Gela language
| Gela | |
|---|---|
| Nggela | |
| Native to | Central Solomon Islands |
| Region | Big Nggela, Small Nggela, Sandfly and Buenavista Islands |
Native speakers | (12,000 cited 1999)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nlg |
| Glottolog | gela1263 |
Gela is a Southeast Solomonic language spoken in three dialects on four islands in the central Solomon Islands. Each of the dialects is very similar, differing mainly on a small number of phonological points.
Phonology
Phonemes
Consonants
Gela has the following consonant phonemes:
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Stop | p | b | t | d | k | g |
| Fricative | v | s | z | ɣ | ||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
| Trill | r | |||||
The fricative /z/ is realized as [ð] in alternation with a retroflex sibiliant [ʐ], initially before /a/.[2]
The Gela dominant voiced is "h" not "z". "Z" is found in Savosavo language speakers (and Bugotu and part of Guadalcanal) who also speak Gela - primarily due to their use of the Church of Melanesia Common Prayer Books and Hymns (written in Gela in the 1940s).
Vowels
Gela uses /i, e, a, o, u/ with no contrastive vowel length.
Stress
Stress generally occurs on each word's penultimate syllable.
Sample vocabulary
Numbers
- keha (keha or sakai, not keza)
- rua
- tolu
- vati
- lima
- ono
- vitu
- alu
- hiua (not hiwa)
- hangavulu
- hangavulu sakai
- hangavulu rua
- hangavulu tolu
- hangavulu vati
- hangavulu lima
- hangavulu ono
- hangavulu vitu
- hangavulu alu
- hangavulu hiua
- rua hangavulu
- rua hangavulu sakai
- rua hangavulu rua
- rua hangavulu tolu
- rua hangavulu vati
- rua hangavulu lima
- rua hangavulu ono
- rua hangavulu vitu
- rua hangavulu alu
- rua hangavulu hiua
- tolu hangavulu
- tolu hangavulu sakai
- tolu hangavulu rua
- tolu hangavulu tolu
- tolu hangavulu vati
- tolu hangavulu lima
- tolu hangavulu ono
- tolu hangavulu vitu
- tolu hangavulu alu
- tolu hangavulu hiua
- vati hangavulu
- vati hangavulu sakai
- vati hangavulu rua
- vati hangavulu tolu
- vati hangavulu vati
The pattern of number counting continues.
References
- ^ Gela at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Crowley, Terry (2002). Gela. John Lynch and Malcolm Ross and Terry Crowley (eds.), The Oceanic Languages: Richmond: Curzon. pp. 525–537.
External links
- Na Lei Kokoeliulivuti Portions of the Anglican Prayer Book in Gela
- Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in Gela
- Paradisec open access collection of texts in Gela
- Paradisec open access collection of recordings in Gela
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