Yele language

The Yele language, or Yélî Dnye (IPA: [ˈjelɯ ʈɳʲɛ]), is the language of Rossel Island, the easternmost island in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. There were an estimated 5,000 speakers in 2015, comprising the entire ethnic population. It is known for its many doubly articulated consonants. The language remains unclassified by linguists.

Yele
Yélî Dnye
Pronunciation	[ˈjelɯ ʈɳʲɛ]
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Region	Rossel Island, Louisiade Archipelago
Native speakers	5,000 (2015)
Language family	Yele – West New Britain languages ? Austronesian? Yele
Language codes
ISO 639-3	yle
Glottolog	yele1255
ELP	Yele
Coordinates: 11°21′S 154°09′E

Classification

For now, the language is best considered unclassified. It has been classified as a tentative language isolate that may turn out to be related to the Anêm and Ata language isolates of New Britain (in a tentative Yele – West New Britain family), or alternatively closest to Sudest in the Papuan Tip languages of the Oceanic family. Typologically it is more similar to the Oceanic languages of southern New Guinea than to the isolates of New Britain. Word order tends to be subject–object–verb (SOV; verb-final).

Stebbins et al. (2018) classifies Yélî Dnye as an isolate. They explain similarities with Austronesian as being due to contact and diffusion. Usher classifies it as an Oceanic language, with regular sound correspondences obscured by the development of the doubly articulated consonants.

Phonology

Yele has a uniquely rich set of doubly articulated consonants. In nearly all the languages of the world which have them, these are labial–velar consonants—that is, they are pronounced simultaneously with the lips and the back of the tongue, such as a simultaneous p and k. However, Yele is known to contrast other doubly articulated positions: besides labial–velar, it has two distinct labial–coronal articulations, all as both stops and nasals as illustrated below. There are also doubly articulated approximants: [l͡βʲ] as in lvamê (a type of cane) and [j͡β̞]. The Yele /w̪/ is more precisely a labial–dental [β̞͡ð̞], and may also have an allophone of [β]. These doubly articulated consonants do not contrast with labialization except in the case of the labial–velars.

The two coronal articulations are

• laminal denti-alveolar, sometimes transcribed ⟨tʸ, nʸ⟩ etc. or simply ⟨t, n⟩ etc.,
• sub-apical retroflex, possibly varying as apical post-alveolar, variously transcribed ⟨ṭ, ṇ⟩ etc., ⟨ʈ, ɳ⟩ etc., or simply ⟨t, n⟩ etc.

Palatalization occurs at all places of articulation. Stops may be either pre-nasalized or post-nasalized.

Altogether, there are 58 attested consonants (56 demonstrated with solid minimal pairs) and one more that is somewhat dubious. The attested inventory is as follows:

Consonants

	Labial				Denti-alveolar				Postalveolar/retroflex				Velar			Labial-velar
	plain	lab.	pal.	lab-pal.	plain	lab.	pal.	lab-pal.	plain	lab.	pal.	lab-pal.	plain	lab.	pal.	plain	pal.
Nasal	m	mʷ	mʲ	mʷʲ	n̪	n̪͡m			ɳ	ɳ͡m	ɳʲ	ɳ͡mʲ	ŋ	ŋʷ		ŋ͡m
Plosive	p	pʷ	pʲ	pʷʲ	t̪	t̪͡p	t̪ʲ [t͡ɕ]	t̪͡pʲ	ʈ	ʈ͡p	ʈʲ	ʈ͡pʲ	k	kʷ	kʲ	k͡p	k͡pʲ
Prenasalized plosive	mb	mbʷ	mbʲ	mbʷʲ	n̪d̪	n̪͡md̪͡b	n̪d̪ʲ [nd͡ʑ]	n̪͡md̪͡bʲ	ɳɖ	ɳ͡mɖ͡b	ɳɖʲ		ŋɡ	ŋɡʷ		ŋ͡mɡ͡b
Nasal release									(ʈɳ ?)	ʈ͡pɳ͡m	ʈɳʲ	ʈ͡pɳ͡mʲ	kŋ	kŋʷ		k͡pŋ͡m
Fricative	(β)		βʲ										ɣ
Lateral approximant					l		lʲ	l͡βʲ
Approximant						w̪ [β̞͡ð̞]					j

