Tolai language
| Tolai | |
|---|---|
| Kuanua | |
| Tinata TunaCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Gazelle Peninsula, East New Britain Province |
| Ethnicity | Tolai |
Native speakers | (61,000 cited 1991)Category:Language articles with old Ethnologue 18 speaker data[1] 20,000 L2 speakers |
Austronesian
| |
| Latin script (Tolai alphabet) Tolai Braille | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ksd |
| Glottolog | kuan1248 |
The Tolai language, or Kuanua, is spoken by the Tolai people of Papua New Guinea, who live on the Gazelle Peninsula in East New Britain Province.
Nomenclature
This language is often referred to in the literature as Tolai. However, Tolai is actually the name of the cultural group. The Tolais themselves refer to their language as a tinata tunaCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text, which translates as 'the real language'. KuanuaCategory:Articles containing Ramoaaina-language text is apparentlyCategory:Wikipedia articles needing clarification from February 2023[clarification needed] a word in Ramoaaina meaning 'the place over there'.
Classification
Tolai belongs to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian language family. The most immediate subgroup is the Patpatar–Tolai group of languages which also includes Lungalunga (also spoken on the Gazelle Peninsula) and Patpatar (spoken on New Ireland).
Characteristics
Unlike many languages in Papua New Guinea, Tolai is a healthy language and not in danger of dying out to Tok Pisin, though Tolai has many loanwords from Tok Pisin; e.g. the original kubarCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text has been completely usurped by the Tok Pisin braunCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text for 'brown', and the Tok Pisin vilivilCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text for 'bicycle' has replaced the former aingauCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text. It is considered a prestigious language and is the primary language of communication in the two major centers of East New Britain: Kokopo and Rabaul.
Tolai lost the phoneme /s/Category:Pages with plain IPA. For instance, the word for 'sun' in closely related languages of South New Ireland is kesakeseCategory:Articles containing uncoded-language text, and this has been reduced to keake in Tolai. However, /s/Category:Pages with plain IPA has been reintroduced through numerous loanwords from English and Tok Pisin.
Geographic distribution
Tolai is spoken on the Gazelle Peninsula in the East New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea.
Derived languages
Tolai is said to be one of the major substratum languages of Tok Pisin. Some common Tok Pisin vocabulary items that likely come from Tolai (or a closely related language) include:
- aibikaCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text (from ibika) - Hibiscus manihot
- buaiCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text - 'betelnut'
- diwaiCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text (from dawaiCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text) - 'tree, wood'
- guriaCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text - 'earthquake'
- kawawarCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text (from kavavar) - 'ginger'
- kiauCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text - 'egg'
- lapunCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text - 'elderly person'
- liklikCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text (from ikilik) - 'small'
- umbenCategory:Articles containing Tok Pisin-language text (from uben) - 'fishing net'
Phonology
Phonology of the Tolai language:[2]
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | k |
| voiced | b | d | ɡ | |
| Fricative | β | s | ||
| Liquid | rhotic | r | ||
| Lateral | l | |||
| Semivowel | (w) | |||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
Vowel sounds can also be realised as [ɪ, ɛ, ʌ, ɔ, ʊ].Category:Pages with plain IPA /i/Category:Pages with plain IPA can be pronounced as [j]Category:Pages with plain IPA in word-initial position.
Grammar
Independent pronouns
Tolai pronouns have four number distinctions (singular, dual, trial and plural) and three person distinctions (first person, second person and third person) as well as an inclusive/exclusive distinction. There are no gender distinctions.
The plural pronouns lose their final -t when used before a verb.
- Da vana!Category:Articles containing Kuanua-language text - 'Let's go!'
- Pa ave gire.Category:Articles containing Kuanua-language text - 'We didn't see.'
- Dia tar potCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text - 'They have already arrived.'
Syntax
The usual word order of Tolai is agent–verb–object (AVO/SVO).
Morphology
There is an irregular pattern involving the prefix ni-Category:Articles containing Kuanua-language text, which changes a verb to a noun. Ordinarily, the prefix is added to the verb, as in launCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'to live' → a nilaunCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'the life', ianCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'to eat' → a nianCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'the food', aringCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'to pray' → a niaringCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'the prayer'. However, in some cases it becomes an infix ⟨inCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text⟩: varubuCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'to fight' → a vinarubuCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'the fight', tataCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'to talk' → a tinataCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'the language', mamaiCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text 'to chew betelnut' → a minamaiCategory:Articles containing Kuanua-language text '(a small supply of) betelnuts for chewing'. This infix is inserted after the initial phoneme of the verb. It could also be described as the prefix ni-Category:Articles containing Kuanua-language text being added as a prefix, and the initial phoneme of the verb changing places with the n of the prefix.
Notes
- ↑ Tolai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only contentCategory:Language articles citing Ethnologue 18
- ↑ Franklin, Karl J.; Kerr, Harland B.; Beaumont, Clive H. (1974). Tolai Language Course (third ed.). Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: Summer Institute of Linguistics. ISBN 0-88312-207-3.
References
- Mosel, Ulrike (1984). Tolai Syntax and Its Historical Development. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. doi:10.15144/pl-b92. hdl:1885/145237. ISBN 978-0-85883-309-8.
- Lynch, John; Ross, Malcolm; Crowley, Terry (2002). The Oceanic Languages. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press.
External links
- Tolai Language Course
- Language Museum page on Tolai
- A number of collections in Paradisec include materials in Tolai