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BIMA.
"THE Bima dialect is spoken
in the east of Sumbawa, and the west of Endes, or Flores, two islands
forming part of the Timorian chain,
which extends nearly in a straight direction from the easternmost
extremity of Java towards the western
coast of New Guinea. Sumbawa
Proper, which is generally
considered a dialect of Bima, is spoken in the portion of Sumbawa which
is not subject to the Sultan
of Bima, except in a small district called Tembora, in the north, where a
negrito language prevails.
The Bima differs from other Polynesian dialects chiefly in
pronunciation. A vocabulary of Bima
words was collated by Dr. Leyden with the
corresponding terms in
Bugis and
Macassar, and it was
found that many words are common to all these dialects. Dr. Leyden is also said to have commenced
a Bima version of the Gospels, but he did not live to prepare the translation
for the press." --The Bible of Every Land. (1860, Second Edition)
Samuel Bagster [Info only: Sultan?]
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