Sula Malay

Sula Malay is a variety of Malay-based creole language which is generally used by multiethnic society in Sula Islands and Taliabu Island in the southwest part of North Maluku. The Sula Malay is heavily influenced by other languages, This can be found in loan words originating from Ambonese Malay and Dutch language can be found in Sula Malay. Some contraction vocabulary can also be found in this language, as is the case in North Moluccan Malay (Ternate Malay).

According to 2023 estimate, Sula Malay is spoken by at least 170,000 people in Sula Islands Regency and Taliabu Island Regency as both mother tongue and second language. This language is mainly spoken in Sanana, the capital of the Sula Islands.

Phonology
Sula Malay has 19 consonants, 5 vowels, and 3 long vowels. Consonant clusters can also be found in Sula Malay, as found in Bacan Malay. The prefixes [man-], [ba(r)-], [pan-], [ta(r)-], and [kase-], as well as the reciprocal prefix [baku-] are also found in this language, which is also similar found in Ternate Malay. Diachronic research results show that Sula Malay has three retention vowels, namely /a/, /i/, and /u/, as well as two vowels resulting from joint innovation, namely /e/ and /o/.