Tape language

Last updated
Tape
Maragus
Native to Vanuatu
RegionCentral Malekula
Native speakers
15 (2006) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mrs
Glottolog mara1399
ELP Tape
Lang Status 20-CR.svg
Tape is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Vanuatu location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Tape
Location in Vanuatu
Coordinates: 16°04′S167°20′E / 16.07°S 167.33°E / -16.07; 167.33

Tape, also known as Maragus, is a nearly extinct Southern Oceanic language of Vanuatu. [2] The population of speakers of the Tape language is reduced to approximately 15 speakers who are among the older generations. [3] The language is part of the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family. [2]

Contents

The original location was located in an area in Malakula, including the coast from Anuatakh to Lowinsinwei, the area between the Lowisinwei River valley, the eastern bank of the Brenwei River, and a mountain in the south known as Pwitarvere. Since part of the Tape territory was close to the ocean, it allowed the people living in the area to harvest salt which was used to trade with the Tirakh people. [3] However, the Tape people mostly lived their lives "towards the bush," meaning their lives were more oriented towards the land even though they had access to the ocean. This is shown in their language because although they lived along the coast, their descendants were not very knowledgeable or could not come up with a significant amount of terms related to the sea. [3]

Originally, there was no distinct name for the Tape language. Tape was the name of the area that the speakers lived on while in the past the language was referred to as vengesien Tape, meaning 'the language of Tape'. Over time however, people have come to use and recognize the name of the language to be "Tape". This language also has a few alternative names known as Marakus, Maragus, Maragaus, and Maraakhus, which were used by the speakers of the Naman language who were living in the Litzlitz area. The name has two roots, mar (person of (place)) and aakhus (bush) and when they are put together, the name's literal translation is 'person of the bush'. [3]

Phonology

Vowels

Table 1: Vowel Contrasts [3]
Front Central Back
High iu
Mid eəo
Low a

In the Tape language, there are a total of six vowels /a, e, i, o, u, and ə./ Although schwa (/ə/) is part of the list, there is a lot of debate on the role schwa plays in the language. [3]

Comparing the use of /i/ and /e/

Comparing the use of /e/ and /a/

Comparing the use of /a/ and /o/

Comparing the use of /o/ and /u/

Letter exceptions

The letter /i/

When the letter /i/ comes before the velar fricative /ɣ/ it becomes a high vowel. [3]

Examples

  • /liɣnana/ is pronounced [lɨyanan] meaning 'his/her face'
  • pəliliɣ/ is pronounced [pəlilɨx] meaning 'wild kava'
  • /tiɣ/ is pronounced [tɨx] meaning 'grave'

When the letter /i/ is the first letter and comes before the velar fricative /ɣ/, a palatal glide comes after. [3]

Examples

  • /iɣəč/ pronounced [ɨɣəts ~ jɣəts] meaning '(s)he killed it'
  • /iɣan/ pronounced [ɨɣan ~ jɣan] meaning '(s)he ate'
The letter /u/

When the /u/ is followed by another vowel, an optional rounded glide occurs between the two vowels. [3]

Examples

  • /dui/ pronounced [ⁿdui ~ ⁿduwi] meaning 'man'
  • /nuo/ pronounced [nuo ~ nuwo] meaning 'water'
  • /duen/ pronounced [ⁿduen ~ ⁿduwen] meaning 'with'
The letters /ue/ and /uo/

When using the combination of /ue/, one can substituted it for /uo/, but /uo/ cannot be substituted for /ue/. [3]

Examples

  • /duen/ pronounced [ⁿduen ~ ⁿduon] meaning 'with'
  • /na:bues/ pronounced [na: ᵐbues ~ ᵐbuos] meaning 'New Guinea rosewood'
  • /buok/ pronounced [ᵐbuok] meaning /water taro'
  • /nuot/ pronounced [nuot] meaning 'tendon'

Schwa

Comparing the use of /i/ and /ə/

Comparing the use of /e/ and /ə/

Comparing the use of /a/ and /ə/

Comparing the use of /o/ and /ə/

Comparing the use of /u/ and /ə/

Although schwa (/ə/) is a contrastive vowel among some languages, it is not a universal vowel in all the languages in the area. In the Tape language, schwa is very common and is in 16.5% of the lexicon. The schwa is a unique vowel because it cannot begin or end a word. It also cannot follow or come before another vowel, meaning that there must be simultaneously preceded and followed by a consonant. [3]

Consonants

Table 2: Consonants contrasts [3]
Plain Obstruentsptčk
Prenazalized stopsbdɡ
Fricativesvsɣ
Nasalsmmnŋ
Laterall
Rhoticr
Glideswy

There are many similarities as well as differences in the consonants available in the languages around the Tape area. For example, Tape does not contain any apicolabial consonants which is similar to the languages in the northeastern part of Malakua. Also the Tape language includes the contrastive palatal affricate, /č/, which is not present in V'ënen Taut, a language located near Tape. In addition, the Tape language contains a contrastive series of labiovelar consonants which the languages, V'ënen Taut, Larevat, and Naman lack. [3]

