Wailapa, or Moiso or Ale, is an Oceanic language[2][3] or dialect[4] spoken on Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.
It is possibly endangered[5], with its status described as "shifting".[6] It is also described as "stable".[3]
It has multiple dialects.[7]
Classification
Wailapa is generally described as a language,[2][3] but also as a dialect of the proposed, lexicostastically defined Southwest Santo language along with Araki, Tangoa, and Wailapa.[8][4]
Selected vocabulary
The list below is a sample of words in Wailapa. [7]
| Wailapa | English |
|---|---|
| patu-ku | head |
| umʷi-ku | beard |
| tamanpatu-ku | belly |
| laso-ku | testicles |
| marau-ku | left hand |
| tˢino-ima | door |
| tikinoβu | centipede |
| lano | fly (n) |
| moɂi | mosquito |
| paɂeo | shark |
| apa-na | wing |
| tˢio | grasshopper |
| aβua | turtle |
| korui niu | dry coconut |
| pioro | sandalwood |
| matˢoe | star |
| βusiβusi | sand |
| βaliβali tasi | foam |
| paka | bow |
| soɂo | digging stick |
| βuro | fight |
| tˢoriɂa | yellow |
| mo tolu | three |
| raβurua | seven |
| mo-βisa | how many |
| taun | year |
| inia | he |
| inira | they |
| atia | bite |
| ɂaniɂan | eat |
| sisia apu | blow |
| kunu | run |
References
- ^ François (2015), p.19
- ^ a b "Glottolog 5.1 - Ale". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
- ^ a b c "Wailapa | Ethnologue Free". Ethnologue (Free All). Archived from the original on 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
- ^ a b Lynch, John; Crowley, Terry (2001). Languages of Vanuatu: A New Survey and Bibliography. pp. 51–52. Archived from the original on 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Did you know Wailapa is endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
- ^ "Glottolog 5.1 - Ale". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
- ^ a b Tryon, D. T. (Darrell T. ) (1976). New Hebrides languages : an internal classification. Internet Archive. Canberra : Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-85883-152-0.
- ^ Lynch, John (2019). "The Bilabial-to-Linguolabial Shift in Southern Oceanic: A Subgrouping Diagnostic?". Oceanic Linguistics. 58 (2): 304. doi:10.1353/ol.2019.0010. ISSN 0029-8115. JSTOR 26905160.
You must be logged in to post a comment.