North Efate, also known as Nakanamanga or Nguna, is an Oceanic language spoken on the northern area of Efate in Vanuatu, as well as on a number of islands off the northern coast – including Nguna, and parts of Tongoa, Emae and Epi.
| North Efate | |
|---|---|
| Nakanamanga | |
| Nguna | |
| Region | Efate, Vanuatu |
Native speakers | 9,500 (2001)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | llp |
| Glottolog | nort2836 |
 North Efate is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
The population of speakers is recorded to be 9,500.[2] This makes Nakanamanga one of the largest languages of Vanuatu, an archipelago known for having the world's highest linguistic density.[3]
Phonology
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2017) |
The consonant and vowels sounds of North Efate (Nguna).[4]
| Labial | Dental | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | plain | p | t̪ | k |
| implosive | ɓʷ | |||
| Fricative | v | s | ||
| Nasal | plain | m | n | ŋ |
| prenasal | ᵑm | |||
| Liquid | l r | |||
| Semivowel | w | |||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
Subdialects of North Efate include:[5]
- Buninga
- Emau
- Livara
- Nguna
- Paunangis
- Sesake
References
edit- Ray, Sidney H. (1887). "Sketch of Nguna Grammar". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 16. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 409–418. doi:10.2307/2841882. JSTOR 2841882.
- Schütz, Albert J. (1969). "Nguna Grammar". Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications.
Notes
edit- ^ North Efate at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ "Efate, North". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ^ François, Alexandre; Franjieh, Michael; Lacrampe, Sébastien; Schnell, Stefan (2015), "The exceptional linguistic density of Vanuatu", in François, Alexandre; Lacrampe, Sébastien; Franjieh, Michael; Schnell, Stefan (eds.), The Languages of Vanuatu: Unity and Diversity, Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia, Canberra: Asia Pacific Linguistics Open Access, pp. 1–21, ISBN 9781922185235
- ^ Schütz, Albert J. (1969). Nguna Grammar. Vol. 5. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications. ISBN 0-87022-744-0. ISSN 0078-3188. JSTOR 20019123. OCLC 70697.
- ^ "Glottolog 3.3 - North Efate". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2018-11-13.