The oral stops apart from the dentialveolars are lightly voiced between vowels when the following vowel is short, but not when it is long. /ʈ/ is further reduced to a flap [ɽ]. All prenasalized stops are fully voiced. The palatalized denti-alveolar stops /t̪ʲ/ and /n̪d̪ʲ/ are pronounced as affricates [t͡ɕ] and [nd͡ʑ].

/ʈɳ/ (orthographic dn) is only attested from the inflectional clitic -dniye, and it is not clear that it is distinct from well-attested palatalized /ʈɳʲ/ (for *-dnyiye) (Levinson 2022:45). Some palatalized and labialized consonants are only attested from a handful of words. A gap in the chart above, *ɳ͡mɖ͡bʲ (orthographic mdy), is plausible but unattested (Levinson 2022:45). Other gaps, namely *n̪ʲ and *n̪͡mʲ (orthographic ńy and nmy) seem to not exist (Levinson 2022:46).

Yele also has 34 vowels: ten oral qualities and seven nasal, all long and short:

Vowels

	Front				Central				Back
	Oral		Nasal		Oral		Nasal		Oral		Nasal
Close	i	iː	ĩ	ĩː	ɯ	ɯː			u	uː	ũ	ũː
Near-close	e	eː	ɛ̃	ɛ̃ː	ə	əː	ə̃	ə̃ː	o	oː	ɔ̃	ɔ̃ː
Open-mid	ɛ	ɛː							ɔ	ɔː
(Near-)open	æ	æː	æ̃	æ̃ː					ɑ	ɑː	ɑ̃	ɑ̃ː

Vowels may occur long or short. SIL (1992/2004) interprets vowel sequences as being separated by /j/ or /w/ rather than being in hiatus. (Possibly redundant y or w are found in the sequences iy and uw followed by most short vowels.) Given that vowels may be long or short, Yele syllables may only be of the form V or CV, with V only being short /æ/ or /u/ at the beginning of a word (assuming lack of hiatus within a word).

Orthography

Orthography	a	â	b	ch	d	e	é	ê	gh	i	î	j	k	l	m	n	ń	o	ó	p	t	u	v	w	y	꞉
IPA	æ	ɑ	p	t̪ʲ	ʈ	ɛ	e	ə	ɣ	i	ɯ	t̪ʲ	k	l	m	ɳ	n̪	ɔ	o	p	t̪	u	β	w̪	j	◌̃

The multigraphs for complex consonants are not always transparent. The labial-velar and labial-coronal consonants are written with the labial second: kp /k͡p/, dp /ʈ͡p/, tp /t̪͡p/, ngm /ŋ͡m/, nm /ɳ͡m/, ńm /n̪͡m/, lv /l͡βʲ/. Prenasalized /mp/ is written mb, but /nd̪/ and /ŋɡ/ are written nt and nk to distinguish them from nd /nɖ/ and ng /ŋ/. Prenasalized stops are written with an m when labial, including the doubly articulated stops md /ɳ͡mɖ͡b/, mg /ŋ͡mɡ͡b/ and mt /n̪͡md̪͡b/, and with n otherwise. Nasal release is likewise written n or m, as in dny /ʈɳʲ/, kn /kŋ/, dm /ʈ͡pɳ͡m/, km /k͡pŋ͡m/. Labialization is written w, and palatalization y, apart from ch for /t̪ʲ/ and nj for /nd̪ʲ/.

Of the vowels, only a and u occur initially. Long vowels are written double, and nasal vowels with a preceding colon (꞉a for /æ̃/), except for short vowels after an orthographic nasal consonant, where vowel nasality is not contrastive.

