Paku (Bakau) is an Austronesian language spoken in four villages in the East Barito Regency of Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia. It is closely related to the Malagasy language spoken on Madagascar. Most of the remaining speakers are also fluent in other languages. The use of the language is decreasing and speakers are increasingly shifting to Ma'anyan, a lingua franca of East Barito. In 2018, it was estimated there was about 50 speakers of the language in the villages of Tampa, Tarinsing, Bantei Napu, and Kalamus in the regency of East Barito.
Phonology Vowels +Paku vowelsFront Central Back Close Close-mid Low
occurs as a free variant of in unstressed syllables, e.g., is pronounced .
Consonants +Paku consonants Bilabial Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar GlottalPlosive voiceless voiced Affricate Nasal Trill Fricative Approximant
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