Rotokas language

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Template:More footnotes needed Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other

Rotokas is a North Bougainville language spoken by about 4,320 people on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea.

Central Rotokas is most notable for its extremely small phonemic consonantal inventory, which lacks phonemic nasals.

Dialects

According to Allen and Hurd (1963), there are three identified dialects: Central Rotokas ("Rotokas Proper"), Aita Rotokas, and Pipipaia; with a further dialect spoken in Atsilima (Atsinima) village with an unclear status.[1]

Phonology

The Central dialect of Rotokas possesses one of the world's smallest phonemic consonantal inventories.[2]Template:Rp Central Rotokas has a vowel length distinction between long and short,[2]Template:Rp but otherwise lacks distinctive suprasegmental features such as tone, and probably stress.[3]

Consonants

Whereas Central Rotokas has only six consonantal phonemes, Aita Rotokas has nine; Aita adds phonemic nasals (e.g. this example of a minimal pair, Script error: No such module "IPA". Template:Gloss vs. Script error: No such module "IPA". Template:Gloss[4]Template:Rp). The Central dialect's limited inventory likely arose by collapsing the phonemic distinction between nasals and non-nasals.[4]Template:Rp

Nasals in Aita always correspond to voiced plosives in Central (e.g. "tree" is Script error: No such module "Lang". in Aita and Script error: No such module "Lang". in Central[4]Template:Rp), but voiced plosives in Central can correspond to either nasals or voiced plosives in Aita.[4]Template:Rp

Central Rotokas

Consonants occur in three places of articulation: bilabial, alveolar, and velar, each with a voiced and an unvoiced variant.[4]Template:Rp The three voiced phonemes each have wide allophonic variation, with the allophonic sets Script error: No such module "IPA"., Script error: No such module "IPA"., and Script error: No such module "IPA"..[2]Template:Rp This makes the choice of symbols for phonemes somewhat arbitrary.[4]Template:Rp

Nasals are rarely heard. They will sometimes be misused when speakers try to pronounce English words (e.g. "bye-bye" being pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA".), or when trying to imitate a foreigner speaking Rotokas (even if they were not used by the foreigner).[2]Template:Rp

Central Rotokas
Bilabial Alveolar Velar
Voiceless Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Voiced Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
  • In the 1960s, Script error: No such module "IPA". was described as being Script error: No such module "IPA". before Script error: No such module "IPA"..[2]Template:Rp Later research in the 2000s found this to no longer be true, possibly due to widespread bilingualism with Tok Pisin.[4]Template:Rp

Aita Rotokas

The Aita dialect has nine consonant phonemes, with a three-way distinction required between voiced, voiceless, and nasal consonants.[4]Template:Rp

Aita Rotokas
Bilabial Alveolar Velar
Voiceless Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Voiced Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Nasal Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". varies between Script error: No such module "IPA". and Script error: No such module "IPA"..[4]Template:Rp
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". is chiefly realized as Script error: No such module "IPA"..[4]Template:Rp
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". is Script error: No such module "IPA". before Script error: No such module "IPA"..[4]Template:Rp

Vowels

Vowels in the Central dialect may be long or short, but the Aita dialect seems to have no length distinction.[4]Template:Rp

Front Central Back
Close Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link)
Close-mid Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link)
Open Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link)

Orthography

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The Rotokas orthography uses 12 letters of the Latin alphabet, with no diacritics or ligatures. The letters are a, e, g, i, k, o, p, r, s, t, u and v. Long vowels are written as doubled. /t/ is written as s before i and t elsewhere and has also been written with an orthography based on the IPA symbols for its phonemes.[4]Template:Rp

Stress

Stress is probably not phonemic.[3] Words with 2 or 3 syllables are stressed on the initial syllable; those with 4 are stressed on the first and third; and those with 5 or more on the antepenultimate. This is complicated by long vowels, and there are exceptions to the third rule among some verb constructions.[5]

Grammar

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Typologically, Rotokas is a fairly typical verb-final language, with adjectives and demonstrative pronouns preceding the nouns they modify, and postpositions following. Although adverbs are fairly free in their ordering, they tend to precede the verb, as in the following example:

Template:Interlinear

Vocabulary

Selected basic vocabulary items in Rotokas:[6]

gloss Rotokas
bird Script error: No such module "Lang".
blood Script error: No such module "Lang".
bone Script error: No such module "Lang".
breast Script error: No such module "Lang".
ear Script error: No such module "Lang".
eat Script error: No such module "Lang".
egg Script error: No such module "Lang".
eye Script error: No such module "Lang".
fire Script error: No such module "Lang".
give Script error: No such module "Lang".
go Script error: No such module "Lang".
ground Script error: No such module "Lang".
hair Script error: No such module "Lang".
hear Script error: No such module "Lang".
leg Script error: No such module "Lang".
louse Script error: No such module "Lang".
man Script error: No such module "Lang".
moon Script error: No such module "Lang".
name Script error: No such module "Lang".
one Script error: No such module "Lang".
road, path Script error: No such module "Lang".
see Script error: No such module "Lang".
sky Script error: No such module "Lang".
stone Script error: No such module "Lang".
sun Script error: No such module "Lang".
tongue Script error: No such module "Lang".
tooth Script error: No such module "Lang".
tree Script error: No such module "Lang".
two Script error: No such module "Lang".
water Script error: No such module "Lang".
woman Script error: No such module "Lang".

Sample text

No. Rotokas[7] Translation (English)
2 Script error: No such module "Lang". In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The spirit of God was hovering over the water. Then God said, "Let there be light!" So there was light.

Footnotes

Template:Reflist

References

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". (Unpublished manuscript)
  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". (Brief grammatical sketch)
  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Further reading

Template:Languages of Papua New Guinea

  1. ↑ Allen and Hurd, 1963. Cited in Template:Harvtxt: "it appears to be heavily influenced by contact with Keriaka"
  2. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Template:Harvcoltxt
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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