Mwerlap language

Last updated
Mwerlap
Merelava, Merlav
N̄wërlap
Pronunciation [ŋʷɞrˈlap]
Native to Vanuatu
Region Merelava, Gaua
Native speakers
ca. 1,100 (2012) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mrm
Glottolog merl1237
Lang Status 99-NE.svg
Mwerlap is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Mwerlap is an Oceanic language spoken in the south of the Banks Islands in Vanuatu.

Contents

Its 1,100 speakers live mostly in Merelava and Merig, but a fair proportion have also settled on the east coast of Gaua island. [2] Besides, a number of Mwerlap speakers live in the two cities of Vanuatu, Port Vila and Luganville.

The language has been studied by Alexandre François, and more recently by Agnès Henri. [3]

Name

The language is named after Mwerlap, the native name of Merelava island.

Phonology

Mwerlap has 12 phonemic vowels. These include 9 monophthongs /iɪɛʉɵɞʊɔa/, [4] and 3 diphthongs /ɛ͡aɔ͡ɞʊ͡ɵ/. [5]

Mwerlap vowels
Front Central
rounded
Back Diphthongs
Close i i ʉ u
Near-close ɪ ē ɵ ö ʊ ōʊ͡ɵōö
Open-mid ɛ e ɞ ë ɔ oɔ͡ɞ
Open a aɛ͡aea

Grammar

The system of personal pronouns in Mwerlap contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes three numbers (singular, dual, plural). [6]

Independent pronouns in Mwerlap [7]
SingularDualPlural
1st inclusive no ~ në/nɔ/~/nœ/dōrō/ⁿdʊrʊ/gean/ɣɛ͡an/
exclusivekamar/kamar/kemem/kɛmɛm/
2ndneak/nɛ͡ak/kamrō/kamrʊ/kemi/kɛmi/
3rd(ki)sean/(ki)sɛ͡an/karar/karar/kear/kɛ͡ar/

Spatial reference in Mwerlap is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals. [8] That system is partly typical of Oceanic languages, and yet innovative. [9]

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References

  1. François 2012, p. 88.
  2. François 2012, p. 97.
  3. Henri 2023.
  4. Henri (2023 , pp. 165–167); see online.
  5. François 2005, pp. 445, 460.
  6. François 2016, p. 51.
  7. François 2016, p. 33-35.
  8. Henri (2023 , pp. 205–212); see online.
  9. François 2015, pp. 173–175.

Bibliography