| Nese | |
|---|---|
| Region | Matanvat area, northwestMalakula,Vanuatu |
Native speakers | 20 (2010)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | nese1235 |
| ELP | Nese |
 Nese is classified as Definitely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Nese is amoribundOceaniclanguage ordialect known by no more than twenty people in theMatanvat area of the northwest tip of the island ofMalakula inVanuatu. It is now rarely spoken, having been replaced as a primary mode of communication byBislama.
Nese is one of the few languages to havelinguolabial consonants.
The nameNese literally means "what".
| Labial | Linguolabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | m̼ | n | ŋ | ||
| Stop | Plain | t | t͡ʃ | k | ||
| Prenasalised | mb | m̼b̼ | nd | |||
| Fricative | v | ð̼ | s | ɣ | ||
| Tap | ɾ | |||||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
Some nouns are required to be possessed, typically those expressinginalienable possession. These are followed by a possessive suffix marking the person and number of the possessor For those nouns where possession is optional, a possessive pronoun attaches to a possessive classifier, which has different forms if the possessed noun is intended to be eaten, or if it is intended to be drunk.
Verbs are marked for the person and number of both their subject and object. The subject prefixes co-occur with overt arguments, while the object suffixes cannot. Anirrealis marker follows the subject prefix in appropriate contexts, though it is fused into aportmanteau morpheme with the first person singular marker. The language has no class ofadjectives that can be distinguished from intransitivestative verbs, which may occur within the noun phrase, or function as apredicate.
Independentpronouns, as well as the pronominal markers appearing on verbs and possessed nouns, distinguish threepersons, twonumbers (singular and plural), and make aninclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person plural.
Someprepositions take the same object suffixes that verbs do to mark their complement, while others do not. "te" is used as a subordinator forcomplement andrelative clauses, while it combines with other words to markadverbial clauses, combining with a purposive preposition for adverbial purpose clauses, but a different, non-preposition word for temporal adverbial clauses.[4]
Some speakers have initiated language revitalization activities such as informal teaching by elders to children, and use of Nese songs in church. Nese is also taught in the Matanvat kindergarten, though not as the primary language of instruction.[5]
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