Proto-Polynesian language

Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
PPn
Reconstruction of	Polynesian languages
Region	Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands
Era	800—200 BCE[citation needed]
Reconstructed; ancestors	Proto-Austronesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Oceanic Proto-Central Pacific ; ; ;

Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the reconstructed proto-language from which all modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a descendant of the Proto-Oceanic language (the language associated with the Lapita civilization), itself a descendant of Proto-Austronesian. The homeland of Proto-Polynesian speakers is believed to have been Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands.

Phonology

Proto-Polynesian has a small phonological inventory, with 13 consonants and 5 vowels.

Consonants

	Bilabial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	*m	*n	*ŋ
Plosive	*p	*t	*k	*ʔ
Fricative	*f	*s		*h
Approximant	*w	*l
Trill		*r

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

Following principles of the Comparative method, it is possible to observe regular sound correspondences among Polynesian languages, and to reconstruct the most likely protophoneme for every ancestral step.

Proto-Polynesian			*p	t/ti	*k	*m	*n	*ŋ	*w	*f	*s	*h	*ʔ	*l	*r
Niuean			p	t	k	m	n	ŋ	v	f	Ø	h	h	l	l/Ø
Niuafoʻou				t/s							ʔ/Ø	h/Ø	h
Tongan				t/s							h	h	ʔ
Proto-Nuclear-Polynesian			*p	t/ti	*k	*m	*n	*ŋ	*w	*f	*s	*Ø	*ʔ	*l
	Vaeakau-Taumako		p	t/s/h	k	m	n	ŋ	v	f/h	s/h	Ø	Ø	l
	Samoan			t~k	ʔ					f	s		Ø
	Wallisian			t/s	k						h		ʔ
	East Futunan			t							s		ʔ/Ø
	Tokelauan										h		Ø
	Tuvaluan										s
	Pukapukan									w	θʲ
	Kapingamarangi								w	h	h
	Nukuoroan								v	h	s
	Sikaiana							n		f/h
	Takuu							n		f				r/l
	Tikopian, Emae							ŋ						ɾ
	Mele			t/t͡ɕ										ɾ
	Futuna-Aniwa			t/ʃ					β		s/ʃ			r/l
	Rennellese			t					β	h/p/β	s/h			ⁿg
	Anuta			t~s					v~w	p	t~s			l~r
	Luangiua			k	ʔ		ŋ		v	h	h			l~r
	Proto-Eastern-Polynesian		*p	*t	*k	*m	*n	*ŋ	*w	*f	*h	*Ø	*ʔ/Ø	*l
		Tongareva	p	t	k	m	n	ŋ	v	v/h	s/h	Ø	Ø	l
		Rapa Nui								v/h	h		ʔ/Ø	ɾ
		Tuamotuan, Manihiki								f/h/v			Ø
		Māori							w	ɸ/h
		Rapa Iti							v	Ø/ʔ	h/ʔ
		Mangareva, Cook Islands Māori								ʔ/v	ʔ
		Rurutu			ʔ			ʔ		ʔ/f	ʔ
		Tahitian								f/h/v	h
		Ra’ivavae								h				g
		N. Marquesan			k/ʔ			n/k		h				ʔ
		S. Marquesan			ʔ			n		f/h				ʔ
		Hawaiian		t~k	ʔ			n	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/.

Polynesian vocabulary
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	mātua	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

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. 31. ISSN 1718-3510.
↑ For languages of French Polynesia, the correspondences are given on p.93 of: Charpentier, Jean-Michel; François, Alexandre (2015). Atlas Linguistique de Polynésie Française — Linguistic Atlas of French Polynesia. Mouton de Gruyter & Université de la Polynésie Française. ISBN 978-3-11-026035-9.
↑ 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.

External links

[1] 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.

[2] Marck, Jeff (2000). Topics in Polynesian languages and culture history (PDF). Pacific Linguistics 504. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

[3] Rolle, Nicholas (2009). "The Phonetic Nature of Niuean Vowel Length". Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics. 31. ISSN 1718-3510.

[LAFP-4] For languages of French Polynesia, the correspondences are given on p.93 of: Charpentier, Jean-Michel; François, Alexandre (2015). Atlas Linguistique de Polynésie Française — Linguistic Atlas of French Polynesia. Mouton de Gruyter & Université de la Polynésie Française. ISBN 978-3-11-026035-9.

[5] Hockett, C.F. (May 1976), "The Reconstruction of Proto-Central Pacific", Anthropological Linguistics, 18 (5): 187–235

[6] 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.