Maskelynes language
Austronesian language spoken in Vanuatu
| Maskelynes | |
|---|---|
| Kuliviu, Uliveo | |
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | Malekula |
Native speakers | 1,100 (2001)[1] |
Language family | Austronesian
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | klv |
| Glottolog | mask1242 |
 Maskelynes is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Maskelynes (/ˈmæskəlɪns/), or Kuliviu (Uliveo), is an Oceanic language spoken on the Maskelyne Islands off south Malekula, Vanuatu.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | labiovelarized | ||||
| Nasal | m | mʷ | n | ŋ | |
| Plosive | unvoiced | p | pʷ | t̪ | k |
| voiced | ᵐb | ᵐbʷ | ⁿd̪ | ᵑg | |
| Fricative | β | βʷ | s | x~ɣ~ʀ | |
| Approximant | w | l | j | ||
| Rhotic | r~ɾ | ||||
- /ᵐb, ⁿd, ᵑg/ are in free variation as unreleased [ᵐb̚, ⁿd̚, ᵑg̚] or unvoiced [p, t, k] word-finally or before a consonant[2]
- /ᵑg/ is realized as a voiceless [k] among some speakers, especially young[3]
- /p, pʷ, t/ are unreleased [p̚, p̚, t̚] word-finally or before a consonant (though /p/ has never been recorded before a consonant)[4]
- /mʷ, pʷ, ᵐbʷ, βʷ/ lose their labialization word-finally when not followed by a vowel and before /o, u/[5]
- /βʷ/ is [β] before voiced consonants[6]
- /β, βʷ/ are [ɸ] before voiceless consonants and word-finally[6]
- /β/ is in free variation with [ɸ] for some speakers[6]
- /w, j/ are vocalic [u, i] when in nucleus following /e, a, o/[7]
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u (u̥) | |
| Mid | ɛ | ə | o |
| Open | ɑ |
- /i/ is near-close [ɪ] between front consonants[8]
- /ɛ/ is close-mid [e] word-finally[8]
- /ə/ is [ɵ] after labiovelarized consonants or before /xu̥/[8]
- /əj, əw/ are realised as single morphemes, [i, u][7]
- /u/ is realised as front [y] between front consonants, and near-close [ʊ] when proceeded or preceded by back consonants[9]
- /o/ is front [ø] between front consonants[9]
Voiceless vowel
A voiceless [u̥] occurs at the ends of words. It is uncertain if it is an allophone of /u/ or a separate phoneme[10]
Phonotactics
Possible syllable structures in Maskelynes: (C/S)V(S)(C)[11]
Letter-to-phoneme correspondence
| Letter | a | b | b̃ | d | e | ǝ | g | h | i | k | l | m | m̃ | n | ŋ | o | p | p̃ | r | s | t | u | w | v | ṽ | w/u | y/i |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | ɑ | ᵐb | ᵐbʷ | ⁿd̪ | ɛ | ə | ᵑɡ | x | i | k | l | m | mʷ | n | ŋ | o | p | pʷ | r | s | t̪ | u | u̥ | β | βʷ | w | j |
Grammar
Verbs
The verbs of Maskelynes are agglutinative, mostly being modified by prefixes, though the stem of a verb can stand on its own. These prefixes encode for, in order of appearance in verb: 1. tense-aspect-modes; 2. subject, person and number; 3. various modes, including realis and irrealis; 4. two tense-modes; 5. reduplication. The object of a sentence is encoded by a suffix.[12]
Examples of verbal agglutination:[13]
sa-g-e-mun-i
PROH-2SG.SUBJ-IRR-drink-3SG.OBJ
sa-g-e-mun-i
PROH-2SG.SUBJ-IRR-drink-3SG.OBJ
Don't you drink it.
go-to-madha-mun-mun-i
2SG.SUBJ-REL-IMM.PST-ITER~drink-3SG.OBJ
go-to-madha-mun-mun-i
2SG.SUBJ-REL-IMM.PST-ITER~drink-3SG.OBJ
You who just now kept drinking it
Reduplication
Reduplication in Maskelynes has various usages, and can encode for e.g. plurality, habituality, iterative aspect, etc.[14]
External links
- Resources in and about the Maskelynes language at OLAC
- Paradisec has a number of collections that include Maskelynes language materials
- Maskelynes (Kuliviu) at Omniglot
References
- ^ Maskelynes at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Healey 2013, pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b c Healey 2013, p. 15.
- ^ Healey 2013, p. 13.
- ^ Healey 2013, p. 19.
- ^ a b c Healey 2013, p. 17.
- ^ a b Healey 2013, pp. 18–19.
- ^ a b c Healey 2013, p. 20.
- ^ a b Healey 2013, p. 21.
- ^ Healey 2013, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Healey 2013, p. 25.
- ^ Healey 2013, Section 8.1: Verb morphology.
- ^ Healey 2013, p. 181.
- ^ Healey 2013, section 8.5: Reduplication.
Bibliography
- Healey, David S. (2013). A GRAMMAR OF MASKELYNES: THE LANGUAGE OF ULUVEU ISLAND, VANUATU (PDF) (PhD). University of the South Pacific. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
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