The Touo language, also known as Baniata (Mbaniata) or Lokuru, is spoken over the southern part of Rendova Island, located in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.
| Touo | |
|---|---|
| Baniata | |
| Native to | Solomon Islands |
| Region | southern Rendova Island, Western Province |
Native speakers | (1,900 cited 1999 census)[1] |
Central Solomons
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tqu |
| Glottolog | touo1238 |
| ELP | Touo |
 Touo is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Classification
editTouo is generally seen to be a member of the tentative Central Solomons family, although Glottolog considers it an isolate. Pedrós (2015) cautiously suggests Lavukaleve as the closest relative to Touo. Most of the surrounding languages to Touo belong to the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family.
Names
editThe Touo language is sometimes called the Baniata (Mbaniata) or Lokuru language, after the largest two villages where the language is spoken.[2] The word Touo comes from the ethnonym that Touo speakers use to refer to themselves.
Phonology
editConsonants
editTouo consonants are:[3]: 869
labial alveolar velar glottal nasal m n ŋ stop voiceless (p) t (k) voiced b d ɡ ⟨q⟩ fricative voiceless f s h voiced v z approximant ɰ ⟨g⟩ liquid l
Vowels
editTouo has six lax and five tense vowels.[4]
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tense | Lax | Tense | Lax | |
| High | ḭ ⟨ḭ⟩ | i ⟨i⟩ | ṵ ⟨ṵ⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ |
| Mid | ḛ ⟨ḛ⟩ | e ⟨e⟩ | o̰ ⟨o̰⟩ | o ⟨o⟩ |
| Low | a̰ ⟨a̰⟩ | a ⟨a⟩ | ɔ ⟨w⟩ | |
Some minimal pairs showing the tense/lax vowel phonemic distinction in Touo:[3][4]
| Lax | Tense | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Orthography | Gloss | Orthography | Gloss |
| e | road | ḛ | oven |
| avo | garden | a̰vo | four |
| ua | who? | ṵa | eat |
| isi | small | ḭsi | sleep |
Grammar
editTouo has four genders.[3]
- masculine
- feminine
- neuter I (generic)
- neuter II (certain trees)
Only in certain paradigms of the singular number can neuter I and II be distinguished.
Touo distinguishes four numbers.[3]
- singular
- dual
- enumerated (i.e., numerically specified; can be used for both few or many numbers)
- non-enumerated (i.e., not numerically specified; used for numbers greater than three)
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Touo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Tryon, D. T.; Hackman, B. D. (1983). Solomon Islands languages: an internal classification. Pacific Linguistics Series C - No. 72. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi:10.15144/PL-C72. hdl:1885/145227. ISBN 978-0-85883-292-3.
- ^ a b c d e Stebbins, Tonya; Evans, Bethwyn; Terrill, Angela (2018). "The Papuan languages of Island Melanesia". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 775–894. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- ^ a b Nammari, Maisa. Touo: An Exploration of Grammar through Narration (BA thesis). Boulder: University of Colorado.
- Paradisec has two collections of Arthur Cappell's materials (AC1, AC2) that include Touo language materials.
References
edit- Dunn, Michael (2005). "Vernacular Literacy in the Touo Language of the Solomon Islands". Current Issues in Language Planning. 6 (2): 239–250. doi:10.1080/14664200508668283. S2CID 130210017.
- Terrill, Angela; Dunn, Michael (2003). "Orthographic design in the Solomon Islands: The social, historical, and linguistic situation of Touo (Baniata)". Written Language & Literacy. 6 (2): 177–192. doi:10.1075/wll.6.2.03ter.