East Ambae language
| East Ambae | |
|---|---|
| Region | Ambae, Vanuatu |
Native speakers | 5,000 (2001)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | omb |
| Glottolog | east2443 |
East Ambae (also known as Omba, Oba, Aoba, Walurigi, Lolovoli, Northeast Aoba, and Northeast Ambae) is an Oceanic language spoken on Ambae, Vanuatu. The data in this article will concern itself with the Lolovoli dialect of the North-East Ambae language.
Phonology
North-East Ambae distinguishes 5 vowels and 16 consonants, shown in the tables below.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | Labiovelar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiceless Stop | t | k | |||
| Prenasalised Voiced Stop | ᵐb | ⁿd | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | |
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | mʷ | |
| Fricative | β | s | h | ||
| Tap/Trill | r | ||||
| Lateral Approximant | l | ||||
| Glide | w |
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |||
| Mid | e | o | |||
| Open | a |
Morphology
Pronominals
In Ambae there are four different pronominal forms, one set of free forms, independent pronouns and three sets of bound forms, subject proclitics, object enclitics and possessive suffixes. All sets of pronominals distinguish between singular, dual and plural and between inclusive and exclusive in the first person. Independent pronouns are preceded by the personal article when the head of a noun phrase.
Independent Pronouns
| Person | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1INC | gideru | gide | |
| 1EXCL | neu | gamaru | gamai |
| 2 | niko | gimiru | gimiu |
| 3 | ngie | garue | ngire |
Subject Proclitics
The subject proclitic is the first part of a verb phrase and can attach to an aspect, mood, negative particle or verb head.[5] Dual forms cliticise to the marker ru. In Lolovoli, no= is applied when cliticised in 1st person exclusive singular.
| Person | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1INC | da=ru | da= | |
| 1EXCL | na=, no= | ga=ru | ga= |
| 2 | go= | ne=ru | ne= |
| 3 | Ø, na=, vi= | ra=ru | ra= |
Examples:
Go=ni inu rongo na malogu 2SGS=IRR drink feel ACC kava "You will taste the Kava"
Da=hivo da=si~siu 1NSG.INS=go.down 1NSG.INS=REDUP~fish "Let's go down and fish."
Object Enclitics
Object enclitics occur when attached to the predicate head or last adverb in a verb phrase. These only occur in singular forms and all 3rd person forms.[6]
| Person | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1INC | gideru | gide | |
| 1EXCL | =eu | gamaru | gamai |
| 2 | =go | gimiru | gimiu |
| 3 | =a =e | =ra, =re | =ra, =re |
Examples:
Ra=u hui i gide 3NSG=TEL ask PERS 1NSG.IN "They asked us."
Go=mese wehe i netu-ku 2SGS=DEHOR hit PERS child-1SGP "Don't hit my children."
Possessive Suffixes
Possessive suffixes are attached to the head noun in a direct possessive construction, or a relational classifier in an indirect possessive construction.[7]
| Person | Number | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1INC | -da=ru | -da, -de | |
| 1EXCL | -ku | -ma=ru | -mai |
| 2 | -mu | -me=ru | -miu |
| 3 | -na, -ne | =ra, =re | =ra, =re |
Examples:
Nago-mu u memea face-2SGP TEL red "Your face is red."
no-ku bue CL.GEN-1SGP knife "my knife"
Footnotes
- ^ East Ambae at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Hyslop 2001, p.28
- ^ Hyslop 2001, p.32
- ^ Hyslop 2001, p.95
- ^ Hyslop 2001, p.95
- ^ Hyslop 2001, p.96
- ^ Hyslop 2001, p.96
References
- Ivens, W. G. (1940). "A Grammar of the Language of Lobaha, Lepers' Island, New Hebrides, Melanesia". Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London. 10 (2): 345–363. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00087553.
- Hyslop, Catriona. (2001). The Lolovoli Dialect of the North-East Ambae Language, Vanuatu. Pacific Linguistics 515. Canberra: Australian National University.
External links
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