|
Proto-Polynesian Language, Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the reconstructed proto-language from which all modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a descendant of the Proto-Oceanic language (the language associated with the Lapita civilization), itself a descendant of Proto-Austronesian. The homeland of Proto-Polynesian speakers is believed to have been Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands. Phonology Proto-Polynesian has a small phonological inventory, with 13 consonants and 5 vowels. Consonants Vowels Proto-Polynesian had five vowels, , with no length distinction. In a number of daughter languages, successive sequences of vowels came together to produce long vowels and diphthongs, and in some languages these sounds later became phonemic. Sound correspondences Vocabulary The following is a table of some sample vocabulary as it is represented orthographically in various languages. All instances of represent a glottal stop, IPA . All instances of and Samoan represent the single phoneme . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west, Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about from New Zealand's North Island. Tonga was first inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Polynesian settlers who gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture as the Tongan people. They quickly established a powerful footing across the South Pacific, and this period of Tong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trill Consonant
In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound manner of articulation, produced by vibrations between the active articulator and passive articulator. Standard Spanish as in , for example, is an alveolar trill. A trill is made by the articulator being held in place and the airstream causing it to vibrate. Usually a trill vibrates for 2–3 contacts, but may be up to 5, or even more if geminate consonant, geminate. However, trills may also be produced with only one contact. While single-contact trills are similar to Flap consonant, taps and flaps, a tap or flap differs from a trill in that it is made by a muscular contraction rather than airstream. Individuals with ankyloglossia may have issues producing the trill sound. Phonemic trills Trill consonants included in the International Phonetic Alphabet: * – Voiced alveolar trill * – Voiceless alveolar trill * – Voiced bilabial trill * – Voiceless bilabial trill * – Voiced retroflex trill * – Voiced uvular trill * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuamotuan Language
Tuamotuan, Paumotu or Paumotu (Tuamotuan: ' or ') is a Polynesian language spoken by 4,000 people in the Tuamotu archipelago, with an additional 2,000 speakers in Tahiti. The Pa‘umotu people today refer to their islands as Tuamotu while referring to themselves and their language as Pa‘umotu (or Paumotu). Pa‘umotu is one of six Polynesian languages spoken in French Polynesia, the other five languages being Tahitian, Marquesan, Mangarevan, Rapa, and Austral. The Pa‘umotu alphabet is based on the Latin script. About the language History and culture Little is known regarding the early history of the Tuamotus. It is believed that they were settled c. 700 AD by people from the Society Islands. Europeans first arrived in the islands in 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan reached them while sailing across the Pacific Ocean. Subsequent explorers visited the islands over the centuries, including Thor Heyerdahl, the famous Norwegian ethnographer who sailed the Kon-Tiki expedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook Islands Māori
Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is the official language of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to, but distinct from, New Zealand Māori. Cook Islands Māori is called just Māori when there is no need to distinguish it from New Zealand Māori. It is also known as Māori Kūki Āirani (or Maori Kuki Airani), or as Rarotongan. Many Cook Islanders also call it ''Te reo Ipukarea'', which translates as "the language of the ancestral homeland". Official status English is the official language of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Māori became an official language of the Cook Islands in 2003 as defined by the Te Reo Maori Act 2003. Te Reo Maori Act definition The Te Reo Maori Act 2003 states that Māori: Writing system and pronunciation There is a debate about the standardisation of the writing system. Although usage of the macron (־) ''makarona'' and the glottal stop () ''amata'' is recommended, most speakers do not use them i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangareva Language
Mangareva, Mangarevan ( autonym , ; in French ) is a Polynesian language spoken by about 600 people in the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia (especially the largest island Mangareva) and by Mangarevians emigrants on the islands of Tahiti and Moorea, located to the North-West of the Gambier Islands. Vitality At the 2017 census, only 24.8% of the population age 15 and older in the Gambier Islands still reported that Mangarevan was the language they spoke the most at home (down from 38.6% at the 2007 census), while 62.6% reported French as the main language spoken at home (up from 52.3% at the 2007 census), 4.9% reported Tahitian (down from 6.4% in 2007), and 4.6% reported some Chinese dialects (predominantly Hakka) (up from 3.5% in 2007). The ten years between 2007 and 2017, based on official census numbers, have seen a global decline in the number of Mangarevan-speaking adults (i.e. people aged 15 and older who reported that Mangarevan was the language they spoke the most at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rapa Nui Language
