| Marquesan | |
|---|---|
| Èo ènana (North Marquesan) Èo ènata (South Marquesan) | |
| Native to | French Polynesia |
| Region | Marquesas Islands,Tahiti |
Native speakers | 8,700 (2007 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:mrq – North Marquesanmqm – South Marquesan |
| Glottolog | marq1246 Marquesannort2845 North Marquesansout2866 South Marquesan |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Marquesan is a collection ofEast-Central Polynesian dialects, of theMarquesic group, spoken in theMarquesas Islands ofFrench Polynesia. They are usually classified into two groups, North Marquesan and South Marquesan, roughly along geographic lines.[2]
The most striking feature of the Marquesan languages is their almost universal replacement of the/r/ or/l/ of other Polynesian languages by a/ʔ/ (glottal stop).[3]
Like other Polynesian languages, the phonology of Marquesan languages is characterized by a scarcity of consonants. The consonant phonemes are:
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | ʔ |
| Fricative | fv | h | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |
| Liquid | r |
Of this small number of consonants,/ŋ/ is found only in eastern Nuku Hiva (Tai Pi Marquesan), and/f/ is found only in South Marquesan dialects. In writing, the phoneme/ŋ/ is written⟨n(g)⟩, and/ʔ/ is writtenʻ, theʻokina.
Unlike most Austronesian languages, the/ŋ/ is not an isolated nasal: it is found only in conjunction with a following/k/. So, whereas theSamoan word for 'bay' isfaga, pronounced[ˈfa.ŋa], it ishanga in Tai Pi Marquesan, and is pronounced/ˈha.ŋka/. This word is useful to demonstrate one of the more predictable regular consonantal differences between the northern and southern dialects: in North Marquesan, the word ishaka, and in South Marquesan, it ishana.[citation needed]
The phoneme/h/ is represented with the letter⟨h⟩; however, it isrealizedphonetically as[h],[x], or[s], depending on the following vowel.[example needed]
The vowel phonemes are the same as in other Polynesian languages, long and short versions of each:
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | Long | Short | Long | Short | Long | |
| High | i | iː | u | uː | ||
| Mid | e | eː | o | oː | ||
| Low | a | aː | ||||
In their study of the Ùa Pou dialect of Marquesan, Mutu and Teìkitutoua interpret the long vowels /aː eː iː oː uː/ as sequences of two identical vowels /aa ee ii oo uu/, and list theirallophones as [ɑː ɛː iː ɔː uː], while noting that [ɔː] is slightly raised.
/i/ is [ɪ] when following another vowel, [i~ɪ] elsewhere.
/e/ is [e] when preceding a high vowel, [ə] following /a/, and [ɛ] elsewhere.
/a/ is [ʌ], though slightly higher before other vowels, especially /i/ and /u/.
/o/ is [ɔ], which slightly assimilates to the frontness of adjacent vowels.
