Editing Flores (section)

=== Languages ===
Many languages are spoken on the island of Flores, all of them belonging to the [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] family. In the west [[Manggarai language|Manggarai]] is spoken; [[Riung language|Riung]], often classified as a dialect of Manggarai, is spoken in the north-central part of the island. In the centre of the island in the regencies of [[Ngada]], [[Nagekeo]], and [[Ende Regency|Ende]], there is what is variously called the [[Central Flores languages|Central Flores dialect chain or linkage]]. Within this area, there are slight [[linguistics|linguistic]] differences in almost every village. At least six separate languages are identifiable: from west to east, [[Ngadha]], [[Nage]], [[Keo language|Keo]], [[Ende language (Indonesia)|Ende]], [[Lio language|Lio]], and [[Palu'e language|Palu'e]] (which is spoken on the island with the same name off the north coast of Flores). Locals would probably also add [[So'a]] and [[Bajawa]] to this list, which anthropologists have labeled dialects of Ngadha. To the east, [[Sikka language|Sikka]] and [[Lamaholot language|Lamaholot]] can be found.

Djawanai (1983) precises that Ngadha somewhat deviates from Austronesian norms, in that words do not have clear [[cognate]]s and the grammatical processes are different;<ref>{{cite book|last1=Djawanai|first1=Stephanus|year=1983|title=Ngadha text tradition: the collective mind of the Ngadha people, Flores|type=''Materials in languages of Indonesia'', No.20|series=''Pacific Linguistics'', Series D (Special communications), No. 55|publisher=Australian National University|pages=2|url=https://dspace-prod.anu.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/25b86add-73dc-476a-89dd-783a6d426499/content}}</ref> for example, the Austronesian family of languages makes an abundant use of prefixes or suffixes (which form new words by adding extensions either before or after root-words, such as [per-]form or child[-hood]), whereas the Ngadha and Keo languages use no prefixes or suffixes.<ref>{{cite web|author=Peter ten Hoopen|title=Ikat from Ngadha, Indonesia|website=ikat.us|publisher=Online Museum of Indonesian ikat textiles, curator: Dr Peter Ten Hoopen |url=https://ikat.us/ikat_flores%20group_ngadha.php|access-date=2024-06-08}}</ref>