Proto-Polynesian language
In this article we are going to delve into the topic of Proto-Polynesian language, which has generated great interest in recent years. _Var1 is a concept that has been the subject of debate and discussion in different areas, from politics to science. Throughout history, Proto-Polynesian language has played a fundamental role in society, shaping the way people interact with each other and the environment around them. In this sense, it is essential to understand in depth the different aspects that encompass Proto-Polynesian language, as well as its influence on decision-making and the configuration of the reality that surrounds us. Therefore, throughout this article we will explore the different approaches and perspectives related to Proto-Polynesian language, with the aim of shedding light on a topic that continues to arouse great interest and curiosity today.
| Proto-Polynesian | |
|---|---|
| PPn | |
| Reconstruction of | Polynesian languages |
| Region | Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands |
Reconstructed ancestors | |
Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the hypothetical proto-language from which all the modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a daughter language of the Proto-Austronesian language. Historical linguists have reconstructed the language using the comparative method, in much the same manner as with Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Uralic. This same method has also been used to support the archaeological and ethnographic evidence which indicates that the ancestral homeland of the people who spoke Proto-Polynesian was in the vicinity of Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands.
Phonology
Proto-Polynesian has a small phonological inventory, with 13 consonants and 5 vowels.
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ |
| Nasal | *m | *n | *ŋ | |
| Fricative | *f | *s | *h | |
| Trill | *r | |||
| Lateral | *l | |||
| Glide | *w |
Vowels
Proto-Polynesian had five vowels, /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/, with no length distinction. In a number of daughter languages, successive sequences of vowels came together to produce long vowels and diphthongs, and in some languages these sounds later became phonemic.
Sound correspondences
| Proto-Polynesian | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ | *m | *n | *ŋ | *w | *f | *s | *h | *l | *r | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tongan | p | t | k | ʔ | m | n | ŋ | v | f | h | l | l/Ø | |||
| Niuean | Ø | ||||||||||||||
| Niuafoʻou | ʔ/Ø | h | h/Ø | ||||||||||||
| Proto-Nuclear-Polynesian | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ | *m | *n | *ŋ | *w | *f | *s | *Ø | *l | |||
| Samoan | p | t~k | ʔ | Ø | m | n | ŋ | v | f | s | Ø | l | |||
| East Futunan | t | k | ʔ/Ø | ||||||||||||
| Tikopian | Ø | ɾ | |||||||||||||
| Nukuoroan | h | l | |||||||||||||
| Proto-Eastern-Polynesian | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ/Ø | *m | *n | *ŋ | *w | *f | *h | *Ø | *l | |||
| Rapa Nui | p | t | k | ʔ/Ø | m | n | ŋ | v | v/h | h | Ø | ɾ | |||
| MVA, Cook Islands Māori | Ø | ʔ/v | ʔ | ||||||||||||
| Tuamotuan | f/h/v | h | |||||||||||||
| Māori | w | ɸ/h | |||||||||||||
| Tahitian | ʔ | ʔ | v | f/v/h | |||||||||||
| N. Marquesan | k | k | h | ʔ | |||||||||||
| S. Marquesan | ʔ | n | f/h | ||||||||||||
| Hawaiian | k | v/w | h/w | l | |||||||||||
Vocabulary
The following is a table of some sample vocabulary as it is represented orthographically in various languages. All instances of ⟨ʻ⟩ represent a glottal stop, IPA /ʔ/. All instances of ⟨ng⟩ and Samoan ⟨g⟩ represent the single phoneme /ŋ/. The letter ⟨r⟩ in all cases represents voiced alveolar tap /ɾ/, not /r/.
| Proto-Polynesian | Tongan | Niuean | Samoan | Rapa Nui | Tahitian | Māori | Cook Islands Māori | S. Marquesan | Hawaiian | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *taŋata | tangata | tangata | tagata | tangata | ta'ata | tangata | tangata | ʻenata | kanaka | person |
| *sina | hina | hina | sina | hina | hinahina | hina | ʻina | hina | grey-haired | |
| *kanahe | kanahe | kanahe | ʻanae | 'anae | kanae | kanae | ʻanae | mullet | ||
| *tiale | siale | tiale | tiale | tiare | tiare | tīare | tiare | kiele | flower | |
| *waka | vaka | vaka | vaʻa | vaka | va'a | waka | vaka | vaka | waʻa | canoe |
| *fafine | fefine | fifine | fafine | vi'e/vahine | vahine | wahine | vaʻine | vehine | wahine | woman |
| *matuʔa | mātu'a | motua | matua | matuʻa | metua | matua | metua, matua | motua | makua | parent |
| *rua | ua | ua | lua | rua | rua | rua | rua | ʻua | lua | two |
| *tolu | tolu | tolu | tolu | toru | toru | toru | toru | toʻu | kolu | three |
See also
- Proto-Oceanic language
- Proto-Austronesian language
- Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language
- Proto-Philippine language
Notes
- ^ Kirch, Patrick Vinton; Roger Green (2001). Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia: An Essay in Historical Anthropology. Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–119. ISBN 978-0-521-78309-5.
- ^ Marck, Jeff (2000). Topics in Polynesian languages and culture history (PDF). Pacific Linguistics 504. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- ^ Rolle, Nicholas (2009). "The Phonetic Nature of Niuean Vowel Length". Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics (TWPL). 31. ISSN 1718-3510.
- ^ Hockett, C.F. (May 1976), "The Reconstruction of Proto-Central Pacific", Anthropological Linguistics, 18 (5): 187–235
- ^ Archaic: the modern Tahitian word for two is piti, due to the practice of pi'i among Tahitians, a form of linguistic taboo. However, the cognate remains in the second-person dual pronoun ʻōrua, roughly translated you two.
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