| Dorig | |
|---|---|
| Dōrig | |
| Pronunciation | [ⁿdʊˈriɰ] |
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | Gaua |
Native speakers | 300 (2012)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wwo |
| Glottolog | weta1242 |
| ELP | Dorig |
 Dorig is classified as Definitely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
Dorig(formerly calledWetamut) is athreatenedOceanic language spoken onGaua island inVanuatu.
The language's 300 speakers live mostly in the village ofDorig[ⁿdʊˈriɰ], on the south coast of Gaua. Smaller speaker communities can be found in the villages of Qteon (east coast) and Qtevut (west coast).
Dorig's immediate neighbours areKoro andMwerlap.[2]
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The nameDorig is derived from the name ofthe village where it is spoken.
Dorig has eightphonemic vowels. These include seven shortmonophthongs/iɪɛaɔʊu/ and one long vowel/aː/.[3]
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i⟨i⟩ | u⟨u⟩ |
| Near-close | ɪ⟨ē⟩ | ʊ⟨ō⟩ |
| Open-mid | ɛ⟨e⟩ | ɔ⟨o⟩ |
| Open | a⟨a⟩,aː⟨ā⟩ | |
Dorig has 15 consonant phonemes.[4][5]
| Labiovelar | Bilabial | Alveolar | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiceless stop | k͡pʷ⟨q⟩ | t⟨t⟩ | k⟨k⟩ | |
| Prenasalized stop | ᵐb⟨b⟩ | ⁿd⟨d⟩ | ||
| Nasal | ŋ͡mʷ⟨m̄⟩ | m⟨m⟩ | n⟨n⟩ | ŋ⟨n̄⟩ |
| Fricative | β ~ɸ⟨v⟩ | s⟨s⟩ | ɣ⟨g⟩ | |
| Rhotic | r⟨r⟩ | |||
| Lateral | l⟨l⟩ | |||
| Approximant | w⟨w⟩ |
Thephonotactic template for asyllable in Dorig is:/CCVC/ — e.g./rk͡pʷa/ ‘woman’ (<*rVᵐbʷai);/ŋ͡mʷsar/ ‘poor’ (<*mʷasara);/wrɪt/ ‘octopus’ (<*ɣurita). Remarkably, the consonant clusters of these /CCVC/ syllables are not constrained by theSonority Sequencing Principle. Historically, these /CCVC/ syllables reflect former trisyllabic,paroxytone words */CVˈCVCV/, afterdeletion of the two unstressed vowels:[6] e.g.POc.*kuRíta ‘octopus’ >*wərítə >/wrɪt/.
The system ofpersonal pronouns in Dorig contrastsclusivity, and distinguishes fournumbers (singular,dual,trial, plural).[7]
Spatial reference is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is typical ofOceanic languages.[8]