Sonsorolese language

Sonsorolese
Spoken in Palau
Region Palau: originally Sonsorol state (all three inhabited islands Sonsorol, Pulo Anna and Merir)
Native speakers unknown (600 cited 1981)
Language family
Language codes
ISO 639-3 sov

The Sonsorolese language is a Micronesian language spoken in Palau, originally on the islands composing the state of Sonsorol, but nowadays mostly by immigrants in the rest of the country. It is very close to Tobian.

Contents

Geographic distribution

Dialects

Orthography and pronunciation

Sonsorolese is usually a spoken language, but is occasionally written to the writer's preference. Many of the sounds are like that in Tobian and Woleaian. A couple of dialects include the pronunciation of d, which is common at the beginning of words and similar to [ð]; r is pronounced as in Spanish, as opposed to English; also, l is always pronounced with tongue touching the back roof of the mouth and sounds something like a combination of the [ɡ] and [l] sounds. For that reason, some Sonsorolese prefer to spell their l's as ⟨ɡl⟩. As in Woleaian, silent vowels are usually found at the end of Sonsorolese words. For example, in Dongosaro, the native name for Sonsorol island, the final -o is silent.

Examples

External links