Anuta language

Coordinates: 11°37′S 169°51′E / 11.61°S 169.85°E / -11.61; 169.85

Anuta
Native to Solomon Islands
Region Anuta Island
Native speakers
 270 (1999)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 aud
Glottolog anut1237[2]

The Anuta language (or Anutan, locally te taranga paka-Anuta) is a Polynesian Outlier language from the island of Anuta in the Solomon Islands. It is closely related to the Tikopia language of the neighboring island of Tikopia, and it bears significant cultural influence from the island. The two languages have a high degree of mutual intelligibility, although Anutans can understand Tikopians better than the reverse.[3]:6

Anuta is generally regarded as Nuclear Polynesian language, although it bears considerable Tongic influence.

In 1977, Richard Feinberg published a two-volume dictionary and basic grammar of the language.

Phonology

Anuta has an extremely small consonant inventory. This is as a result of several phoneme mergers such as /f/ with /p/ and /s/ with /t/.[3]:8 Vowels have a short and long form.[3]:12

Consonants[3]:8
Labial Alveolar Velar
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p t ~ s k
Fricative v ~ w
Liquid l ~ ɾ
Vowels[3]:12
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Resources

A 200-word word list is available at the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database.[4]

References

  • Feinberg, Richard. 1977. The Anutan Language Reconsidered: Lexicon and Grammar of a Polynesian Outlier. Two Volumes. HRAFlex Books. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files Press.

Notes

  1. ↑ Anuta at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Anuta". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Feinberg, Richard (1977). The Anutan Language Reconsidered: Lexicon and Grammar of a Polynesian Outlier, Volume 1. Human Relations Area Files. p. 139.
  4. ↑ Biggs, Bruce; Clark, Ross. "Anuta". Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database. Simon Greenhill, Robert Blust & Russell Gray. Retrieved 8 August 2008.


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