Marquesan language explained

Marquesan
Nativename:	ʻEo ʻenana (North Marquesan) ʻEo ʻenata (South Marquesan)
States:	French Polynesia
Region:	Marquesas Islands, Tahiti
Speakers:	8,700
Date:	2007 census
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Austronesian
Fam2:	Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:	Oceanic
Fam4:	Polynesian
Fam5:	Eastern Polynesian
Fam6:	Marquesic
Lc1:	mrq
Ld1:	North Marquesan
Lc2:	mqm
Ld2:	South Marquesan
Notice:	IPA
Glotto:	marq1246
Glottoname:	Marquesan
Glotto2:	nort2845
Glottoname2:	North Marquesan
Glotto3:	sout2866
Glottoname3:	South Marquesan

Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. They are usually classified into two groups, North Marquesan and South Marquesan, roughly along geographic lines.^[1]

Phonology

The most striking feature of the Marquesan languages is their almost universal replacement of the pronounced as //r// or pronounced as //l// of other Polynesian languages by a pronounced as //ʔ// (glottal stop).

Like other Polynesian languages, the phonology of Marquesan languages is characterized by a scarcity of consonants and a comparative abundance of vowels. The consonant phonemes are:

	Labial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Fricative	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/
Nasal	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Liquid		pronounced as /link/

Of this small number of consonants, pronounced as //ŋ// is found only in eastern Nuku Hiva (Tai Pi Marquesan), and pronounced as //f// is found only in South Marquesan dialects. In writing, the phoneme pronounced as //ŋ// is written (n(g)), and pronounced as //ʔ// is written ʻ, the ʻokina.

Unlike most Austronesian languages, the pronounced as //ŋ// is not an isolated nasal: it is found only in conjunction with a following pronounced as //k//. So, whereas the Samoan word for 'bay' is Samoan: faga, pronounced pronounced as /[ˈfa.ŋa]/, it is hanga in Tai Pi Marquesan, and is pronounced pronounced as //ˈha.ŋka//. This word is useful to demonstrate one of the more predictable regular consonantal differences between the northern and southern dialects: in North Marquesan, the word is haka, and in South Marquesan, it is hana.

The phoneme pronounced as //h// is represented with the letter (h); however, it is realized phonetically as pronounced as /[h]/, pronounced as /[x]/, or pronounced as /[s]/, depending on the following vowel.

The vowel phonemes are the same as in other Polynesian languages, long and short versions of each:

	Front		Central		Back
	Long	Short	Long	Short	Long	Short
High	iː	i			uː	u
Mid	eː	e			oː	o
Low			aː	a

Alphabet

A E F H I K M N O P R S T U V ʻ

a e f h i k m n o p r s t u v ʻ ^[2]

Morpho-syntax

Noun and verb phrases

Verbal particles are placed before the verb they modify.^[3]

Verbal Particles!example!example in a sentence
past	(asked)	(the youth asked)
present	(think)	(I think of my mother)
perfective	(was born)	(I was born at Hakehatau)
imperfective	(going)	(where are you going?)
inceptive	(then they eat)	(...when finish that, then do they eat)
imperative	(go!)	(go to the doctor!)

A noun phrase in Marquesan is any phrase beginning with either a case marker or a determiner. Case markers or prepositions always precede the determiners, which in turn precede the number markers. As such, they all precede the noun they modify.^[4]

Articles!colspan=2
Demonstratives	Other
definite singular		this	a certain
indefinite		that	other
dual/paucal definite		that
anaphoric

Nominal Number Markers	Number Markers
dual
dual/paucal
plural

There are 11 personal pronouns which are distinguished by singular, dual, and plural. As well as that, there are two other personal pronouns which distinguish possession.

Complex sentences use verbal nouns in subordinate clauses.

Hanaiapa, o Tua-i-kaie, ua noho me te vehine pootu oko^[5]

Possession

Margaret Mutu & Ben Teìkitutoua (2002) present descriptions and examples of possession in Ùa Pou (a north Marquesan dialect). All examples in this section are taken from their work. See notes for more information.

