Language in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia
The Gorontalo language (also called Hulontalo) is a language spoken in Gorontalo Province, Sulawesi, Indonesia by the Gorontalo people.[2]
Considerable lexical influence comes from Malay, Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch,[3] and the North Halmahera languages.[3][4] Gorontalo Malay, a derivative variation of Manado Malay, and Indonesian is also spoken in the area.[3][5]
Dialects
Musa Kasim et al. (1981) give five main dialects of Gorontalo: east Gorontalo, Limboto, Gorontolo City, west Gorontalo, and Tilamuta.
Phonology
Consonants
Consonant sequences include NC (homorganic nasal–plosive), where C may be /b d t d̠ ɟ ɡ k/. Elsewhere, /b d/ are relatively rare and only occur before high vowels. /d̠/, written ⟨ḓ⟩ in the literature, is a laminal post-alveolar coronal stop that is indeterminate as to voicing. The phonemic status of [ʔ] is unclear; if [VʔV] is interpreted as vowel sequences /VV/, then this contrasts with long vowels (where the two V's are the same) and vowel sequences separated by linking glides (where the two V's are different).
Vowels
Gorontalo has five vowels.[6]