Grammar

Yele has been studied extensively by cognitive linguists. It has an extensive set of spatial postpositions. Yele has eleven postpositions equivalent to English on; using different ones depending factors such as whether the object is on a table (horizontal), a wall (vertical), or atop a peak; whether or not it is attached to the surface; and whether it is solid or granular (distributed).

Pronouns

Yele has a set of free pronouns and a set of bound possessive pronouns.

		Singular		Dual		Plural
		English	Yele	English	Yele	English	Yele
1st person	free	I	ɳə	we two	n̪o	we	ɳ͡mo
	bound		a		n̪i		ɳ͡mɯ
2nd person	free	thou	n̪i	you two	ʈ͡pũ	you	n̪͡mo
	bound		N-		ʈ͡pɯ		n̪͡me
3rd person	free	he/she	–	they two	–	they	–
	bound		u				ji

Taboos and special registers

There are three different types of taboos present in Yélî Dnye: vocabulary avoided by women, vocabulary avoided when in the presence of in-laws, and vocabulary related to sacred places. However, since the language has fallen into disuse, many of this special vocabulary is no longer used.

Additionally, special registers and terms are used when discussing shell money (kêndapî), at a mortuary feast (kpaakpaa) and during songs.

Women's language

As a form of women's speech, women avoid certain words, especially those related to the sea. Instead, other words are substituted.

Sample women's language terms

Men's term	Women's term	Gloss
ntii	tpili	sea
nt꞉ee	tpyele	sea (locative)
nee	dyudu	canoe
kwede	kódu yââ/mtene pyu	bailer shell
lyé	pele yââ	coconut mat
mbwaa	tolo	fresh water
Lów꞉a	mwada tpli pee	Lów꞉a isle

In-laws

Since great respect is shown to in-laws on Rossel Island, speakers of Yélî Dnye will not say their in-laws' names, will only speak of each in-law using the polite third-person plural pronoun yi, and will replace certain words when speaking near them. While the alternative vocabulary is mostly no longer used, the name and pronoun taboos are still observed.

Most of the taboo words are body parts, clothing or carried possessions. Not all body words are replaced, however: for example, 'neck', 'Adam's apple' and 'stomach' retain their everyday forms.

Sample in-law terms

Everyday term	In-law term	Gloss
ngwolo	yi wuché / yi chéé dê	eye
kópu	yi kp꞉aa têdê	words
kêê	yi kéépi	hand
yodo	yi mbwene	belly
péé	yi mgéé	basket
kada	ghââ	in front of
tpe/tpoo	yi tapa	vagina

Vocabulary

Selected basic vocabulary items in Yélî Dnye:

gloss	Yélî Dnye
bird	ńmê; ńmo
blood	wêê
bone	dînê
breast	ngmo
ear	ngweńe
eat	ma
egg	w꞉uu
eye	ngwolo
fire	ndê; ndyuw꞉e
give	yeede
go	lê; lili; nî
ground	mbwóó; têpê
hair	gh꞉aa
head	mbodo
leg	yi
louse	y꞉emê wee
man	pi
moon	d꞉ââ
name	pi
one	ngmidi
road, path	maa
see	m꞉uu
sky	mbóó; vyââ
stone	chêêpî
sun	kââdî
tongue	dêê
tooth	nyóó
tree	yi
two	miyó
water	mbwaa; tolo
woman	kumbwada; pyââ

Sample text

Yélî Dnye:

Kiye w꞉ââ u pi Peetuuki, ka kwo, Doongê. Nê kuu. Daa a w꞉ââ. Nkal u w꞉ââ. Nkal ngê yinê kaa ngê. W꞉ââ dono. Pi yilî u te. U nuu u pi da tóó. Pi u lama daa tóó. M꞉iituwo Yidika, Mépé tp꞉oo mî kiye ngê. Daanté. Mépé dono ngê pyodo. Apê, W꞉ââ mbwamê nînê châpwo. Nkal ngê kwo, "Up꞉o" . W꞉ââ mî mbêpê wo, chii mênê. Mépé ngê w꞉ââ mbwamê mêdîpê châpwo. Awêde ka kwo, Doongê. Pi maa daa t꞉a. A danêmbum u dî.