/u/ is [u].[4]
| A | E | F | H | I | K | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V |
| a | e | f | h | i | k | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | v |
The Marquesan Language Academy has adopted an orthography similar toTuro Raapoto's Tahitian orthography, using the grave on the vowels to indicated a preceding glottal stop consonant, the macron to indicate a long vowel and the circumflex to indicate both.[5] Some authors use the apostrophe⟨’⟩ or the turned apostrophe⟨ʻ⟩ to write the glottal stop, as is done in several other Polynesian languages.[6]
Verbal particles are placed before the verb they modify.[7]
| Verbal Particles | example | example in a sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| past | i | i ui (asked) | te mehai i iu (the youth asked) |
| present | te...nei | te maakau nei (think) | te maakau nei au i tuu kui (I think of my mother) |
| perfective | u/ua | u hanau (was born) | u hanau au i Hakehatau (I was born at Hakehatau) |
| imperfective | e | e hee (going) | e hee koe i hea (where are you going?) |
| inceptive | atahi a | atahi a kai (then they eat) | iu pao taia, atahi a kai (...when finish that, then do they eat) |
| imperative | a | a hee! (go!) | a hee io te tante (go to the doctor!) |
A noun phrase in Marquesan is any phrase beginning with either a case marker or a determiner. Case markers or prepositions always precede the determiners, which in turn precede the number markers. As such, they all precede the noun they modify.[9]
| Articles | Demonstratives | Other | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| definite singular | te/t- | this | tenei | a certain | titahi |
| indefinite | e/he | that | tena | other | tahipito |
| dual/paucal definite | na | that | tea | ||
| anaphoric | hua | ||||
| Nominal Number Markers[8] | Number Markers | |
|---|---|---|
| dual | mou | |
| dual/paucal | mau | |
| plural | tau | |
There are 11 personal pronouns which are distinguished by singular, dual, and plural. As well as that, there are two other personal pronouns which distinguish possession.[10]: 100
| Singular | Dual/Paucal | Plural | Possession | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | exclusive | au/-ʻu | maua | matou | tuʻu |
| inclusive | taua | tatou | |||
| 2nd person | koe | koʻua | kotou | to | |
| 3rd person | ia | ʻaua | ʻatou | ||
Complex sentences use verbal nouns in subordinate clauses.
Te
hakaiki
chief
kei
big
mei
from
Hanaiapa
Hanaiapa
te
ono-tina
hear-devb
te
def
hakaiki
chief
momo
lesser
from
Te hakaiki kei mei Hanaiapa te ono-tina te hakaiki momo mei[what language is this?]
DEF chief big from Hanaiapa DEF hear-devb def chief lesser from
Margaret Mutu & Ben Teìkitutoua (2002) present descriptions and examples of possession in Ùa Pou (a north Marquesan dialect). All examples in this section are taken from their work. See notes for more information.
Possession in Marquesan is marked by prepositional particles affixed to the noun phrase which they modify. These prepositional particles relate the phrase as a whole to other parts of the sentence or discourse and therefore can be consideredcentrifugal particles.[12] Possession is essentially different from the other types of adposition modification in that it marks a relationship between two noun phrases as opposed to that between the verbal phrase and the noun phrase.
There are four possession markers in Marquesan. They are the prepositions:a,o,na andno. Possessive prepositionsa ando translate as 'of' whilena andno areattributive, possessive prepositions which translate either as 'belong to, of' or 'for'.[13]
In these examples, the relation of two noun phases with the use of the possessive prepositionsa ando can be seen. The preposition is affixed to the possessor noun phrase which in turn dominates the possessed phrase.
Úa
tihe
arrive
mai
hither
te
vahana
husband
a
of
tenei
this
tau
vehine
woman
Úa tihe mai te vahana a tenei tau vehine
PFV arrive hither DEF husband of this PL woman
"The husband of these women has arrived."
Úa
tau
land
ma
path
ùka
top
o
of
te
haè
house
Úa tau ma ùka o te haè
PFV land path top of DEF house
"(It) landed on top of the house."
In these examples, we see the relation of constituents which form a noun phrase. This is an example of attributive,alienable possession.
…ùa
ìò
taken
-a
Tainaivao
Tainaivao
tama
son
na
of (belong to)
Pekapeka…
Pekapeka
…ùa ìò i -a Tainaivao è tamana Pekapeka…
PFV takenSTATAG PERS Tainaivao INDEF son {of (belong to)} Pekapeka
'(she) was taken by Tainaivao, a son of Pekapeka.'
À
too
take
tēnei
this
vaka
canoe
no
for
koe
À too tēnei vakano koe
IMP take this canoe for 2SG
'Take this canoe for yourself.'
Marquesan distinguishes between two contrastive types of possession.[12] The first can be described in very broad terms as possession in which the possessor is dominant, active, superior, or in control of the possessed.A andna mark this type of possession:
E
ìò
take
koe
he
mea
thing
vehine
woman
na
of
ia
him
E ìò koe he mea vehine na ia
NP take 2SG INDEF thing woman of him
"You will get a wife for him."
