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Alexandre François
Alexandre François is a French linguist specialising in the description and study of the indigenous languages of Melanesia. He belongs t''Lattice'' a research centre of the CNRS and École Normale Supérieure dedicated to linguistics. Research Language description and documentation François has done linguistic fieldwork in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. In 2002, he published a grammatical description of Araki, a language spoken by a handful of speakers on an islet south of Espiritu Santo (Vanuatu). Most of his research focuses on the northern islands of Vanuatu, known as the Torres and Banks Islands, an area where sixteen out of seventeen languages are still spoken: Hiw, Lo-Toga, Lehali, Löyöp, Mwotlap, Volow (extinct), Lemerig, Vera'a, Vurës, Mwesen, Mota, Nume, Dorig, Koro, Olrat, Lakon, Mwerlap - all descended from the Proto-Torres–Banks language, which was also reconstructed by him. After describing Mwotlap, the language with most speakers in that area, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olrat Language
Olrat was an Oceanic language of Gaua island, in northern Vanuatu. It became extinct in 2009, with the death of its last speaker Maten Womal. François (2022). Name The name ''Olrat'' (spelled natively as ''Ōlrat'' ) is an endonym. Robert Codrington mentions a place south of Lakon village under the Mota name ''Ulrata''. A few decades later, Sidney Ray mentions the language briefly in 1926 under the same Mota name ‒ but provides no linguistic information. The language In 2003, only three speakers of Olrat remained, who lived on the middle-west coast of Gaua. Their community had left their inland hamlet of Olrat in the first half of the 20th century, and merged into the larger village of Jōlap where Lakon is dominant.. Alexandre François identifies Olrat as a distinct language from its immediate neighbor Lakon, on phonological, grammatical, and lexical grounds. Phonology Olrat has 14 phonemic vowels. These include 7 short /i ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ u/ and 7 long vowels /iː ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiw Language
Hiw (sometimes spelled ''Hiu'') is an Oceanic language spoken on the island of Hiw, in the Torres Islands of Vanuatu. With about 280 speakers, Hiw is considered endangered. Hiw is distinct from Lo-Toga, the other language of the Torres group. All Hiw speakers are bilingual in Bislama, and most also speak Lo-Toga. Name The language is named after the island. Phonology Vowels Hiw has 9 phonemic vowels. These are all short monophthongs : François (2021). The three central vowels are all rounded. becomes a glide whenever it's followed by another vowel. The high back rounded vowel occurs, but only as an allophone of and after labio-velar consonants. always becomes after a labio-velar, while only becomes in pre-tonic syllables, and then only optionally. Consonants Hiw has 14 consonants. All plosives are voiceless. Hiw is the only Austronesian language whose consonant inventory includes a prestopped velar lateral approximant ; this complex segment is Hiw's only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koro Language (Vanuatu)
Koro is an Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu. Its 280 speakers live in the village of Koro, on the south coast of Gaua. Koro is a distinct language from its immediate neighbours, Dorig (300 sp.) and Olrat (4 sp.). Name The name ''Koro'', spelled natively as ''Kōrō'' , is an endonym referring to the village. Phonology Koro has 8 phonemic vowels. These include 7 monophthongs and one diphthong . The diphthong is spelled as . Grammar The system of personal pronouns in Koro contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural). Spatial reference in Koro is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages. François (2015). Notes and references References Bibliography * * . * * * * External links Linguistic map of north Vanuatu, showing range of Koro on Gaua Audio recordings in the Koro language in open access, by A. François (''Pangloss Collection The Pangloss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorig Language
Dorig (formerly called ''Wetamut'') is an Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu. The language’s 300 speakers live mostly in the village of Dorig (), on the south coast of Gaua. Smaller speaker communities can be found in the villages of Qteon (east coast) and Qtevut (west coast). Dorig's immediate neighbours are Koro and Mwerlap. Name The name ''Dorig'', spelled ''Dōrig'', is derived from the name of the village where it is spoken. The term is related to ''Dōlav'' (the Dorig name of a village that is called in Lakon as ''Jōlap'' ), with the ''-rig'' and ''-lav'' parts meaning "small" and "big" respectively. The element ''dō'' is obscure; hence the only term that can be reconstructed for Proto-Torres-Banks is ''*-riɣi''. Phonology Dorig has 8 phonemic vowels. These include 7 short monophthongs and one long vowel . Dorig has 15 consonant phonemes. The phonotactic template for a syllable in Dorig is: — e.g. ‘woman’; ‘poor’; ‘octopus’. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nume Language
Nume (also called ''Gog'' and ''Tarasag'') is an Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu. Its 700 speakers live on the northeast coast of Gaua. Nume is a distinct language from its immediate southern neighbors, Mwerlap and Dorig. Names The name ''Nume'' originates in the name of a village, now abandoned. ''Tarasag'' is currently the community's main village. The alternate name ''Gog'' refers to the broader area, and by extension, to the island. Phonology Nume has 7 phonemic vowels, which are all short monophthongs. : Grammar The system of personal pronouns in Nume contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural). Spatial reference in Nume is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages. François (2015). References Bibliography * * . * * * External links Linguistic map of north Vanuatu, showing range of Nume on Gaua Audio recordings in the Nume language in open access, by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mota Language