Possession in Marquesan is marked by prepositional particles affixed to the noun phrase which they modify. These prepositional particles relate the phrase as a whole to other parts of the sentence or discourse and therefore can be considered centrifugal particles.^[6] Possession is essentially different from the other types of adposition modification in that it marks a relationship between two noun phrases as opposed to that between the verbal phrase and the noun phrase.

There are four possession markers in Marquesan. They are the prepositions:,, and . Possessive prepositions and translate as 'of' while and are attributive, possessive prepositions which translate either as 'belong to, of' or 'for'.^[7]

a and o possessive prepositions

In these examples, the relation of two noun phases with the use of the possessive prepositions and can be seen. The preposition is affixed to the possessor noun phrase which in turn dominates the possessed phrase.

na and no attributive, possessive prepositions

In these examples, we see the relation of constituents which form a noun phrase. This is an example of attributive, alienable possession.

Dominant vs subordinate possession

Marquesan distinguishes between two contrastive types of possession. The first can be described in very broad terms as possession in which the possessor is dominant, active, superior, or in control of the possessed. and mark this type of possession:

On the other hand, and indicate possession where the possessor is subordinate, passive, inferior to, or lacking in control over the possessed:

Locative phrases

Locative constructions in Marquesan follow this pattern (elements in parentheses are optional):

Preposition - (Modifier) - lexical head - (Directional) - (Demonstrative) - (Modifier) - Possessive Attribute/Attributive Noun Phrases

This locative syntactic pattern is common among Polynesian languages.

Dialect diversity

North Marquesan is spoken in the northern islands (Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, and Ua Huka), and South Marquesan in the southern islands (Hiva Oa, Tahuata, and Fatu Hiva). In Ua Huka, which was almost entirely depopulated in the 19th century and repopulated with people from both the Northern and Southern Marquesas, the language shares traits of both North Marquesan and South Marquesan. Comparative data on the various dialects of Marquesan can be found in the Linguistic Atlas of French Polynesia (Charpentier & François 2015).^[8]

The most noticeable differences between the varieties are Northern Marquesan pronounced as //k// in some words where South Marquesan has pronounced as //n// or pronounced as //ʔ// (glottal stop), and pronounced as //h// in all words where South Marquesan has pronounced as //f//.

The table below compares a selection of words in various dialectal varieties of Marquesan, according to the Linguistic Atlas of French Polynesia,^[9] with their pronunciation in the IPA. Tahitian and Hawaiian are also added for comparison.

