Dorig language

(Redirected from Wetamut)

Dorig (formerly called Wetamut) is a threatened Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu.

Dorig
Dōrig
Pronunciation[ⁿdʊˈriɣ]
Native toVanuatu
RegionGaua
Native speakers
300 (2012)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3wwo
Glottologweta1242
ELPDorig
Dorig is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The language's 300 speakers live mostly in the village of Dorig (IPA: [ⁿdʊˈriɰ]), on the south coast of Gaua. Smaller speaker communities can be found in the villages of Qteon (east coast) and Qtevut (west coast).

Dorig's immediate neighbours are Koro and Mwerlap.[2]

Name

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The name Dorig is derived from the name of the village where it is spoken.

Phonology

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Dorig has 8 phonemic vowels. These include 7 short monophthongs /i ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ u/ and one long vowel /aː/.[3]

Dorig vowels
  Front Back
Close i ⟨i⟩ u ⟨u⟩
Near-close ɪ ⟨ē⟩ ʊ ⟨ō⟩
Open-mid ɛ ⟨e⟩ ɔ ⟨o⟩
Open a ⟨a⟩, ⟨ā⟩

Dorig has 15 consonant phonemes.[4][5]

Dorig consonants
Labiovelar Bilabial Alveolar Dorsal
Voiceless stop k͡pʷ ⟨q⟩ t ⟨t⟩ k ⟨k⟩
Prenasalized stop ᵐb ⟨b⟩ ⁿd ⟨d⟩
Nasal ŋ͡mʷ ⟨m̄⟩ m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ŋ ⟨n̄⟩
Fricative β ~ ɸ ⟨v⟩ s ⟨s⟩ ɣ ⟨g⟩
Rhotic r ⟨r⟩
Lateral l ⟨l⟩
Approximant w ⟨w⟩

The phonotactic template for a syllable in Dorig is: /CCVC/ — e.g. /rk͡pʷa/ ‘woman’ (< *rVᵐbʷai); /ŋ͡mʷsar/ ‘poor’ (< *mʷasara); /wrɪt/ ‘octopus’ (< *ɣurita). Remarkably, the consonant clusters of these /CCVC/ syllables are not constrained by the Sonority Sequencing Principle. Historically, these /CCVC/ syllables reflect former trisyllabic, paroxytone words */CVˈCVCV/, after deletion of the two unstressed vowels:[6] e.g. POc. *kuRíta ‘octopus’ > *wərítə > /wrɪt/.

Grammar

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The system of personal pronouns in Dorig contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural).[7]

Spatial reference is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages.[8]

References

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Bibliography

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