Proto-Polynesian language

Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the hypothetical proto-language from which all the modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a daughter language of the Proto-Austronesian language. Historical linguists have reconstructed the language using the comparative method, in much the same manner as with Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Uralic. This same method has also been used to support the archaeological and ethnographic evidence which indicates that the ancestral homeland of the people who spoke Proto-Polynesian was in the vicinity of Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands.[1]

Proto-Polynesian
PPn
Reconstruction ofPolynesian languages
RegionTonga, Samoa, and nearby islands
Reconstructed
ancestors

Phonology

The phonology of Proto-Polynesian is very simple, with 13 consonants and 5 vowels.[2]

Consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Velar Glottal
Voiceless stop *p *t *k *ʔ
Nasal *m *n *ŋ
Fricative *f *s *h
Trill *r
Lateral *l
Glide *w

Vowels

Proto-Polynesian had five simple vowels, /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/, with no length distinction. In a number of daughter languages, successive sequences of vowels came together to produce long vowels and diphthongs, and in some languages these sounds later became phonemic.[3]

Sound correspondences
Proto-Polynesian *p*t*k*ʔ *m*n*ŋ *w *f*s*h *l*r
Tongan p t k ʔ m n ŋ v f h l l/Ø
Niuean Ø
Niuafoʻou?? ʔ/Øhh/Ø
Proto-Nuclear-Polynesian *p*t*k*ʔ *m*n*ŋ *w*f*s*Ø*l
Sāmoan p t~k ʔØ m n ŋ v f s Ø l
East Futunan t kʔ/Ø
Tikopian Øɾ
Nukuoroan hl
Proto-Eastern-Polynesian *p*t*k*ʔ/Ø *m*n*ŋ *w*f*h*Ø*l
Rapa Nui p t k ʔ/Ø m n ŋ v v/hh Ø ɾ
MVA, Cook Islands Māori Ø ʔ/vʔ
Tuamotuan f/h/vh
Te Reo Māori wɸ/h
Tahitian ʔ ʔ v f/v/h
N. Marquesan k k hʔ
S. Marquesan ʔ n f/h
Hawaiian k wh/wl

Vocabulary

The following is a table of some sample vocabulary as it is represented orthographically in various languages.[4] All instances of ⟨ʻ⟩ represent a glottal stop, IPA /ʔ/. All instances of ⟨ng⟩ and Samoan ⟨g⟩ represent the single phoneme /ŋ/. The letter ⟨r⟩ in all cases represents voiced alveolar tap /ɾ/, not /r/.

Polynesian vocabulary
Proto-Polynesian Tongan Niuean Sāmoan Rapa Nui Tahitian Te Reo Māori Cook Islands Māori S. Marquesan Hawaiian English
*taŋata tangata tangata tagata tangata ta'ata tangata tangata ʻenata kanaka person
*sina hina hina sina hina hinahina hina ʻina hina grey-haired
*kanahe kanahe kanahe ʻanae 'anae kanae kanae ʻanae mullet
*tiale siale tiale tiale tiare tiare tīare tiare kiele flower
*waka vaka vaka vaʻa vaka va'a waka vaka vaka waʻa canoe
*fafine fafine fifine fafine vi'e/vahine vahine wahine vaʻine vehine wahine woman
*matuʔa mātu'a motua matua matuʻa metua matua metua, matua motua makua parent
*rua ua ua lua rua rua[5] rua rua ʻua lua two
*tolu tolu tolu tolu toru toru toru toru toʻu kolu three

See also

Notes
  1. Kirch, Patrick Vinton; Roger Green (2001). Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia: An Essay in Historical Anthropology. Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–119. ISBN 978-0-521-78309-5.
  2. Marck, Jeff (2000). Topics in Polynesian languages and culture history (PDF). Pacific Linguistics 504. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
  3. Rolle, Nicholas (2009). "The Phonetic Nature of Niuean Vowel Length". Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics (TWPL): 31.
  4. Hockett, C.K. (May 1976), "The Reconstruction of Proto Central Pacific", Anthropological Linguistics, 18 (5): 187–235
  5. Archaic: the modern Tahitian word for two is piti, due to the practice of pi'i among Tahitians, a form of linguistic taboo. However, the cognate remains in the second-person dual pronounʻōrua, roughly translated you two.
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