	North Marquesan			South Marquesan			Tahitian
							Tahiti
hello	pronounced as //kaːʔoha//	pronounced as //kaːʔoha//	pronounced as //kaːʔoha//	pronounced as //kaːʔoha//	pronounced as //kaːʔoha//	pronounced as //aloha//	pronounced as //ʔia ora na// (pronounced as //arofa// 'love, compassion')
human being	pronounced as //ʔenana//	pronounced as //ʔenana//	pronounced as //ʔenana//	pronounced as //ʔenata//	pronounced as //ʔenata//	pronounced as //kanaka//	pronounced as //taʔata//
life	pronounced as //pohuʔe//	pronounced as //pohuʔe//	pronounced as //pohuʔe//	pronounced as //pohoʔe//	pronounced as //pohoʔe//	pronounced as //ola//	pronounced as //ora//
body	pronounced as //nino//	pronounced as //nino//	pronounced as //tino//	pronounced as //tino//	pronounced as //tino//	pronounced as //kino//	pronounced as //tino//
mouth	pronounced as //haha//	pronounced as //haha//	pronounced as //haha//	pronounced as //fafa//	pronounced as //fafa//	pronounced as //waha//	pronounced as //vaha//
head	pronounced as //upoko//	pronounced as //upoko//	pronounced as //upoko//	pronounced as //upoʔo//	pronounced as //upoʔo//	pronounced as //poʔo//	pronounced as //upoʔo//
to see	pronounced as //ʔite//	pronounced as //kite//	pronounced as //ʔite//	pronounced as //ʔite//	pronounced as //ʔite//	pronounced as //ʔike//	pronounced as //ʔite//
to speak	pronounced as //tekao//	pronounced as //tekao//	pronounced as //tekao//	pronounced as //teʔao//	pronounced as //teʔao//	pronounced as //ʔoːlelo// (pronounced as //kaʔao// 'to tell tales')	pronounced as //parau//
dog	pronounced as //peto//	pronounced as //peto//	pronounced as //peto//	pronounced as //nuhe//	pronounced as //nuhe//	pronounced as //ʔiːlio//	pronounced as //ʔuːri//
louse	pronounced as //kutu//	pronounced as //kutu//	pronounced as //kutu//	pronounced as //ʔutu//	pronounced as //ʔutu//	pronounced as //ʔuku//	pronounced as //ʔutu//
yesterday	pronounced as //tinahi//	pronounced as //nenahi//	pronounced as //tinahi//	pronounced as //tinahi//	pronounced as //tinahi//	pronounced as //nehinei//	pronounced as //inaːnahi//
sky	pronounced as //ʔaki//	pronounced as //ʔaki//	pronounced as //ʔani//	pronounced as //ʔani//	pronounced as //ʔani//	pronounced as //lani//	pronounced as //raʔi//
moon	pronounced as //meama//	pronounced as //meama//	pronounced as //mahina//	pronounced as //mahina//	pronounced as //mahina//	pronounced as //mahina//	pronounced as //ʔaːvaʔe//
wind	pronounced as //metaki//	pronounced as //metaki//	pronounced as //metani//	pronounced as //metani//	pronounced as //metani//	pronounced as //makani//	pronounced as //mataʔi//
sea	pronounced as //tai//	pronounced as //tai//	pronounced as //tai//	pronounced as //tai//	pronounced as //tai//	pronounced as //kai//	pronounced as //miti// (pronounced as //tai// 'sea, salt')
coral	pronounced as //puka//	pronounced as //puka//	pronounced as //puna//	pronounced as //feʔeo//	pronounced as //feʔeo//	pronounced as //koʔa// (pronounced as //puna// 'plaster, mortar')	pronounced as //puʔa//
fish	pronounced as //ika//	pronounced as //ika//	pronounced as //ika//	pronounced as //iʔa//	pronounced as //iʔa//	pronounced as //iʔa//	pronounced as //iʔa//
octopus	pronounced as //heke//	pronounced as //heke//	pronounced as //heke//	pronounced as //feʔe//	pronounced as //feʔe//	pronounced as //heʔe//	pronounced as //feʔe//
island, land	pronounced as //henua//	pronounced as //henua//	pronounced as //henua//	pronounced as //fenua//	pronounced as //fenua//	pronounced as //honua//	pronounced as //fenua//
river	pronounced as //kaʔavai//	pronounced as //kaʔavai//	pronounced as //kaʔavai//	pronounced as //kaʔavai//	pronounced as //kaʔavai//	pronounced as //kahawai//	pronounced as //ʔaːnaːvai//
	pronounced as //taʔo//	pronounced as //taʔo//	pronounced as //taʔo//	pronounced as //taʔo//	pronounced as //taʔo//	pronounced as //kalo//	pronounced as //taro//
coconut	pronounced as //ʔehi//	pronounced as //ʔehi//	pronounced as //ʔehi//	pronounced as //ʔeʔehi//	pronounced as //ʔeʔehi//	pronounced as //niu//	pronounced as //haʔari//
house	pronounced as //haʔe//	pronounced as //haʔe//	pronounced as //haʔe//	pronounced as //faʔe//	pronounced as //faʔe//	pronounced as //hale//	pronounced as //fare//
man (male)	pronounced as //vahana//	pronounced as //vahana//	pronounced as //vahana//	pronounced as //ʔahana//	pronounced as //ʔahana//	pronounced as //kaːne//	pronounced as //taːne//
woman	pronounced as //vehine//	pronounced as //vehine//	pronounced as //vehine//	pronounced as //vehine//	pronounced as //vehine//	pronounced as //wahine//	pronounced as //vahine//
grandmother	pronounced as //tupuna kui// ('grandparent mother')	pronounced as //tupuna kui// ('grandparent mother')	pronounced as //tupuna kui// ('grandparent mother')	pronounced as //tupuna vehine// ('grandparent woman')	pronounced as //tupuna vehine// ('grandparent woman')	pronounced as //kupuna wahine// ('grandparent woman')	pronounced as //maːmaː ruːʔau// ('mom old person')
chief, king	pronounced as //hakaʔiki//	pronounced as //hakaʔiki//	pronounced as //hakaʔiki//	pronounced as //hakaʔiki//	pronounced as //hakaʔiki//	pronounced as //aliʔi//	pronounced as //ariʔi//
	pronounced as //meʔae//	pronounced as //meʔae//	pronounced as //meʔae//	pronounced as //meʔae//	pronounced as //paepae//	pronounced as //heiau//	pronounced as //marae//
you (singular)	pronounced as //ʔoe//	pronounced as //koe//	pronounced as //ʔoe//	pronounced as //ʔoe//	pronounced as //ʔoe//	pronounced as //ʔoe//	pronounced as //ʔoe//