On the other hand,o andno indicate possession where the possessor is subordinate, passive, inferior to, or lacking in control over the possessed:
Ù
kave
bring
mai
hither
koe
i
tēnā
that
kahu
dress
no
for
ia
her
Ù kave mai koe i tēnā kahu no ia
PFV bring hither 2SG DO that dress for her
"You have brought that dress for her (to wear)."
Locative constructions in Marquesan follow this pattern (elements in parentheses are optional):
Huʻi-ʻia
turn-PASS
atu
ia
keo
bottom
ʻi
tai
sea
Huʻi-ʻia atu t-o ia keo ʻi tai
turn-PASS DIR ART-POSS 3SG bottom LD sea
"Its bottom is turned seawards."[10]: 284
This locative syntactic pattern is common among Polynesian languages.[10]: 282
North Marquesan is spoken in the northern islands (Nuku Hiva,Ua Pou, andUa Huka), and South Marquesan in the southern islands (Hiva Oa,Tahuata, andFatu Hiva). In Ua Huka, which was almost entirely depopulated in the 19th century and repopulated with people from both the Northern and Southern Marquesas, the language shares traits of both North Marquesan and South Marquesan. Comparative data on the various dialects of Marquesan can be found in theLinguistic Atlas of French Polynesia (Charpentier & François 2015).[3]
The most noticeable differences between the varieties are Northern Marquesan/k/ in some words where South Marquesan has/n/ or/ʔ/ (glottal stop), and/h/ in all words where South Marquesan has/f/.
The table below compares a selection of words in various dialectal varieties of Marquesan, according to theLinguistic Atlas of French Polynesia,[14] with their pronunciation in theIPA. Tahitian and Hawaiian are also added for comparison.
| North Marquesan | South Marquesan | Hawaiian | Tahitian | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuku Hiva | Ua Pou | Ua Huka | Hiva Oa | Fatu Hiva | Hawaii | Tahiti | |
| hello | /kaːʔoha/ | /kaːʔoha/ | /kaːʔoha/ | /kaːʔoha/ | /kaːʔoha/ | /aloha/ | /ʔiaorana/ (/arofa/ 'love, compassion') |
| human being | /ʔenana/ | /ʔenana/ | /ʔenana/ | /ʔenata/ | /ʔenata/ | /kanaka/ | /taʔata/ |
| life | /pohuʔe/ | /pohuʔe/ | /pohuʔe/ | /pohoʔe/ | /pohoʔe/ | /ola/ | /ora/ |
| body | /nino/ | /nino/ | /tino/ | /tino/ | /tino/ | /kino/ | /tino/ |
| mouth | /haha/ | /haha/ | /haha/ | /fafa/ | /fafa/ | /waha/ | /vaha/ |
| head | /upoko/ | /upoko/ | /upoko/ | /upoʔo/ | /upoʔo/ | /poʔo/ | /upoʔo/ |
| to see | /ʔite/ | /kite/ | /ʔite/ | /ʔite/ | /ʔite/ | /ʔike/ | /ʔite/ |
| to speak | /tekao/ | /tekao/ | /tekao/ | /teʔao/ | /teʔao/ | /ʔoːlelo/ (/kaʔao/ 'to tell tales') | /parau/ |
| dog | /peto/ | /peto/ | /peto/ | /nuhe/ | /nuhe/ | /ʔiːlio/ | /ʔuːri/ |
| louse | /kutu/ | /kutu/ | /kutu/ | /ʔutu/ | /ʔutu/ | /ʔuku/ | /ʔutu/ |
| yesterday | /tinahi/ | /nenahi/ | /tinahi/ | /tinahi/ | /tinahi/ | /nehinei/ | /inaːnahi/ |
| sky | /ʔaki/ | /ʔaki/ | /ʔani/ | /ʔani/ | /ʔani/ | /lani/ | /raʔi/ |
| moon | /meama/ | /meama/ | /mahina/ | /mahina/ | /mahina/ | /mahina/ | /ʔaːvaʔe/ |
