The Nanumea dialect, also known as te 'Gana Faka Nanumea or Nanumean,[1] is a dialect of Tuvaluan, also considered by some to be a separate language,[2] spoken on the island of Nanumea in northern Tuvalu. It is part of the Northern dialect group of Tuvaluan,[3] and is closely related to other Polynesian languages, especially the languages of the Polynesian outliers, such as Tuvaluan, Nukuoro, Kapingamarani, Samoan and Tokelauan, and less so related to more well-known Polynesian languages such as Māori and 'Ōlelo Hawai'i.[4][5][6]
| Nanumea | |
|---|---|
| Nanumean | |
| Te Gagana Faka Nanumea/Te 'Gana Faka Nanumea | |
| Pronunciation | te ŋa'ŋana ˈfaka nanuˈmea/te 'ŋːana 'faka nanu'mea |
| Native to | Nanumea, Tuvalu |
| Region | Polynesia |
| Ethnicity | Nanumea Islanders |
Native speakers | Uncertain |
| Latin script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | tvl Nanumea doesn't have its own language code |
| ISO 639-3 | tvl |
tvl | |
Phonology
editNanumea's phonemes are the same as to the phonemes of other northern dialects of the Tuvaluan language, as can be observed:[7][3][8][4]
Vowels
edit| Short | Long | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
| Close | i | u | iː | uː |
| Mid | e | o | eː | oː |
| Open | a | aː | ||
Consonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | p | t | k | ||
| Fricative | f | v | h | ||
| Lateral | l | ||||
Consonants can also be germinated,[5][4][3] just like Tuvaluan.
Challenges
editNanumea (the island) can possibly be completely below sea level in the near future,[9] which is also a threat to te 'Gana Faka Nanumea, due to if the atoll is no longer there, there will be no use for Nanumean.
Similarities and differences with standard Tuvaluan
edit| English | Nanumea | Tuvaluan | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cat | Puuhi | Pūsi | /s/ turns into /h/ in northern dialects and, to an extent, the Nukulaelae dialect[3][8] |
| Spouse | Aavaga | Āvaga | |
| Idea | Aofaga | Manatu | |
| Gold | Aulo | Aulo | Latin loanword |
| To fold | Fefetu/Taketake | Sai | |
| Bat (Instrument) | Pate | Pate | |
| Table | Laulau | Taipola | |
| To help | Fakamaamaa | Fesoasoani | |
| Fly (Insect) | Lago | Lago | |
| Nominalizer suffix | -a | -ga | '-a' is also used in Tokelauan.[11] |
| Ten | Agafulu | Sefulu/Hefulu | 'Agafulu' seems to also have been used in older Tuvaluan, as is described by Donald G. K. [12], though more modern[10][13] dictionaries cite 'sefulu' as the used word
for ten, though in compound words 'agafulu' seems to have maintained, e.g. agafulumaikao ten coconuts. |
References
edit- ^ "Te 'Gana Faka Nanumea". nanumea.net. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ "WALS Online - Language Nanumea". wals.info. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ a b c d e "Tuvalu Language". 2019-12-30. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b c Niko, Besnier. Ttou tauloto te ggana Tuuvalu = A course in the Tuvaluan.
- ^ a b Jackson, Geoffrey W. Te tikisionale o te ʻgana Tuvalu = A Tuvaluan-English dictionary.
- ^ Besnier, Niko. Tuvaluan: A Polynesian Language of the Central Pacific.
- ^ a b "A Nanumea Lexicon" (PDF).
- ^ a b "A Dictionary of the Tuvaluan Language & Culture".
- ^ Kench, Paul S.; Ford, Murray R.; Owen, Susan D. (2018-02-09). "Patterns of island change and persistence offer alternate adaptation pathways for atoll nations". Nature Communications. 9 (1): 605. Bibcode:2018NatCo...9..605K. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-02954-1. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5807422. PMID 29426825.
- ^ a b "Tuvaluan Dictionary | PDF". Scribd. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ "Tokelau Dictionary | Atafu Tokelau Community Group". Matauala Hub. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ "Tuvalu Language". web.archive.org. 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ https://tuvalu.aa-ken.jp/en/