Proto-Polynesian language

Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
PPn
Reconstruction of	Polynesian languages
Region	Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands
Reconstructed; ancestors	Proto-Austronesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Oceanic Proto-Central Pacific ; ; ;

Last updated October 07, 2025

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.^[1]

Phonology

Proto-Polynesian has a small phonological inventory, with 13 consonants and 5 vowels.^[2]

Consonants

	Bilabial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	*m	*n	*ŋ
Plosive	*p	*t	*k	*ʔ
Fricative	*f	*s		*h
Approximant	*w	*l
Trill		*r

Vowels

Proto-Polynesian had five vowels, /a//e//i//o//u/, 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.^[3]

Sound correspondences

Proto-Polynesian			*p	*t	*k	*ʔ	*m	*n	*ŋ	*w	*f	*s	*h	*l	*r
Tongan			p	t	k	ʔ	m	n	ŋ	v	f	s/h	h	l	l/Ø
Niuean						Ø						h	h
Niuafoʻou						ʔ/Ø						h	h/Ø
Proto-Nuclear-Polynesian			*p	*t	*k	*ʔ	*m	*n	*ŋ	*w	*f	*s	*Ø	*l
	Samoan		p	t~k	ʔ	Ø	m	n	ŋ	v	f	s	Ø	l
	East Futunan			t	k	ʔ/Ø								l
	Tikopian					Ø								ɾ
	Nukuoroan					Ø					h			l
	Proto-Eastern-Polynesian		*p	*t	*k	*ʔ/Ø	*m	*n	*ŋ	*w	*f	*h	*Ø	*l
		Rapa Nui	p	t	k	ʔ/Ø	m	n	ŋ	v	v/h	h	Ø	ɾ
		Mangareva, Cook Islands Māori				Ø					ʔ/v	ʔ
		Tuamotuan									f/h/v	h
		Māori								w	ɸ/h
		Tahitian			ʔ				ʔ	v	f/v/h
		N. Marquesan			k				k		h			ʔ
		S. Marquesan			ʔ			n			f/h			ʔ
		Hawaiian		k	ʔ			n		v/w	h/w			l

Vocabulary

The following is a table of some sample vocabulary as it is represented orthographically in various languages.^[4] All instances of ⟨ʻ⟩ represent a glottal stop, IPA /ʔ/. All instances of ⟨ng⟩ and Samoan ⟨g⟩ represent the single phoneme /ŋ/. The letter ⟨r⟩ in all cases represents voiced alveolar tap /ɾ/, not /r/.

Polynesian vocabulary
Proto-Polynesian	Tongan	Niuean	Samoan	Rapa Nui	Tahitian	Māori	Cook Islands Māori	S. Marquesan	Hawaiian	English
*taŋata	tangata	tangata	tagata	tangata	ta'ata	tangata	tangata	ʻenata	kanaka	person
*sina	hina	hina	sina	hina	hinahina	hina	ʻina		hina	grey-haired
*kanahe	kanahe	kanahe	ʻanae		'anae	kanae	kanae		ʻanae	mullet
*tiale	siale	tiale	tiale	tiare	tiare	tīare	tiare		kiele	flower
*waka	vaka	vaka	vaʻa	vaka	va'a	waka	vaka	vaka	waʻa	canoe
*fafine	fefine	fifine	fafine	vi'e/vahine	vahine	wahine	vaʻine	vehine	wahine	woman
*matuʔa	mātu'a	motua	matua	matuʻa	metua	mātua	metua, matua	motua	makua	parent
*rua	ua	ua	lua	rua	rua^[5]	rua	rua	ʻua	lua	two
*tolu	tolu	tolu	tolu	toru	toru	toru	toru	toʻu	kolu	three

Notes

↑ Kirch, Patrick Vinton; Roger Green (2001). Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia: An Essay in Historical Anthropology . Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–119. ISBN 978-0-521-78309-5.
↑ Marck, Jeff (2000). Topics in Polynesian languages and culture history (PDF). Pacific Linguistics 504. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
↑ Rolle, Nicholas (2009). "The Phonetic Nature of Niuean Vowel Length". Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics. 31. ISSN 1718-3510.
↑ Hockett, C.F. (May 1976), "The Reconstruction of Proto-Central Pacific", Anthropological Linguistics, 18 (5): 187–235
↑ Archaic: the modern Tahitian word for two is piti, due to the practice of pi'i among Tahitians, a form of linguistic taboo. However, the cognate remains in the second-person dual pronoun ʻōrua, roughly translated you two.

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[1] Kirch, Patrick Vinton; Roger Green (2001). Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia: An Essay in Historical Anthropology . Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–119. ISBN 978-0-521-78309-5.

[2] Marck, Jeff (2000). Topics in Polynesian languages and culture history (PDF). Pacific Linguistics 504. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

[3] Rolle, Nicholas (2009). "The Phonetic Nature of Niuean Vowel Length". Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics. 31. ISSN 1718-3510.

[4] Hockett, C.F. (May 1976), "The Reconstruction of Proto-Central Pacific", Anthropological Linguistics, 18 (5): 187–235

[5] Archaic: the modern Tahitian word for two is piti, due to the practice of pi'i among Tahitians, a form of linguistic taboo. However, the cognate remains in the second-person dual pronoun ʻōrua, roughly translated you two.

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