| wind | /metaki/ | /metaki/ | /metani/ | /metani/ | /metani/ | /makani/ | /mataʔi/ |
| sea | /tai/ | /tai/ | /tai/ | /tai/ | /tai/ | /kai/ | /miti/ (/tai/ 'sea, salt') |
| coral | /puka/ | /puka/ | /puna/ | /feʔeo/ | /feʔeo/ | /koʔa/ (/puna/ 'plaster, mortar') | /puʔa/ |
| fish | /ika/ | /ika/ | /ika/ | /iʔa/ | /iʔa/ | /iʔa/ | /iʔa/ |
| octopus | /heke/ | /heke/ | /heke/ | /feʔe/ | /feʔe/ | /heʔe/ | /feʔe/ |
| island, land | /henua/ | /henua/ | /henua/ | /fenua/ | /fenua/ | /honua/ | /fenua/ |
| river | /kaʔavai/ | /kaʔavai/ | /kaʔavai/ | /kaʔavai/ | /kaʔavai/ | /kahawai/ | /ʔaːnaːvai/ |
| taro | /taʔo/ | /taʔo/ | /taʔo/ | /taʔo/ | /taʔo/ | /kalo/ | /taro/ |
| coconut | /ʔehi/ | /ʔehi/ | /ʔehi/ | /ʔeʔehi/ | /ʔeʔehi/ | /niu/ | /haʔari/ |
| house | /haʔe/ | /haʔe/ | /haʔe/ | /faʔe/ | /faʔe/ | /hale/ | /fare/ |
| man (male) | /vahana/ | /vahana/ | /vahana/ | /ʔahana/ | /ʔahana/ | /kaːne/ | /taːne/ |
| woman | /vehine/ | /vehine/ | /vehine/ | /vehine/ | /vehine/ | /wahine/ | /vahine/ |
| grandmother | /tupunakui/ ('grandparent mother') | /tupunakui/ ('grandparent mother') | /tupunakui/ ('grandparent mother') | /tupunavehine/ ('grandparent woman') | /tupunavehine/ ('grandparent woman') | /kupunawahine/ ('grandparent woman') | /maːmaːruːʔau/ ('mom old person') |
| chief, king | /hakaʔiki/ | /hakaʔiki/ | /hakaʔiki/ | /hakaʔiki/ | /hakaʔiki/ | /aliʔi/ | /ariʔi/ |
| traditional temple precinct,marae | /meʔae/ | /meʔae/ | /meʔae/ | /meʔae/ | /paepae/ | /heiau/ | /marae/ |
| you (singular) | /ʔoe/ | /koe/ | /ʔoe/ | /ʔoe/ | /ʔoe/ | /ʔoe/ | /ʔoe/ |
The northern dialects fall roughly into four groups:
The southern dialects fall roughly into three groups:
North Marquesan exhibits some original characteristics. While some Polynesian languages maintained the velar nasal/ŋ/, many have lost the distinction between the nasals/ŋ/ and/n/, merging both into/n/. North Marquesan, likeSouth IslandMāori dialects of New Zealand, prefers/k/. Another feature is that, while some Polynesian languages replace *k with/ʔ/, North Marquesan has retained it. (Tahitian and formalSamoan have no/k/ whatsoever, and the/k/ in modern Hawaiian is pronounced either [k] or [t] and derives from Polynesian *t.)
The dialects ofUa Huka are often incorrectly classified as North Marquesan; they are instead transitional. While the island is in the northern Marquesas group, the dialects show more morphological and phonological affinities with South Marquesan. The North Marquesan dialects are sometimes considered two separate languages:[citation needed] North Marquesan andTai Pi Marquesan, the latter being spoken in the valleys of the eastern third of the island of Nuku Hiva, in the ancient province ofTai Pi. Puka-Pukan, spoken inPuka-Puka and theDisappointment Islands in northeasternTuamotu, is a dialect of South Marquesan, and should not be confused with the homonymousPukapukan language spoken inPukapuka, one of theCook Islands.
DIR:directional
