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| Tape | |
|---|---|
| Maragus | |
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | CentralMalekula |
Native speakers | 15 (2006)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mrs |
| Glottolog | mara1399 |
| ELP | Tape |
 Tape is classified as Critically Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
  Tape Location in Vanuatu | |
| Coordinates:16°04′S167°20′E / 16.07°S 167.33°E /-16.07; 167.33 | |
Tape, also known asMaragus, is a nearly extinctSouthern Oceanic language ofVanuatu.[2] The population of speakers of the Tape language is reduced to approximately 15 speakers who are among the older generations.[3] The language is part of theOceanic subgroup of theAustronesian language family.[2]
The original location was located in an area inMalakula, including the coast from Anuatakh to Lowinsinwei, the area between the Lowisinwei River valley, the eastern bank of the Brenwei River, and a mountain in the south known as Pwitarvere. Since part of the Tape territory was close to the ocean, it allowed the people living in the area to harvest salt which was used to trade with the Tirakh people.[3] However, the Tape people mostly lived their lives "towards the bush", meaning their lives were more oriented towards the land even though they had access to the ocean. This is shown in their language because although they lived along the coast, their descendants were not very knowledgeable or could not come up with a significant amount of terms related to the sea.[3]
Originally, there was no distinct name for the Tape language. Tape was the name of the area that the speakers lived on while in the past the language was referred to as vengesien Tape, meaning 'the language of Tape'. Over time however, people have come to use and recognize the name of the language to be "Tape". This language also has a few alternative names known as Marakus, Maragus, Maragaus, and Maraakhus, which were used by the speakers of theNaman language who were living in the Litzlitz area. The name has two roots, mar (person of (place)) and aakhus (bush) and when they are put together, the name's literal translation is 'person of the bush'.[3]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Low | a |
In the Tape language, there are a total of six vowels /a, e, i, o, u, and ə./ Althoughschwa (/ə/) is part of the list, there is a lot of debate on the role schwa plays in the language.[3]
Comparing the use of /i/ and /e/
Comparing the use of /e/ and /a/
Comparing the use of /a/ and /o/
Comparing the use of /o/ and /u/
When the letter /i/ comes before thevelar fricative /ɣ/ it becomes a high vowel.[3]
Examples
When the letter /i/ is the first letter and comes before the velar fricative /ɣ/, a palatal glide comes after.[3]
Examples
When the /u/ is followed by another vowel, an optional roundedglide occurs between the two vowels.[3]
Examples
When using the combination of /ue/, one can substituted it for /uo/, but /uo/ cannot be substituted for /ue/.[3]
Examples
Comparing the use of /i/ and /ə/
Comparing the use of /e/ and /ə/
Comparing the use of /a/ and /ə/
Comparing the use of /o/ and /ə/
Comparing the use of /u/ and /ə/
Althoughschwa (/ə/) is a contrastive vowel among some languages, it is not a universal vowel in all the languages in the area. In the Tape language, schwa is very common and is in 16.5% of the lexicon. The schwa is a unique vowel because it cannot begin or end a word. It also cannot follow or come before another vowel, meaning that there must be simultaneously preceded and followed by a consonant.[3]
| Plain Obstruents | p̃ | p | t | k | |
| Prenazalized stops | b̃ | b | d | ɡ | |
| Affricates | t͡ʃ ~ t͡s (j) | ||||
| Fricatives | ṽ | v | s | ɣ | |
| Nasals | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Lateral | l | ||||
| Rhotic | r | ||||
| Glides | w | j (y) | |||
There are many similarities as well as differences in the consonants available in the languages around the Tape area. For example, Tape does not contain anyapicolabial consonants which is similar to the languages in the northeastern part of Malakua. Also the Tape language includes the contrastive palatal affricate, /č/, which is not present in V'ënen Taut, a language located near Tape. In addition, the Tape language contains a contrastive series oflabiovelar consonants which the languages, V'ënen Taut, Larevat, and Naman lack.[3]
One is able to obtain a noun by adding a-ien to the a verb root.[3]
Examples
By adding -ien to a verb ending in p, the p will usually change to a v.[3]
Examples
One is able to obtain a noun By adding në- to a verb.[3]
Examples
By combining two nouns together, one is able to form a new noun related to both words.[3]
lumlum
waterweed
tes
sea
lumlum tes
waterweed sea
'seaweed'
netite
child
dui
man
netite dui
child man
'boy'
Adding a place after a noun indicates the noun is originating from that particular place.[3]
dui
man
Tape
location
dui Tape
man location
'Tape man'
dui
man
elo
coast
dui elo
man coast
'coastal person'
In many Oceanic languages, there is a distinction between indirect and direct possession of nouns. Indirect possession usually occurs when adding another phrase or word after the possessive noun while direct possession occurs when adding a prefix to the noun it is possessing.[3]
There are special markers indicating the different types of possession like usingese- for general possession. Besides the general possession, there is possession towards, eating, chewing, and drinking. By addingde-, jomo-, andmëne-, one is referring to eating, chewing, and drinking respectively.
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | dok | dedru | dedëtël | ded |
| 2 | dom | - | - | - |
| 3 | den | daru | dartël | dar |
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | jomok | jomodru | jomodëtël | jomod |
| 2 | jomom | - | - | - |
| 3 | jomon | jomaru | jomartël | jomar |
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mënok | mënedru | mënedëtël | mëned |
| 2 | mënom | - | - | - |
| 3 | mënen | mënaru | mënartël | mënar |
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (g)esek | (g)esedru | (g)esedëtël | (g)esed |
| 2 | (g)esom | - | - | - |
| 3 | (g)esen | (g)esaru | (g)esartël | (g)esar |
| Singular | Dual | Trial | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -k | -dru | -dëtël | -d |
| 2 | -m | - | - | - |
| 3 | -n | -ru | -rtël | -r |
Example
When counting from 1 to 10, it is like counting in any other language where an arbitrary meaning is attached to a word. After counting to ten, one must add the word,isngel anddëmon before the numerals 1–9 to make teen numbers. The form,dëmon, has no meaning by itself in the Tape language.[3]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)