Saa language
Encyclopedia
Sa or Saa language is an Austronesian language spoken in southern Pentecost Island
, Vanuatu
. It had an estimated 2,500 speakers in the year 2000.
The two central dialects are relatively similar to one another and are generally understood by all Sa speakers. Most writing and research in Sa has been in one of these dialects:
There are also two outlying dialects, which are highly distinctive and difficult for speakers of other dialects to understand:
The distinctive speech of villages such as Bunlap
, Bay Barrier (Ranon) and Wanur appears to comprise mixtures of neighbouring dialects.
People in southern Pentecost remember the existence of additional dialects that are now extinct.
of t found before the vowels i and u although speakers regard it separately. Most speakers also use labiovelar bw, mw and pw, although from some speakers of outlying dialects these are indistinguishable from normal b, m and p. In additional to these consonants, the northern dialect has a bilabial f. In this dialect s may be pronounced like English sh.
As a general rule, clusters of consonants do not occur within a syllable. Word roots may begin with a pair of consonants, but in speech the first of these consonants is usually either dropped or attached to the final syllable of the preceding word.
In addition to the five standard vowels (a, e, i, o and u), Sa is generally believed to have additional mid-high vowels ê (intermediate between e and i) and ô (intermediate between o and u). Not all authors have recognised these extra vowels, but they have been accepted by local teachers of vernacular literacy and are used in the Bible Society's recent Gospel translations. Vowels are distinguished for length, with long vowels (aa, ee, etc.) often occurring where a consonant has historically been lost. Vowels can occur alone or in various combinations.
Stress is normally on the penultimate syllable of a word. However, syllables that end with a consonant or a long vowel take stress in precedence to other syllables.
and number
. They are not distinguished by gender
. With one exception, subject and object pronouns are identical.
The singular and plural pronouns are as follows:
In addition, there are dual pronouns (referring to two people), which incorporate the particle kô, and paucal pronouns (referring to a small number of people), which incorporate the particle têl or pat.
. Plural
ity is indicated by placing the pronoun êr ("them") or a number after the noun.
Nouns may be either free, or directly possessed. Directly possessed nouns are followed either by a suffix or a noun indicating whom an item belongs to. For example:
The possessive suffixes are as follows:
Possession may also be indicated by the use of the word na- "of" (or a- in the case of food items), followed either by a possessive suffix or the name of the possessor:
A verb may be transformed into a noun by the addition of a nominalising suffix -an:
Modifiers generally come after a noun:
, aspect
and mood
of the action.
In positive statements the marker is typically m-, ma-, mwa-, me- or a variant (depending on the dialect, the verb and the environment). Past and present tense are not explicitly distinguished:
In negative statements this marker is replaced with taa- or a variant:
These markers may be combined with a future marker t or te:
In the imperative
, the future marker occurs without any other marker:
Hypothetical statements include a particle po:
Completed actions are indicated using tê:
The subject can be omitted from a sentence, as in the second example below:
Transitive and intransitive verb forms are distinguished, with transitive verb
s often followed by nê:
Verbs in Sa can be linked together in a variety of serial verb construction
s.
Pentecost Island
Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. It lies due north of capital Port Vila. Pentecost Island is known as Pentecôte in French and Pentikos in Bislama. The island was known in its native languages by names such as Vanu Aroaroa, although these...
, Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
. It had an estimated 2,500 speakers in the year 2000.
Dialects and range
Sa has numerous dialects, with no well-established names or boundaries. At a meeting in 2008, speakers recognised four main dialects, with sub-dialectal variation and mixing of dialects in some areas.The two central dialects are relatively similar to one another and are generally understood by all Sa speakers. Most writing and research in Sa has been in one of these dialects:
- A western dialect ("Saa" with a long a) is spoken on the west coast around Panas, Wali, Panngi and Ranputor.
