| Oroha | |
|---|---|
| Region | SouthMalaita,Solomon Islands |
| Ethnicity | Oroha people |
Native speakers | (38 cited 1999)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ora |
| Glottolog | oroh1237 |
| ELP | Oroha |
 Oroha is classified as Severely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
Oroha, categorized as anAustronesian language, is one of many languages spoken by Melanesian people in theSolomon Islands. It is also known asMaramasike (after theMaramasike Passage that separates Malaita Province's two main islands, wheremasike means 'little'),Mara Ma-Siki (literally "Little Mala/Mara" [to 'Tolo' people who do not have the sound [l] in their language], after the area),Oraha, andOloha, and is used primarily in the southern part ofMalaita Island within the Malaita Province. Little Mala is composed of three indigenous languages of the 'Tolo' people which are Na’oni, Pau, and Oroha. They are all slightly different, yet come from the same origin. The three languages may be thought of as different dialects of the same language. The three Tolo villages now harbor schools under the Melanesian Mission.[2]
There are 38 people who still currently use the Oroha language today. Oroha is an indigenous, endangeredOceanic language, and its current status is shifting, meaning that its speaker community is in the process of speaking a different language, to theSa'a language, another indigenous language of the Solomon Islands. Most of the Oroha speakers already know how to read Sa'a; therefore, it is easy to convert to using this other language. Comparing Sa'a to the Oroha language, one can see their common origins. For example, [d] in the Sa’a language corresponds to a [s] or, more commonly, to a [t] in Oroha.[2]
The Oroha people have come from the dividing channel in Mala to their current residence. Most of the Oroha language speakers believe in Christianity.[2]
The Oroha language consists of the ten consonants and five vowels presented below.[2]
| Labial | Dental | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||
| Plosive | p | t | k | |
| Fricative | f | s | h | |
| Liquid | r | |||
| Glide | w |
| Front | Mid | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
Vowels have long and short versions. Doubling a vowel elongates the sound. A <ʻ> indicates the removal of a consonant, usually [k] or [t] are usually removed. The [r] is not rolled. Oraha lack a velar nasal [ŋ]; the dental nasal [n] is used instead.
Words can sometimes be spelled differently, indicating a slightly different pronunciation as well. For example, for 'go, come', bothraa andra are written.[2]
The diphthongs in Oroha areae,ai,ao,au,ei, andou.[2]
Oroha consists only of open syllables. There are no closed syllables.[2]
Verbs may be reduplicated to intensity the meaning of words. This may be done in three ways:
It can also be used to form plurality of words. For example,mere means child whilemeramera means children.[2]
Prefixes that precede some adjectives includema-,taʻi-,take-,tara-, andtata-.[2]
There are causative and reciprocal prefixes that are added to the beginning of verbs. The causative prefix isha'a, while the reciprocal prefix ishai and can indicate a change or addition when adverbor'u is added. There are a few that may also be prefixed to nouns and adjectives as well.
ke'e
hai
indicates change/addition
sieni
good
ro'u
again
ke'e hai sieni ro'u
NEG {indicates change/addition} good again
It will never be any good again.[2]
Moi andmo precede nouns to indicate plurality. For example,mo hanua iwera can mean either 'many lands' or 'many people'.[2]
Pronouns can be suffixed to other words to either add on to or change the meaning of a word. This is used mainly to show possession of an object with a noun. For example,maa 'eye' can be suffixed with the first person singular possessive suffix-ku to createmaaku 'my eye'.[2]
In other cases, pronouns can be added as a suffix to verbs or prepositions to reference the object of the sentence.[2]
The endings-ʻa and-taʻa are placed in back of some adjectives.[2]
Suffixes may be included at the end of verbs in order to indicate gender. There are two forms of suffixes that can be added to verbs. The first isi which can stand by itself or with a consonant added prior to it. The second form is the termination ofa'i which is suffixed to nouns to make the words into verbs.
pa'ura (i) suna
smoke of fire (into)
[ka] sasua'i
[plural inclusive] to smoke
maaku
eye
{pa'ura (i) suna} {[ka] sasua'i} maaku
{smoke of fire (into)} {[plural inclusive] to smoke} eye
The smoke has got into my eyes.[2]
The word order for Oroha sentence structure is typically Subject, Verb, Object (SVO).
Adjectives tend to take place after the noun.
Verb particles are placed before verbs.
Example sentence:
Nemo
Rain
paina,
great,
mane
man
ka ma'uma'u
fears
uhi
yams
ine'ia
his
ka ta'a,
are spoilt,
ka iria huni mane saia:
says to man (that) knows:
"Noko
"I
waai'o
reward you
ana
with
ha'a
shell money,
poo,
pigs,
oko
you
ha'asaso
make sun
ro'u."
again."
Mane
Man
saia
(that) knows
ka iria:
says:
"Siena,
"Good,
ne'ia ka'u,
wait awhile,
ka sas
fine (weather)
ro'u."
again."
Nemo paina, mane {ka ma'uma'u} uhi ine'ia {ka ta'a}, {ka iria huni mane saia}: "Noko waai'o ana ha'a poo, oko ha'asaso ro'u." Mane saia {ka iria}: "Siena, {ne'ia ka'u}, {ka sas} ro'u."
Rain great, man fears yams his {are spoilt}, {says to man (that) knows}: "I {reward you} with {shell money}, pigs, you {make sun} again." Man {(that) knows} says: "Good, {wait awhile}, {fine (weather)} again."
There is a lot of rain, so the man fears that his yams are spoilt, and says to the man that knows, "I will reward you with shell money and pigs if you make the sun come out again." The man that knows says, "Good, wait awhile, and fine weather will come again."[2]
Nouns can be categorized into two set: (1) verbal nouns and (2) independent nouns.
Verbal nouns are produced when adding-na,-ta,-ra,-raa,-ha, or-h to the end of a verb root. For example,mae 'to die' can be suffixed to create the derived formmaena 'death'. This same derivational process can also be applied to adjectives, as insieni 'good' andsienina 'goodness'.
Independent nouns are created usingna, which is added to the back of a noun to either indicate some kind of relationship or to change cardinal numbers to ordinal ones (see Numerals table at the bottom of the page).[2]
Verbs depict an action. The Oroha language has something known as verb particles. These particles are used as prefixes with the actual verb to create words. The particlesko,koi,ka,ke, andkaʻi may be used.[2]
Modifiers follow their head noun. Special adjectives can be used to compare objects. They are usually paired together with prepositions or adverbs to show this comparison. For example,riutaa 'beyond, in excess' shows a comparison between two or more objects.[2]
There are four categories of adverbs:
| Number | Cardinal numbers | Ordinal numbers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ʻeta | ʻetana |
| 2 | rua | ruana |
| 3 | ʻooru | ʻooruna |
| 4 | hai | haina |
| 5 | nima | nimana |
| 6 | ʻoono | ʻoonona |
| 7 | hiu | hiuna |
| 8 | waru | waruna |
| 9 | siwa | siwana |
| 10 | tanaharu | tanaharuʻana |
Ordinal numbers come before the noun when describing how many of an object exist.[2]