t] by some speakers.
• /m/ can be heard as voiceless [m̥] in free variation when before initial voiceless stops, or after voiceless stops.
• /ŋ/ is heard as labialized [ŋʷ] when occurring before liquids, or in word-final position.
• /r/ can be heard as [ɺ] in free variation intervocalically, and as [ɾ] when before voiceless consonants.
• /d, ⁿd/ when occurring before /i/ can also be heard as palatal stops [ɟ, ᶮɟ].

Vowels

• Vowels /a, o/ can be heard as [ə] within unstressed syllables.
• /i/ can be heard as [ɪ] word-finally, after vowels.
• /o/ can be heard as [ɔ] when before /r/.^[2]