Rapa Nui or Rapanui (, Rapa Nui: , Spanish: ), also known as Pascuan () or ''Pascuense'', is an Eastern Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family. It is spoken on Easter Island, also known as ''Rapa Nui''. The island is home to a population of just under 6,000 and is a special territory of Chile. According to census data, there are 9,399 people (on both the island and the Chilean mainland) who identify as ethnically Rapa Nui. Census data does not exist on the primary known and spoken languages among these people. In 2008, the number of fluent speakers was reported as low as 800. Rapa Nui is a minority language and many of its adult speakers also speak Spanish. Most Rapa Nui children now grow up speaking Spanish and those who do learn Rapa Nui begin learning it later in life. History The Rapa Nui language is isolated within Eastern Polynesian, which also includes the Marquesic and Tahitic languages. Within Eastern Polynesian, it is closest to Marquesan morphol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nukuoro Language
The Nukuoro language is a Polynesian Outlier language, spoken by about 1,200 people on Nukuoro Atoll and on Pohnpei, two islands of Pohnpei State within the Federated States of Micronesia. Nukuoro is a remote coral atoll with a population of about 150, where the primary language is Nukuoro. An additional several hundred Nukuoro speakers live in Kolonia, Pohnpei, with smaller diaspora communities elsewhere in Micronesia and in the United States. Most Nukuoro speakers, particularly those that live away from Nukuoro Atoll, are multilingual in Pohnpeian and/or English; some older Nukuoro speakers also know German or Japanese. Classification Nukuoro belongs to the Polynesian language family, a branch of the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian family. It is closely related to other Polynesian languages, with considerable phonological and lexical similarities. Within the Polynesian branch, Nukuoro is a member of the Polynesian Outliers, which are spoken by island populations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tikopia Language
The Tikopia language, or Fakatikopia, is a Polynesian Outlier language from the island of Tikopia in the Solomon Islands. It is closely related to the Anuta language of the neighboring island of Anuta; some linguists believe they are dialects of the same language. Tikopia is also spoken by the Polynesian minority on Vanikoro, who migrated from Tikopia several centuries ago. The language is spoken by approximately 3,320 speakers, and is not considered endangered.Tikopia at (18th ed., 2015). The language has benefitted from a thorough description by anthropologist (1901-2002).
|
Futunan
Futunan or Futunian is the Polynesian language spoken on Futuna (and Alofi). The term East-Futunan is also used to distinguish it from the related West Futunan (Futuna-Aniwan) spoken on the outlier islands of Futuna and Aniwa in Vanuatu. The language is closely related to other Western Polynesian languages: Fagauvea, Wallisian, Tongan, Samoan, Tokelau, and Niuafoʻou. It is classified as Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Nuclear, Samoic-Outlier, Futunic, Futuna, East. This language is a member of the diminishing set of native Pacific languages. it is classified as endangered. History King Sigave signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate on 16 February 1888, after being pressured by missionaries to do so. The islands were put under the authority of the French colony of New Caledonia. In 1917, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samoan Language
Samoan ( or , ) is a Polynesian languages, Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the Unincorporated territories of the United States, United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language, alongside English language, English, in both jurisdictions. It is widely spoken across the Pacific region, heavily so in New Zealand and in Australia and the United States. Among the Polynesian languages, Samoan is the most widely spoken by number of native speakers. Samoan is spoken by approximately 260,000 people in the archipelago and with many Samoans living in diaspora in a number of countries, the total number of speakers worldwide was estimated at 510,000 in 2015. It is the third-most widely spoken language in New Zealand, where 2.2% of the population, 101,900 people, were able to speak it as of 2018. The language is notable for the phonology, phonological differenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niuafoʻou Language
Niuafoou, or Niuafoʻouan, is the language spoken on Tonga's northernmost island, Niuafoou. Niuafoʻouan has traditionally been classified as closest to Fakauvea, Uvean and Tokelauan language, Tokelauan, in an East Uvean–Niuafoʻou branch. However, recent research suggests that it is closest to its neighbour, Tongan language, Tongan, as one of the Tongic languages. In September 2022 language campaigners called for it to be taught in primary schools on Niuafo’ou. Phonology The phonology of Niuafoʻou is similar to that of Tongan, with twelve consonants and five vowel phonemes. Vowels are more centralized when unstressed. and are de-voiced under some conditions. Sometimes the phoneme is realized as a apico-alveolar flap (). is only realized as at the beginning of words. In the middle of words, it is either or . Syllable structure Niuafoʻou has a very simple syllable structure, (C)V. However, it is apparently transitioning towards allowing consonant clusters, due ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niuean Language
Niuean (; ) is a Polynesian language, belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian languages. It is most closely related to Tongan and slightly more distantly to other Polynesian languages such as Māori, Samoan, and Hawaiian. Together, Tongan and Niuean form the Tongic subgroup of the Polynesian languages. Niuean also has a number of influences from Samoan and Eastern Polynesian languages. Speakers Niuean was spoken by 1,600 people on Niue Island (97.4% of the inhabitants) in 1991, as well as by speakers in the Cook Islands, New Zealand, and Tonga, for a total of around 8,000 speakers. There are thus more speakers of Niuean outside the island itself than on the island. Most inhabitants of Niue are bilingual in English. In the early 1990s, 70% of the speakers of Niuean lived in New Zealand.Moseley, Christopher and R. E. Asher, ed. ''Atlas Of The World's Languages'' (New York: Routelage, 1994) p. 100 Dialects Niuean consists of two main dialects, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
