Sula is a

Malayo-Polynesian language The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...

of the Central Maluku branch. It is related to the

Buru language Buru or Buruese (Buru: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Central Maluku branch. In 1991 it was spoken by approximately 45,000 Buru people who live on the Indonesian island of Buru ( id, Pulau Buru). It is also preserved in the Buru comm ...

. It is definitely endangered, currently under pressure from the local variety of Malay.

Sula has borrowed many lexical items from

Ambonese Malay Ambonese Malay or simply Ambonese is a Malay-based creole language spoken on Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands of Eastern Indonesia. It was first brought by traders from Western Indonesia, then developed when the Dutch Empire colonised the Malu ...

, as well as Ternate, a more dominant language of North Maluku. Dutch loans have entered the language too, perhaps through Malay and Ternate. Standard Indonesian has also been influential.

Mangole is sometimes listed as a distinct language.

Phonology

Consonants

Voiced consonant sounds may also be heard as devoiced in word-final position.

Vowels

can also be heard as in lax form.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

References

Further reading