Santa Cruz language
Oceanic language spoken in Solomon Islands
| Santa Cruz | |
|---|---|
| Natügu | |
| Native to | Solomon Islands |
| Region | Santa Cruz Islands, Eastern Solomons. |
Native speakers | (5,900 cited 1999)[1] |
Language family | Austronesian
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:ntu – Natügunlz – Nalögonpx – Noipx |
| Glottolog | natu1250 |
| Coordinates: 10°40′S 165°50′E / 10.667°S 165.833°E / -10.667; 165.833 | |
The Santa Cruz language (locally known as Natügu) is the main language spoken on the island of Nendö or 'Santa Cruz', in the Solomon Islands.
Name
The name Natügu means "our language" (natü "language, word" + -gu "1st + 2nd person plural suffix").
Genetic affiliation
It was widely believed until recently that Santa Cruz was a Papuan language. Like the rest of the Reefs – Santa Cruz languages, however, it has been shown to be a member of the Austronesian language family.[2]
Dialects
Dialects are Bënwë (Banua), Londai, Malo, Nea, Nooli. Speakers of most dialects understand Lwowa and Mbanua well. The Nea and Nooli dialects are the most divergent, actually a separate language (Nalögo).
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | round | pal. | plain | round | pal. | plain | round | pal. | |||
| Stop | voiceless | p | pʷ | pʲ | t | tʷ | k | kʷ | kʲ | ||
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | ||||||||
| voiced | b | bʷ | bʲ | d | dʷ | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||||
| Nasal | m | mʷ | n | nʲ | ŋ | ŋʷ | |||||
| Fricative | v | s | |||||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | ||||||||
Voiced stops can also be heard as prenasalized.[3]
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ʉ | u |
| Close-mid | e | ɵ | o |
| Near-open | æ | ə | ɔ |
| Open | a |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ũ | ||
| Close-mid | ẽ | ɵ̃ | õ |
| Near-open | æ̃ | ə̃ | ɔ̃ |
| Open | ã |
References
- ^ Natügu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Nalögo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Noipx at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Næss, Åshild and Brenda H. Boerger (2008). "Reefs – Santa Cruz as Oceanic: Evidence from the Verb Complex". Oceanic Linguistics. 47: 185–212. doi:10.1353/ol.0.0000. hdl:1959.13/1052427.
- ^ Boerger, B. H. (2012). Sociological factors in Reefs-Santa Cruz language vitality: a 40 year retrospective. Walter de Gruyter.
External links
- Buk Ngr Nzangiongr Anglican Book of Worship in the Natqgu Language
- Paradisec has a number of collections with Natügu materials
- v
- t
- e
languages
| Micronesian | |
|---|---|
| Northwest Solomonic | |
| Papuan | |
| Polynesian | |
| Southeast Solomonic | |
| Temotu |
Authority control databases: National  |
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