Kwara'ae language

Last updated
Kwara'ae
Fiu
Native to Solomon Islands
Region Malaita Island
Native speakers
32,000 (1999) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 kwf
Glottolog kwar1239

The Kwara'ae language (previously called Fiu after the location of many of its speakers) is spoken in the north of Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands. In 1999, there were 32,400 people known to speak the language. It is the largest indigenous vernacular of the Solomon Islands.

Contents

Phonology

Consonants in Kwara'ae
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
nor.lab.
Stop voiceless t k ʔ
voiced b d ɡ ɡʷ
Fricative ( f ) s x ~ h
Nasal m n ŋ ŋʷ
Rhotic ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant w j

The /f/ sound is merged with /h/. Most speakers of Kwara'ae choose to pronounce /h/ as an /f/ sound in some vocabulary.

Vowels in Kwara'ae
Front Central Back
High iu
Mid ɛɔ
Low a

The sound [ə] is recognized as an allophone of /a/. [2] There is vowel reduction, so final /i/ and /u/ are often deleted. Before /i/, the vowel /a/ may become [e], forming the diphthong [ei].

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References

  1. Kwara'ae at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Macdonald, Daryl Eveline (2010). A Grammar Sketch of Kwaraqae (Master of Arts thesis). University of Waikato. hdl: 10289/5755 .