Mota is an Oceanic language spoken by about 750 people on Mota island, in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu. The language (named after the island) is one of the most conservative Torres–Banks languages, and the only one to keep its inherited five-vowel system intact while also preserving most final vowels. History During the period 1840-1940, Mota was used as a missionary ''lingua franca'' throughout areas of Oceania included in the Melanesian Mission, an Anglican missionary agency. Mota was used on Norfolk Island, in religious education; on other islands with different vernacular languages, it served as the language of liturgical prayers, hymns, and some other religious purposes. Elizabeth Fairburn Colenso translated religious material into the language. Robert Henry Codrington compiled the first dictionary of Mota (1896), and worked with George Sarawia and others to produce a large number of early publications in this language. Phonology Phoneme inventory Mota phonemically con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mwesen Language
Mwesen (formerly known by its Mota name ''Mosina'') is an Oceanic language spoken in the southeastern area of Vanua Lava Island, in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu, by about 10 speakers. François (2012): 88). Mwesen shows many similarities with the island's dominant language Vurës, to such an extent that they have sometimes been considered dialects of a single language. However, studies have shown that Mwesen and Vurës have various dissimilarities, e.g. in their vowel systems, in their noun articles, in their pronoun paradigms. François (2009), François (2016). Name The name ''Mwesen'' is originally the name of a village, in the eastern part of Vanua Lava; it is spelled ''M̄ēsēn'' both in Mwesen itself, and in neighbouring Vurës. The village is known as ''Am̄sēn'' (with locative prefix ''a-'') in Mwotlap, and as ''M̄osina'' (modern: ''M̄osna'' ) in Mota. All these different names are derived from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *''mʷosina''. The old Mota ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vurës Language
Vurës (Vureas, Vures) is an Oceanic language spoken in the southern area of Vanua Lava Island, in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu, by about 2000 speakers. Vurës was described by linguist Catriona Malau, in the form of a grammar and a dictionary. Name The name ''Vurës'' is named after the bay located in southwestern Vanua Lava in the language itself. In Mota, the bay is referred to as ''Vureas'' . These come from a reconstructed Proto-Torres-Banks form *''βureas(i,u)''. Dialectology Vurës shows enough similarities with the neighbouring language Mwesen that the two have sometimes been considered dialects of a single language, sometimes called ''Mosina'' (after the name of Mwesen village in the language Mota). And indeed, a 2018 glottometric study has calculated that Vurës and Mwesen share 85% of their historical innovations, revealing a long history of shared development between these two lects. Kalyan & François 2018. However, studies have shown that Mwesen and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vera'a Language
Vera'a , formerly known by its Mota name ''Vatrata'', is an Oceanic language spoken on the western coast of Vanua Lava Island, in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu. Vera'a was described in 2011 by linguist Stefan Schnell. Schnell (2011). Name The language ''Vera'a'' is named after the village where it is spoken. This village is known locally as ''Vera'a'' , even though foreigners often ''Vatrata'' after its name in Mota. These names ultimately reflect a protoform *''βaturata'' in Proto-Torres-Banks — literally "flat stone": *''βatu'' "stone" (< *) + *''rata'' "flat" (< *''rataR'' < [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemerig Language
Lemerig is an Oceanic language spoken on Vanua Lava, in Vanuatu. Lemerig is no longer actively spoken. The 2 remaining speakers live on the northern coast of the island. The language has receded in favour of its neighbours Mwotlap and Vera'a. Name The name ''Lemerig'' (spelled ''Lēmērig'' in the local orthography) refers to a now abandoned village in northern Vanua Lava. Its name in Mwotlap is ''Lemyig'' . It is likely the name contains a descendant of the Proto-Torres-Banks word ''*riɣi'' meaning "small". Dialects Lemerig has sometimes been referred to using the names of its local varieties: ''Päk''; ''Sasar''; ''Alo-Teqel''. Judging from wordlists published by missionary and linguist Robert Codrington,See Codrington 1885pp.39-52 sqq. these three varieties were very close to each other. The little differences there were went extinct during the 20th century. Phonology Lemerig has 11 phonemic vowels. These are all short monophthongs . Grammar The system of person ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volow Language
Volow (formerly known as ''Valuwa'' or ''Valuga'') is an Oceanic language variety which used to be spoken in the area of Aplow, in the eastern part of the island of Motalava, in Vanuatu. Name The name ''Volow'' is originally a placename: it corresponds to the area known as Aplow, but in the local language Volow rather than in Mwotlap. This form, pronounced , is derived from Proto-Torres-Banks *''βaluwa''. In neighboring Mwotlap, the same area is called ''Aplow'' (with locative prefix ''a-''), and in Mota, it is called ''Valuwa'' . Both of these are nowadays used as alternative names for the area. Sociolinguistics Volow has receded historically in favour of the now dominant language Mwotlap. It is now only remembered by a single passive speaker, who lives in the village of Aplow — the new name of what was previously known as Volow. The similarity of Volow with Mwotlap is such that the two communalects may be considered dialects of a single language. Phonology Volo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mwotlap Language
Mwotlap (pronounced ; formerly known as ''Motlav'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of Ra (or ''Aya'') and Vanua Lava, as well as migrant groups in the two main cities of the country, Santo and Port Vila. Mwotlap was first described in any detail in 2001, by the linguist Alexandre François. Volow, which used to be spoken on the same island, may be considered a dialect or a separate language. The language Name The language is named after the island. Geographic distribution Mwotlap is spoken by about 2,100 people in the Banks Islands, in the North of Vanuatu. Among them, 1,640 live on the island of Mota Lava and its neighbor island, Ra. It is also spoken by a few hundred people living elsewhere in Vanuatu: * Vanua Lava, particularly in the northeast * Several other northern Vanuatu islands including Ureparapara, Gaua, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