Grammar

Nominalization

One is able to obtain a noun by adding a -ien to the a verb root. [3]

Examples

By adding -ien to a verb ending in p, the p will usually change to a v. [3]

Examples

One is able to obtain a noun By adding në- to a verb. [3]

Examples

Compounding

By combining two nouns together, one is able to form a new noun related to both words. [3]

ex:

lumlum

waterweed

tes

sea

lumlum tes

waterweed sea

'seaweed'

ex:

netite

child

dui

man

netite dui

child man

'boy'

Adding a place after a noun indicates the noun is originating from that particular place. [3]

ex:

dui

man

Tape

location

dui Tape

man location

'Tape man'

ex:

dui

man

elo

coast

dui elo

man coast

'coastal person'

Possession

In many Oceanic languages, there is a distinction between indirect and direct possession of nouns. Indirect possession usually occurs when adding another phrase or word after the possessive noun while direct possession occurs when adding a prefix to the noun it is possessing. [3]

ex:

nisip

knife

ese

POSS

mwëliun

chief

nisip ese mwëliun

knife POSS chief

'the chief's knife'

ex:

pëti

head

-k

1SG

pëti -k

head 1SG

Indirectly possessed nouns

There are special markers indicating the different types of possession like using ese- for general possession. Besides the general possession, there is possession towards, eating, chewing, and drinking. By adding de-, jomo-, and mëne-, one is referring to eating, chewing, and drinking respectively.

Possessive Pronouns (Edible) [3]
SingularDualTrialPlural
1dokdedrudedëtëlded
2dom---
3dendarudartëldar
ex:

mëtiu

coconut

do-m

ED:2SG

mëtiu do-m

coconut ED:2SG

'your coconut (for eating)'

Possessive Pronouns (Chewable) [3]
SingularDualTrialPlural
1jomokjomodrujomodëtëljomod
2jomom---
3jomonjomarujomartëljomar
ex:

niji

sugarcane

jomo-m

CHEW-2SG

niji jomo-m

sugarcane CHEW-2SG

'your sugarcane (for chewing)'

Possessive Pronouns (Drinkable) [3]
SingularDualTrialPlural
1mënokmënedrumënedëtëlmëned
2mënom---
3mënenmënarumënartëlmënar
ex:

nuo

water

mëno-m

DRINK-2SG

nuo mëno-m

water DRINK-2SG

'your water (for drinking)'

General Pronouns (General) [3]
SingularDualTrialPlural
1(g)esek(g)esedru(g)esedëtël(g)esed
2(g)esom---
3(g)esen(g)esaru(g)esartël(g)esar
ex:

nisip

knife

eso-m

POSS-2SG

nisip eso-m

knife POSS-2SG

'your knife'

Directly possessed nouns

Possessive Suffixes [3]
SingularDualTrialPlural
1-k-dru-dëtël-d
2-m---
3-n-ru-rtël-r

Example

  • pëti-m (head - 2SG) meaning 'your head'

Numerals

  1. isimëk, isig
  2. iru
  3. itël
  4. ives
  5. ilëm
  6. lëmjis
  7. jiru
  8. jitël
  9. jevet
  10. isngel
  11. isngel dëmon isimëk
  12. isngel dëmon iru
  13. isngel dëmon itël
  14. isngel dëmon ives
  15. isngel dëmon ilëm
  16. isngel dëmon lëmjis
  17. isngel dëmon jiru
  18. isngel dëmon jitël
  19. isngel dëmon jevet
  20. ingelru
  21. ingelru dëmon isig

When counting from 1–10, it is like counting in any other language where an arbitrary meaning is attached to a word. After counting to ten, one must add the word, isngel and dëmon before the numerals 1–9 to make teen numbers. The form, dëmon, has no meaning by itself in the Tape language. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ë</span> Latin letter E with dierisis; used in Albanian, Dutch, French, and Afrikaans

Ë, ë (e-diaeresis) is a letter in the Albanian, Kashubian, Emilian, Romagnol, Ladin, and Lenape alphabets. As a variant of the letter e, it also appears in Acehnese, Afrikaans, Belarusian, Breton, Dutch, English, Filipino, French, Luxembourgish, Piedmontese, Russian, the Abruzzese dialect of the Neapolitan language, and the Ascolano dialect. The letter is also used in Seneca, Taiwanese Hokkien, Turoyo, and Uyghur when written in Latin script.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fijian language</span> Austronesian language of Fiji

Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000–450,000 ethnic Fijians as a native language. The 2013 Constitution established Fijian as an official language of Fiji, along with English and Fiji Hindi and there is discussion about establishing it as the "national language". Fijian is a VOS language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlandic language</span> Inuit language spoken in Greenland

Greenlandic is an Eskimo–Aleut language with about 57,000 speakers, mostly Greenlandic Inuit in Greenland. It is closely related to the Inuit languages in Canada such as Inuktitut. It is the most widely spoken Eskimo–Aleut language. In June 2009, the government of Greenland, the Naalakkersuisut, made Greenlandic the sole official language of the autonomous territory, to strengthen it in the face of competition from the colonial language, Danish. The main variety is Kalaallisut, or West Greenlandic. The second variety is Tunumiit oraasiat, or East Greenlandic. The language of the Inughuit of Greenland, Inuktun or Polar Eskimo, is a recent arrival and a dialect of Inuktitut.

Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. They are usually classified into two groups, North Marquesan and South Marquesan, roughly along geographic lines.

Vaeakau-Taumako is a Polynesian language spoken in some of the Reef Islands as well as in the Taumako Islands in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands.

Taba is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the South Halmahera–West New Guinea group. It is spoken mostly on the islands of Makian, Kayoa and southern Halmahera in North Maluku province of Indonesia by about 20,000 people.

Manam is a Kairiru–Manam language spoken mainly on the volcanic Manam Island, northeast of New Guinea.

Tamambo, or Malo, is an Oceanic language spoken by 4,000 people on Malo and nearby islands in Vanuatu. It is one of the most conservative Southern Oceanic languages.

Anejom̃ or Aneityum is an Oceanic language spoken by 900 people on Aneityum Island, Vanuatu. It is the only indigenous language of Aneityum.

Roviana is a member of the North West Solomonic branch of Oceanic languages. It is spoken around Roviana and Vonavona lagoons at the north central New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. It has 10,000 first-language speakers and an additional 16,000 people mostly over 30 years old speak it as a second language. In the past, Roviana was widely used as a trade language and further used as a lingua franca, especially for church purposes in the Western Province, but now it is being replaced by the Solomon Islands Pijin. Published studies on Roviana include: Ray (1926), Waterhouse (1949) and Todd (1978) contain the syntax of Roviana. Corston-Oliver discuss ergativity in Roviana. Todd (2000) and Ross (1988) discuss the clause structure in Roviana. Schuelke (2020) discusses grammatical relations and syntactic ergativity in Roviana.

Ughele is an Oceanic language spoken by about 1200 people on Rendova Island, located in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erromanga language</span> Austronesian language spoken in Vanuatu

Erromangan, or Sie (Sye), is the primary language spoken on the island Erromango in the Tafea region of the Vanuatu islands. The other Erromanga languages are either moribund or extinct. Although the island is quite large (887 km2), the total number of speakers of Erromango is estimated at 1900.

Uyghur is a Turkic language spoken mostly in the west of China.

Mavea is an Oceanic language spoken on Mavea Island in Vanuatu, off the eastern coast of Espiritu Santo. It belongs to the North–Central Vanuatu linkage of Southern Oceanic. The total population of the island is approximately 172, with only 34 fluent speakers of the Mavea language reported in 2008.

Mekeo is a language spoken in Papua New Guinea and had 19,000 speakers in 2003. It is an Oceanic language of the Papuan Tip Linkage. The two major villages that the language is spoken in are located in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. These are named Ongofoina and Inauaisa. The language is also broken up into four dialects: East Mekeo; North West Mekeo; West Mekeo and North Mekeo. The standard dialect is East Mekeo. This main dialect is addressed throughout the article. In addition, there are at least two Mekeo-based pidgins.

Tawala is an Oceanic language of the Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It is spoken by 20,000 people who live in hamlets and small villages on the East Cape peninsula, on the shores of Milne Bay and on areas of the islands of Sideia and Basilaki. There are approximately 40 main centres of population each speaking the same dialect, although through the process of colonisation some centres have gained more prominence than others.

Vamale (Pamale) is a Kanak language of northern New Caledonia. The Hmwaeke dialect, spoken in Tiéta, is fusing with Haveke and nearly extinct. Vamale is nowadays spoken in Tiendanite, We Hava, Téganpaïk and Tiouandé. It was spoken in the Pamale valley and its tributaries Vawe and Usa until the colonial war of 1917, when its speakers were displaced.

Merei or Malmariv is an Oceanic language spoken in north central Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.

Neve’ei, also known as Vinmavis, is an Oceanic language of central Malekula, Vanuatu. There are around 500 primary speakers of Neve’ei and about 750 speakers in total.

Turkmen grammar is the grammar of the Turkmen language, whose dialectal variants are spoken in Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and others. Turkmen grammar, as described in this article, is the grammar of standard Turkmen as spoken and written by Turkmen people in Turkmenistan.

References

  1. Tape at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 "Maragus". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Crowley, Terry (2006). Lynch, John (ed.). Tape, a Declining Language of Malakula (Vanuatu). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi: 10.15144/PL-575 (inactive 31 January 2024). hdl: 1885/146275 . ISBN   0-85883-567-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)