The northern dialects fall roughly into four groups:

Tai Pi, spoken in the eastern third of Nuku Hiva, and according to some linguists, a separate language, Tai Pi Marquesan
Teiʻi, spoken in western Nuku Hiva
Eastern Ua Pou
Western Ua Pou

The southern dialects fall roughly into three groups:

Pepane: Eastern Hiva ʻOa and Ua Huka
Fatu Hiva
Nuku: Western Hiva ʻOa and Tahuata

North Marquesan exhibits some original characteristics. While some Polynesian languages maintained the velar nasal pronounced as //ŋ//, many have lost the distinction between the nasals pronounced as //ŋ// and pronounced as //n//, merging both into pronounced as //n//. North Marquesan, like South Island Māori dialects of New Zealand, prefers pronounced as //k//. Another feature is that, while some Polynesian languages replace *k with pronounced as //ʔ//, North Marquesan has retained it. (Tahitian and formal Samoan have no pronounced as //k// whatsoever, and the pronounced as //k// in modern Hawaiian is pronounced either [k] or [t] and derives from Polynesian *t.)

The dialects of Ua Huka are often incorrectly classified as North Marquesan; they are instead transitional. While the island is in the northern Marquesas group, the dialects show more morphological and phonological affinities with South Marquesan. The North Marquesan dialects are sometimes considered two separate languages: North Marquesan and Tai Pi Marquesan, the latter being spoken in the valleys of the eastern third of the island of Nuku Hiva, in the ancient province of Tai Pi. Puka-Pukan, spoken in Puka-Puka and the Disappointment Islands in northeastern Tuamotu, is a dialect of South Marquesan, and should not be confused with the homonymous Pukapukan language spoken in Pukapuka, one of the Cook Islands.

References

DIR:directional

External links

Online version of the Grammaire et dictionnaire de la langue des Iles Marquises – Marquisien–Français (Paris, Institut d'Ethnologie, 1931)
Aperçu de la langue des îles Marquises et de la langue taïtienne, accompagné d'un vocabulaire inédit de la langue taïtienne (Johann Buschmann & Guillaume de Humboldt, Berlin, 1843)
DoBeS — Marquesan language
Box of 458 index cards of plant and animal names archived with Kaipuleohone

Notes and References

See Charpentier & François (2015).
http://emilydonaldson.org/emblog/marquesannow/marquesan-pronunciation-guide/ Marquesan Pronunciation Guide
Margaret Mutu & Ben Teìkitutoua (2002), p. 38
Book: Mutu & Teìkitutoua. Ùa Pou: Aspects of a Marquesan dialect. 2002. 72.
Krupa . Viktor . 2005 . Syntax of Verbal Nouns in Marquesan . Oceanic Linguistics . 44 . 2 . 505–516 . 10.1353/ol.2005.0038 . 3623350 . 145204950 .
Margaret Mutu & Ben Teìkitutoua (2002), p. 88
Book: Mutu & Teìkitutoua. Ùa Pou: Aspects of a Marquesan dialect. 2002. 94.
For regular sound correspondences between Marquesan dialects and other Polynesian languages, see Charpentier & François (2015), p.93.
The authors of the Linguistic Atlas of French Polynesia judged the variety spoken on Tahuata to be too similar to Hiva Oa's to form a separate survey point.