- An eastern dialect ("Sa" with a short a) is spoken in the south-east around Ranwas. A variant of this dialect with longer vowels in certain words is spoken at Poinkros in the far south, and is used in the Bible Society's recent Gospel translations.
There are also two outlying dialects, which are highly distinctive and difficult for speakers of other dialects to understand:
- A northern dialect ("F dialect"), characterised by the presence of an f sound, is spoken in the north of the Sa area, at St Henri (Fatsare) and by some at Ran'gusuksu. It has close links with neighbouring Ske languageSke languageSke is an endangered language of south-western Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Ske belongs to the East Vanuatu languages, a branch of the Austronesian languages family....
and with Doltes, the extinct dialect of Hotwata village. - A southern dialect ("Ha"), notable for the widespread replacement of s with h, is spoken in Bay Martelli (Harop) and Londar, and has close links with the languages of neighbouring AmbrymAmbrymAmbrym is a volcanic island in the archipelago of Vanuatu . It is well known for its highly active volcanic activity that includes lava lake formation.-Etymology:...
island.
The distinctive speech of villages such as Bunlap
Bunlap
Bunlap is a village in the south-east of Pentecost Island in the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu. It is the most well-known of a number of local kastom villages whose people aspire to retain a traditional lifestyle with minimal Western influences....
, Bay Barrier (Ranon) and Wanur appears to comprise mixtures of neighbouring dialects.
People in southern Pentecost remember the existence of additional dialects that are now extinct.
Phonology
The consonants of Sa include b, d, g, h, k, l, m, n, ng (as in English "singer"), p, r, s, t, and w. In most dialects there is also j (occasionally written "ts"), which is apparently an allophoneAllophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
of t found before the vowels i and u although speakers regard it separately. Most speakers also use labiovelar bw, mw and pw, although from some speakers of outlying dialects these are indistinguishable from normal b, m and p. In additional to these consonants, the northern dialect has a bilabial f. In this dialect s may be pronounced like English sh.
As a general rule, clusters of consonants do not occur within a syllable. Word roots may begin with a pair of consonants, but in speech the first of these consonants is usually either dropped or attached to the final syllable of the preceding word.
In addition to the five standard vowels (a, e, i, o and u), Sa is generally believed to have additional mid-high vowels ê (intermediate between e and i) and ô (intermediate between o and u). Not all authors have recognised these extra vowels, but they have been accepted by local teachers of vernacular literacy and are used in the Bible Society's recent Gospel translations. Vowels are distinguished for length, with long vowels (aa, ee, etc.) often occurring where a consonant has historically been lost. Vowels can occur alone or in various combinations.
Stress is normally on the penultimate syllable of a word. However, syllables that end with a consonant or a long vowel take stress in precedence to other syllables.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns are distinguished by personGrammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
and number
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
. They are not distinguished by gender
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
. With one exception, subject and object pronouns are identical.
The singular and plural pronouns are as follows:
| Person | Sa | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | nê | "I" / "me" |
| 2nd person singular | êk (o in subject position) |
"you" (singular) |
| 3rd person singular | i | "he" / "she" / "him" / "her" / "it" |
| 1st person plural (inclusive) | kê(t) | "we" / "us" (you and me) |
| 1st person plural (exclusive) | gema | "we" / "us" (me and others) |
| 2nd person plural | gimi | "you" (plural) |
| 3rd person plural | êr | "they" / "them" |
In addition, there are dual pronouns (referring to two people), which incorporate the particle kô, and paucal pronouns (referring to a small number of people), which incorporate the particle têl or pat.
Nouns
Nouns in Sa are not preceded by articlesArticle (grammar)
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the and a/an, and some...
. Plural
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
ity is indicated by placing the pronoun êr ("them") or a number after the noun.
