Santa Cruz language
Santa Cruz | |
---|---|
Natügu | |
Native to | Solomon Islands |
Region | Santa Cruz Islands, Eastern Solomons. |
Native speakers | (5,900 cited 1999)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:ntu – Natügunlz – Nalögonpx – Noipx |
Glottolog | natu1250 |
Coordinates: 10°40′S 165°50′E / 10.667°S 165.833°E |
The Santa Cruz language (locally known as Natügu) is the main language spoken on the island of Nendö or 'Santa Cruz', in the Solomon Islands.
Name[edit]
The name Natügu means "our language" (natü "language, word" + -gu "1st + 2nd person plural suffix").
Genetic affiliation[edit]
It was widely believed until recently that Santa Cruz was a Papuan language. Like the rest of the Reefs – Santa Cruz languages, however, it has been shown to be a member of the Austronesian language family.[2]
Dialects[edit]
Dialects are Bënwë (Banua), Londai, Malo, Nea, Nooli. Speakers of most dialects understand Lwowa and Mbanua well. The Nea and Nooli dialects are the most divergent, actually a separate language (Nalögo).
Phonology[edit]
Consonants[edit]
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | round | pal. | plain | round | pal. | plain | round | pal. | |||
Stop | voiceless | p | pʷ | pʲ | t | tʷ | k | kʷ | kʲ | ||
aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | kʰ | ||||||||
voiced | b | bʷ | bʲ | d | dʷ | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||||
Nasal | m | mʷ | n | nʲ | ŋ | ŋʷ | |||||
Fricative | v | s | |||||||||
Approximant | l | j | w |
Voiced stops can also be heard as prenasalized.[3]
Vowels[edit]
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | ʉ | u |
Close-mid | e | ɵ | o |
Near-open | æ | ə | ɔ |
Open | a |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | ũ | ||
Close-mid | ẽ | ɵ̃ | õ |
Near-open | æ̃ | ə̃ | ɔ̃ |
Open | ã |
References[edit]
- ^ Natügu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Nalögo at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Noipx at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Næss, Åshild and Brenda H. Boerger (2008). "Reefs – Santa Cruz as Oceanic: Evidence from the Verb Complex". Oceanic Linguistics. 47: 185–212. doi:10.1353/ol.0.0000. hdl:1959.13/1052427.
- ^ Boerger, B. H. (2012). Sociological factors in Reefs-Santa Cruz language vitality: a 40 year retrospective. Walter de Gruyter.
External links[edit]
- Buk Ngr Nzangiongr Anglican Book of Worship in the Natqgu Language
- Paradisec has a number of collections with Natügu materials