Löyöp [løjøp] (formerly known as Lehalurup) is an Oceanic language spoken by about 240 people, on the east coast of Ureparapara Island in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu.[1][2] It is distinct from Lehali, the language spoken on the west coast of the same island.
Löyöp | |
---|---|
Pronunciation | [løjøp] |
Native to | Vanuatu |
Region | Ureparapara, formerly Rowa Islands |
Native speakers | 240 (2010)[1][2] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | urr |
Glottolog | leha1244 |
ELP | Löyöp |
![]() Löyöp is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
The language was originally native to the Rowa Islands, having been brought to Ureparapara around the 1930s when a tsunami struck the Reef Islands and forced the speakers to relocate.[3]
It’s considered a vulnerable language by UNESCO.
Name
editThe name Löyöp [løjøp] used since 2009[4][5][6] refers to the area called "Divers' Bay" in English, in the eastern part of Ureparapara. It derives from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *loroβi, with cognates in Lehali Loyēp [lɔjɪp]. The now-deprecated name Lehalurup once used by certain authors (e.g. Tryon) is likely a result from a transcription error, possibly under the influence of neighboring Lehali.
Phonology
editLöyöp phonemically contrasts 16 consonants and 11 vowels.[6]
Consonants
editLabiovelar | Bilabial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Dorsal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | ŋ͡mʷ ⟨m̄⟩ | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | ŋ ⟨n̄⟩ | ||
Stop | voiceless | k͡pʷ ⟨q⟩ | p ⟨p⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ | t͡ʃ ⟨j⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ |
prenasalized | ⁿd ⟨d⟩ | |||||
Fricative | β ⟨v⟩ | s ⟨s⟩ | ɣ ⟨g⟩ | |||
Approximant | w ⟨w⟩ | l ⟨l⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ |
Vowels
editThese are ten short monophthongs /i ɪ ɛ æ a œ ø y ɔ ʊ/, and one diphthong /i͡ɛ/.[5][6]
Front | Back | ||
---|---|---|---|
plain | round | ||
Close | i ⟨i⟩ | y ⟨u⟩ | |
Near-close | ɪ ⟨ē⟩ | ø ⟨ö⟩ | ʊ ⟨ō⟩ |
Open-mid | ɛ ⟨e⟩ | œ ⟨ë⟩ | ɔ ⟨o⟩ |
Near-open | æ ⟨ä⟩ | ||
Open | a ⟨a⟩ |
Grammar
editThe system of personal pronouns in Löyöp contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural).[7]
Spatial reference in Löyöp is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is in part typical of Oceanic languages, and yet innovative.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b List of Banks islands languages.
- ^ a b François (2012).
- ^ Tryon (1972).
- ^ François (2009).
- ^ a b François (2011:194)
- ^ a b c François (2021).
- ^ François (2016).
- ^ François (2015:) 171-172).
Bibliography
edit- Tryon, D. T. (1972). "The languages of the New Hebrides: A checklist and general survey". In Beaumont, C.; Tryon, D. T.; Wurm, S. A. (eds.). Papers in Linguistics of Melanesia, Series A-33. Pacific Linguistics.
- François, Alexandre (2009), "Verbal aspect and personal pronouns: The history of aorist markers in north Vanuatu" (PDF), in Pawley, Andrew; Adelaar, Alexander (eds.), Austronesian historical linguistics and culture history: A festschrift for Bob Blust, vol. 601, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, pp. 179–195
- François, Alexandre (2011), "Social ecology and language history in the northern Vanuatu linkage: A tale of divergence and convergence" (PDF), Journal of Historical Linguistics, 1 (2): 175–246, doi:10.1075/jhl.1.2.03fra, hdl:1885/29283, S2CID 42217419.
- —— (2012), "The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among northern Vanuatu languages" (PDF), International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012 (214): 85–110, doi:10.1515/ijsl-2012-0022, S2CID 145208588
- —— (2015). "The ins and outs of up and down: Disentangling the nine geocentric space systems of Torres and Banks languages" (PDF). In Alexandre François; Sébastien Lacrampe; Michael Franjieh; Stefan Schnell (eds.). The languages of Vanuatu: Unity and diversity. Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia. Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics. pp. 137–195. hdl:1885/14819. ISBN 978-1-922185-23-5.
- —— (2016), "The historical morphology of personal pronouns in northern Vanuatu" (PDF), in Pozdniakov, Konstantin (ed.), Comparatisme et reconstruction : tendances actuelles, Faits de Langues, vol. 47, Bern: Peter Lang, pp. 25–60
- François, Alexandre (2021). "Presentation of the Löyöp language and audio archive". Pangloss Collection. Paris: CNRS. Retrieved 21 Feb 2022.