Nouns may be either free, or directly possessed. Directly possessed nouns are followed either by a suffix or a noun indicating whom an item belongs to. For example:
- sêk = my name
- sêm = your name
- sên = his/her name
- sê temak = my father's name
The possessive suffixes are as follows:
| Person | Sa | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | -k | "of mine" |
| 2nd person singular | -m | "of yours" (singular) |
| 3rd person singular (human) | -n | "of his/hers" |
| 3rd person singular (non-human) | -tê | "of its" |
| 1st person plural (inclusive) | kêt | "of ours" (yours and mine) |
| 1st person plural (exclusive) | gma | "of ours" (mine and others') |
| 2nd person plural | gmi | "of yours" (plural) |
| 3rd person plural | -r | "of theirs" |
Possession may also be indicated by the use of the word na- "of" (or a- in the case of food items), followed either by a possessive suffix or the name of the possessor:
- nak ôl = my coconut (belonging)
- nam ôl = your coconut (belonging)
- nan ôl = his/her coconut (belonging)
- ôl na selak = my brother's coconut (belonging)
- ak ôl = my coconut (to eat)
- am ôl = your coconut (to eat)
- an ôl = his/her coconut (to eat)
- ôl natê = coconut for it (association)
A verb may be transformed into a noun by the addition of a nominalising suffix -an:
- wêl = to dance (verb)
- wêlan = a dance (noun)
Modifiers generally come after a noun:
- ere = village
- ere lêp = big village
Verbs
Verbs in Sa are usually (though not always) preceded by verb markers indicating the tenseGrammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
, aspect
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
and mood
Grammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
of the action.
In positive statements the marker is typically m-, ma-, mwa-, me- or a variant (depending on the dialect, the verb and the environment). Past and present tense are not explicitly distinguished:
- nê mlos = I bathe / I bathed
- nê marngo = I hear / I heard
In negative statements this marker is replaced with taa- or a variant:
- nê taalos = I don't bathe / I didn't bathe
- nê taarngo = I don't hear / I didn't hear
These markers may be combined with a future marker t or te:
- nê met los = I will bathe
- nê meterngo = I will hear
- nê taat los = I won't bathe
- nê taaterngo = I won't hear
In the imperative
Imperative mood
The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
, the future marker occurs without any other marker:
- O tlos! = [You] bathe!
- O terngo! = [You] listen!
Hypothetical statements include a particle po:
- nê metpo los = I should bathe
Completed actions are indicated using tê:
- nê mlos tê = I bathed already
The subject can be omitted from a sentence, as in the second example below:
- i meterngo = he will hear it
- meterngo = it will be heard
Transitive and intransitive verb forms are distinguished, with transitive verb
Transitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
s often followed by nê:
- êr rôs = they move
- êr rôsnê at = they move the stone
Verbs in Sa can be linked together in a variety of serial verb construction
Serial verb construction
The serial verb construction, also known as serialization, is a syntactic phenomenon common to many African, Asian and New Guinean languages...
s.
Sample phrases
| English | Sa - central dialects (Panngi, Ranwas, Bunlap) |
Sa - northern dialect (Fatsare) |
Sa - southern dialect (Bay Martelli) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where are you going? | O metea bê? | O mfa be? | O metea be? |
| I'm going to... | Nê metea... | Nê mfa... | Nê metea... |
| Where have you come from? | O mamra bê? | O mamra be? | O mamra be? |
| I've come from... | Nê mamra... | Nê mamra... | Nê mamra... |
| What's your name? | Sêm be sê? | Sêm be sê? | Hêm be hê? |
| My name is... | Sêk be... | Sêk be... | Hêk be... |
| How much? / How many? | Beês? | Befês? | Beêh? |
| one | (be)su | shuf | hu |
| two | (be)ru | (be)ru | (be)ru |
| three | (be)têl | (be)jil | (be)têl |
| four | (be)êt | (be)fêt | (be)êt |
| five | (be)lim | (be)lim | (be)lim |
| It's just fine | I mbetô nga | I mbetô nga | I mbetu nga |