Sonsorolese language

Last updated
Sonsorolese
Ramari Dongosaro
Native to Palau
Region Palau: originally Sonsorol state (all three inhabited islands Sonsorol, Pulo Ana and Merir)
Native speakers
400 (2007) [1]
Austronesian
Latin script
Official status
Official language in
Flag of Palau.svg  Palau
Language codes
ISO 639-3 sov
Glottolog sons1242
ELP Sonsorol
Lang Status 40-SE.svg
Sonsorolese is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Southeast Asia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Sonsorolese
Coordinates: 5°20′N132°13′E / 5.33°N 132.22°E / 5.33; 132.22

Sonsorolese is a Micronesian language spoken in Palau, originally on the islands composing the state of Sonsorol, and spreading through migration elsewhere in the country. It is very close to Tobian.

Contents

Introduction

History

Sonsorolese is mostly spoken in the Palau archipelago, particularly in Sonsorol, Pulo Ana, and the Merir Islands. [2] It is one of two indigenous languages spoken in the area.

Population

There are about 360 speakers spread out across 60 islands. Most speakers of Sonsorol are bilingual, with their second language being English. [3] The language is an official language for the areas where it is spoken. It is usually used for the state's internal communications, like announcements and invitations. [4] Some closely related languages of Sonsorol are Ulithian, Woleaian, and Satawalese. The language is part of the Austronesian language family. Most of the population have migrated from the islands of the Sonsorol state to Palau's main town, Koror and Echang village. [4] The reasons are various, including economic and environmental. Young Sonsorolese speakers use a mixture of Palauan, English and Sonsorolese, what is called Echangese and is different from what the elder generation speaks. [4] There are currently less than 20 speakers over 60 years old. [4]

Geographic distribution

Dialects

Phonology

Consonants

In Sonsorolese, there are 19 consonants. These consonants are: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /c/, /k/, /ɡ/, /m/, /n/, /f/, /v/, /j/, /x/, /ɣ/, /r/, /w/, /s/, /ŋ/, and /ʟʲ/. [5]

IPA chart Sonsorolese consonants
Labial Dental-Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p b t d c k ɡ
Fricative f v s j x ɣ
Continuant w r ʟʲ

Vowels

Sonsorolese has five vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. There are also diphthongs, including /ae/, /ai/, /ao/, and /au/. An example of the diphthong /ae/ is mae, which means "breadfruit". [5]

Voiceless vowels

Voiceless vowels occur in three contexts: “as finals, after a consonant, after a full, generally long vowel, and before a consonant, when they are acoustically similar to falling diphthongs, after non-final consonants a furtive /i/ or /u/ produces palatalization or velarisation (respectively) of the consonants". [5] [ clarification needed ]

Orthography and pronunciation

Sonsorolese is primarily a spoken language. Many of the sounds are like those in Tobian and Woleaian. A couple of dialects include the pronunciation of d, which is common at the beginning of words and similar to [ ð ]; r is pronounced as in Spanish; also, l is always pronounced with tongue touching the back roof of the mouth and sounds something like a combination of the [ɡ] and [l] sounds. For that reason, some Sonsorolese prefer to spell their els as ɡl. As in Woleaian, voiceless vowels are usually found at the end of Sonsorolese words. For example, in Dongosaro, the native name for Sonsorol island, the final -o is voiceless. [4]

Written documents in Sonsorolese include the Constitution of Sonsorol State and certain parts of the Bible. [4] However, there seems to be a confusion regarding the Bible since there seems not to be a distinction between Tobian and Sonsorolese. [ citation needed ]

Grammar

Reduplication

There is full reduplication in the Sonsorol language. E.g. 'orange' = hulu, 'oranges' = huluhulu.

Numerals

The numeral system of Sonsorolese is base-10. The numeral system can go up to 1,000, which is "da ngaladi". [3]

Vocabulary

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mingrelian language</span> Kartvelian language of western Georgia

Mingrelian, or Megrelian is a Kartvelian language spoken in Western Georgia, primarily by the Mingrelians. Mingrelian has historically been only a regional language within the boundaries of historical Georgian states and then modern Georgia, and the number of younger people speaking it has decreased substantially, with UNESCO designating it as a "definitely endangered language".

Tobian is the language of Tobi, one of the Southwest Islands of Palau, and the main island of Hatohobei state. Tobian is a Micronesian language spoken by approximately 150 people, about 22 are native speakers. The speakers are located in either the island of Tobi or in Echang, a hamlet of Koror, the former capital of Palau. Tobian and Sonsorolese are very close, and appear to be gradually merging towards a new dialect called "Echangese". Earlier in the 20th century, about 1000 people lived on the island. Shortly before and during the First World War, those numbers dropped severely due to an abundance of disease.

The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan.

Kobon is a language of Papua New Guinea. It has somewhere around 90–120 verbs.

Old English phonology is the pronunciation system of Old English, the Germanic language spoken on Great Britain from around 450 to 1150 and attested in a body of written texts from the 7th–12th centuries. Although its reconstruction is necessarily somewhat speculative, features of Old English pronunciation have been inferred partly from the sounds used in modern varieties of English, partly from the spellings used in Old English literature, partly from analysis of Old English poetry, and partly from comparison with other Germanic languages.

Vengo, or Babungo, is a Grassfields language and the language of the Vengo people from the village of Babungo in the Cameroonian Grassfields. The spelling Bamungo is also often found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giimbiyu language</span> Extinct Aboriginal Australian language

Giimbiyu is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language isolate once spoken by the Giimbiyu people of northern Australia.

Mouk-Aria is an Austronesian language spoken by about 600 individuals along coastal West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea on the island of New Britain.

Unlike many languages, Icelandic has only very minor dialectal differences in sounds. The language has both monophthongs and diphthongs, and many consonants can be voiced or unvoiced.

Shompen, or Shom Peng, is a language or group of languages spoken on Great Nicobar Island in the Indian union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonsorol</span> State in Palau

Sonsorol is one of the sixteen states of Palau. The inhabitants speak Sonsorolese, a local Chuukic language, and Palauan.

The Maringarr language is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language spoken along the northwest coast of the Northern Territory.

Qaqet, or Baining, is a non-Austronesian language from the Baining family spoken in East New Britain Province on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Afenmai (Afemai), Yekhee, or Iyekhe, is an Edoid language spoken in Edo State, Nigeria by Afenmai people. Not all speakers recognize the name Yekhee; some use the district name Etsako.

Binandere is a Papuan language spoken in the "tail" of Papua New Guinea.

Satawalese is a Micronesian language of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is nearly mutually intelligible with Mortlockese and Carolinian.

Tungag, or Lavongai, is an Austronesian language of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, localized New Hanover, the native name of which is Lavongai.

Iduna is an Austronesian language spoken on Goodenough Island of Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea.

This article covers the phonology of the Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect, a variety of Getelands spoken in Orsmaal-Gussenhoven, a village in the Linter municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niihau dialect</span> Dialect of the Hawaiian language spoken on Niihau island, Hawaii

Niʻihau dialect is a dialect of the Hawaiian language spoken on the island of Niʻihau, more specifically in its only settlement Puʻuwai, and on the island of Kauaʻi, specifically near Kekaha, where descendants of families from Niʻihau now live. Today, the Niʻihau dialect is taught in Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha.

References

  1. Sonsorolese at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. "Sonsorol". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Language". sonsorol.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Language". sonsorol.com. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Capell 1969.
  6. "Sonsorolese (Ramari Dongosaro)". Omniglot. Retrieved 25 April 2022.

Further reading