Sikule language


The Sikule language is an Austronesian language spoken on Simeulue island off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. It belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages. Sikule is one of Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands languages, which are a sub-group of Western Malayo-Polynesian.
Sikule is spoken in Alafan district, on the western end of Simeulue island. It is apparently related to the Nias language. Ethnologue lists Lekon and Tapah as dialects.
Simeulue is spoken in the rest of Simeulue outside of Alafan, while Jamu, related to Minangkabau, is spoken in the capital city of Sinabang.

Phonology

The vowel and consonant phonemes of Sikule are shown in the tables below.
FrontCentralBack
Close
Mid
Open