Pohnpeic, also rendered Ponapeic, is a subgroup of the
Chuukic–Pohnpeic branch of
Micronesian in the
Austronesian language family. The languages are primarily spoken in
Pohnpei State
Pohnpei State (IPA: pɔ:n peɪ) is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The other states are, from east to west, Kosrae State, Chuuk State, and Yap State. The state's main island is Pohnpei.
History
The pre-colonia ...
of the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
.
Languages
*
Mokilese
*
Pingelapese
The Pingelapese language is a Micronesian language native to Pingelap, an atoll belonging to the state of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. This atoll is the homeland to the Pingelapese people, consisting of a three-square mile range ...
*
Pohnpeian
Pohnpeian is a Micronesian language spoken as the indigenous language of the island of Pohnpei in the Caroline Islands. Pohnpeian has approximately 30,000 (estimated) native speakers living in Pohnpei and its outlying atolls and islands with a ...
*
Ngatikese
Ngatikese, or Sapwuahfik, is a Micronesian language originating on Sapwuahfik atoll, Federated States of Micronesia. Of the 700 Ngatikese speakers, only about 450 live on Sapwuahfik. It was previously considered a distinct dialect of Pohnpeian, ...
Innovations
Pohnpeic languages are distinct from the closely related
Chuukic languages as a result of uniquely developed innovations. One such innovation is nasal substitution, where the first element in a consonant
geminate
In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from ...
becomes a
homorganic nasal consonant
In phonetics, a nasal, also called a nasal occlusive or nasal stop in contrast with an oral stop or nasalized consonant, is an occlusive consonant produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The vast major ...
. An example of this change is seen where Proto-Chuukic-Pohnpeic */kkaŋ/ 'sharp' became
Mokilese , whereas in
Chuukese it is .
Phonology
1 In the Pohnpeic languages, geminate obstruents are realized as homorganic nasal-obstruent clusters.
2 Often before .
3 Before .
4 The reflex is *∅ sporadically before PMc *e.
Reconstructed vocabulary
References
Chuukic–Pohnpeic languages
{{Micronesia-stub