Yélî Dnye in the International Phonetic Alphabet:

ˈki.ɛ w̪ɑ̃ː u pi ˈpɛːt̪uːɡi | kæ kʷɔ | ˈʈɔːŋə̃ || ɳə̃ kuː || ʈæː æ w̪ɑ̃ː || ŋɡæl u w̪ɑ̃ː || ŋɡæl ŋə̃ ˈjiɳə̃ kæː ŋə̃ || w̪ɑ̃ː ˈʈɔɳɔ̃ || pi ˈjilɯ u t̪ɛ || u ɳuː u pi ʈæ t̪oː || pi u ˈlæmæ̃ ʈæː t̪oː || ˈmĩːt̪u.ɔ ˈjiɽiˈɡæ | ˈmebe t̪͡pɔ̃ː mɯ̃ ˈki.ɛ ŋə̃ || ˈʈæːn̪d̪e || ˈmebe ʈɔˈɳɔ̃ ŋə̃ ˈpʲɔɽɔ || ˈæbə | w̪ɑ̃ː ˈmbʷæmə̃ ˈɳɯ̃ɳə̃ ˈt͡ɕɑbʷɔ || ŋɡæl ŋə̃ kʷɔ | ˈubɔ̃ || w̪ɑ̃ː mɯ̃ ˈmbəbə w̪ɔ | t͡ɕiː ˈmə̃ɳə̃ || meˈbe ŋə̃ w̪ɑ̃ː ˈmbʷæmə̃ ˈməɽɯbə ˈt͡ɕɑbʷɔ || æˈw̪əɽɛ kæ kʷɔ | ˈʈɔːŋə̃ || pi mæː ʈæː t̪æ̃ || æ ˈʈæɳə̃mbum u ʈɯ ||

Translation:

The savage dog is called "Peetuuki", and he lives at Doongê. It's nothing to do with me. It's not my dog. It's Nkal's dog. He raised it. It's a bad dog. It bites everyone. It doesn't like anyone. Recently it bit Mépé's son, Yidika. It really bit him hard. Mépé became very angry, and said, 'I'm going to kill that dog'. The dog ran away into the bush, so Mépé could not kill it. So now it's still there at Doongê, so there's not a safe road through there. That's the end of my story.

(SIL 1992/2004)

Bibliography

• Henderson, James E. (1995). Phonology and Grammar of Yele, Papua New Guinea (PDF). Pacific Linguistics B. Vol. 112. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0858834286.
• Henderson, James E. (2004) [1992]. "Yele Organised Phonology Data". SIL. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
• Henderson, James E.; Anne Henderson, compilers (1999) [1987]. Rossel to English, English to Rossel Dictionary. Dictionaries of Papua New Guinea. Vol. 9. Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
• Ladefoged, Peter; Ian Maddieson (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell's. ISBN 0-631-19814-8.
• Levinson, Stephen C. (2003). Space in Language and Cognition: Explorations in Cognitive Diversity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-01196-5.
• Levinson, Stephen C. (2022). A Grammar of Yélî Dnye: The Papuan Language of Rossel Island. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110733853. ISBN 978-3-11-073385-3. S2CID 249083265. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
• 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.

External links

• Levinson, Stephen C. (2022-06-06). A Grammar of Yélî Dnye. De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9783110733853. ISBN 978-3-11-073385-3. S2CID 249083265.
• Paradisec has multiple collections with Yele materials, including two collections of Arthur Cappell's materials (AC1, AC2).
• The World Atlas of Language Structures lists 44 typological features of "Yelî Dnye" based on from James Henderson's 1975 and 1995 grammars of the language. https://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_yel