| Tobian | |
|---|---|
| Ramarih Hatohobei | |
| Native to | Palau |
| Region | Hatohobei,Koror,Sonsorol |
Native speakers | 150 (2017)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Latin script[1] | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Palau |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tox |
| Glottolog | tobi1238 |
| ELP | Tobian |
  Tobian | |
| Coordinates:3°00′N131°10′E / 3.00°N 131.17°E /3.00; 131.17 | |
| Pidgin Tobi | |
|---|---|
Native speakers | None |
Tobi-based pidgin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | hora1238 |
| ELP | Tobian |
Tobian (ramarih Hatohobei, literally "the language of Tobi") is the language ofTobi, one of theSouthwest Islands of Palau, and the main island ofHatohobei state. Tobian is aMicronesian language spoken by approximately 150 people, about 22 are native speakers. The speakers are located in either the island of Tobi or inEchang, a hamlet ofKoror, the former capital of Palau. Tobian andSonsorolese are very close, and appear to be gradually merging towards a new dialect called "Echangese".[2][3] Earlier in the 20th century, about 1000 people lived on the island. Shortly before and during the First World War, those numbers dropped severely due to an abundance of disease.
Tobian and the dialects ofSonsorol,Merir, andPulo Ana, the other inhabited Southwest Islands, are closely related to the languages spoken in theFederated States of Micronesia outer islands ofYap andChuuk Lagoon. These includeUlithi and theCentral Carolines. Altogether, these languages form a sub-group within the Micronesian languages. The names of these dialects are the terms that are commonly used in European terms. Below are the native names as compared to the common names:
| Common name | Native name |
|---|---|
| Sonsorol | Doŋo′sa:ru |
| Pul, Pulo Ana | Pu:r |
| Merir | Me′lel |
| Tobi | Torovei |
Tobi is the basis of a localpidgin.[4]
This is only base counting. There are different numerals for a lot of different objects.[5]
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | close | i | ɨ ʉ | u |
| open | i̯ | u̯ | ||
| Mid | close | e | ø | o |
| open | e̯ | œ | o̯ | |
| Low | close | ã | ||
| open | a | |||
"œ" is used rarely and sounds similar to the French "eu" but the lips do not round out at the end of the sound and has critical meaning in words. There is a central low vowel that sounds like the "u" in "but", but it does not have semantic value and it has very rare occurrence.[3]
There are a lot of diphthongs in Tobian and according to Capell, "several of them are difficult for Europeans".[3]
| diphthong | example | |
|---|---|---|
| äe | mäe | breadfruit |
| äi | fäivi | woman |
| aḛ | wa′ŋaḛt | then |
| ai | maik | swordfish |
| a:i | ma:il | forehead decoration |
| ao̯ | wao̯ | top |
| au | jau | needle |
| a:u | sa:u | piece |
| ei | lei | agent of action |
| oʉ | woʉ | rather of house |
| øi | røi | coconut oil |
| øʉ | Pannøʉ | Palau |
Like most other languages, Tobian has examples of homonyms but they are not as abundant. Meanings can vary solely on vowel length. Also small differences in sounds can produce major differences in meanings.[3] For example, the difference between voiceless (f) and voiced (v) consonants are important but there are many exceptions where it does not affect the meaning.
| ŋøŋa | 1. to chew betelnut | 2. a stick used in weaving |
| ʉl | 1. a lobster | 2. to pull, drag |
| taitai | 1. to excel, precede | 2. to shave |
| mäk | tattooing | ma | kind of garnish |
| ′pannʉ | coconut leaf | Pannøʉ | Palau |
| i′te | my name | i′tøʉ? | who? |
| teiføʉ | thirsty | taivøʉ | new |
| ŋøs | tired | ŋo̯s | glans penis |
Tobian utilizes both stress and pitch accents or tones. Compared to the other dialects, it uses less musical tone. It is not a tonal language because the tone does not change the meaning of the word. Although it is not tonal, the speech has a wide variety of tone variations that appear to be emotional rather than linguistic and either show emphasis or other semantic components. Stress accents are used but not as much as English or Russian. In the past, the stress marks would normally be placed on the last syllable of the words. In the present, the stress marks can be placed either on the last syllable or the second to last syllable.
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosives | p, b | t, d | c | k, ɡ | |
| Nasals | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Fricatives | f, v | s (z), ʂ (ʐ) | j | x, ɣ | |
| Lateral | (l) | (ɫ) | |||
| Rolled | r | ||||
| Continuants | w | (w) |
