| Lenakel | |
|---|---|
| West Tanna | |
| Netvaar | |
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | Tanna Island |
Native speakers | 12,000 (2001)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tnl |
| Glottolog | lena1238 |
 Lenakel is not endangered according to the classification system of theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Lenakel, orWest Tanna, is adialect chain spoken on the western coast ofTanna Island inVanuatu.
Lenakel is one of five languages spoken on Tanna. The native name for the language isNetvaar, and speakers refer to their language asNakaraan taha Lenakel'the language of Lenakel'.[2] Lenakel has been extensively researched and documented byJohn Lynch, and both adictionary and a detailed linguistic description of the language have been published.
Lenakel is anAustronesian language of southern Vanuatu. Its closest relatives are the other fourTanna languages spoken on the island of Tanna. It is particularly closely related to theWhitesands language andNorth Tanna, the two languages closest in geographic space to the Lenakel language area. Although none of the languages of Tanna are strictlymutually intelligible, there is a high degree oflexical overlap, and thegrammars of Lenakel, Whitesands, and North Tanna are nearly identical.[3] Based onSwadesh list data, Lenakel was found to be 73-80% lexically identical to North Tanna and 75-81% lexically identical to Whitesands.[4] Linguist D.T. Tryon has referred to the linguistic situation in Vanuatu as one of "language-chaining," a reference toDialect continuum, the idea withinlinguistics thatdialects exist along a continuum or chain within a language area.[5]
Lenakel is spoken on Tanna, an island in the southern part of the 82-island chain comprising Vanuatu. It is spoken by between 8,500 and 11,500 people and is concentrated in the central west part of the island.[6]Isangel, the administrative capital ofTafea Province, exists within the Lenakel language area, as doesLenakel, the largest city on the island of Tanna.[7] There are significant Lenakel-speaking communities in other areas of Vanuatu, such asNew Caledonia[clarification needed] andPort Vila on the island ofEfate.[8]
The dialect situation within Lenakel is complicated by the fact that native speakers of the language have differing opinions on whether or not closely related languages such as Whitesands and North Tanna are actually separate languages or whether they are dialects of Lenakel.[9] Linguists such as John Lynch andTerry Crowley have suggested that further research is needed in order to more firmly establish dialect and language boundaries on Tanna.[10]
The most reliable information to date suggests that there are up to ten dialects of Lenakel, includingLoanatit,Nerauya,Itonga, andIkyoo.[11]
Lenakel is considered the most prestigious language spoken on Tanna,[12] partially because it has been in use as a church language for over a century.[13]
The phonemic inventory is as follows:[14][15]
| Labio-velar | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | mʷ⟨m̃⟩ | m⟨m⟩ | n⟨n⟩ | ŋ⟨ŋ⟩ | ||
| Plosive | pʷ⟨p̃⟩ | p⟨p⟩ | t⟨t⟩ | k⟨k⟩ | ||
| Fricative | f⟨f⟩ | s⟨s⟩ | h⟨h⟩ | |||
| Tap | ɾ⟨r⟩ | |||||
| Approximant | w⟨w⟩ | l⟨l⟩ | j̈⟨v⟩ |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i⟨i⟩ | u⟨u⟩ | |
| Mid | e⟨e⟩ | ə⟨ə⟩ | o⟨o⟩ |
| Open | a⟨a⟩ |