Hiw language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hiw | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Vanuatu |
| Region | Hiw |
Native speakers | 280 (2012)[1] |
|
Austronesian
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | hiw |
Hiw (sometimes spelled Hiu) is an Oceanic language spoken on Hiw Island, in the Torres Islands of Vanuatu.[2]
It is distinct from Lo-Toga, the other language of the Torres group.
The language
Hiw has 280 speakers, and is considered endangered.[3][4]
Phonology
Hiw has 9 phonemic vowels. These are all short monophthongs /i ɪ e ɵ ə a ʉ o ɔ/.[5] Hiw is the only Austronesian language whose consonant inventory includes a prestopped velar lateral approximant /g͡ʟ/; this complex segment is the only liquid of the language.[6]
References
Bibliography
- François, Alexandre (2005), "Unraveling the history of vowels in seventeen north Vanuatu languages", Oceanic Linguistics 44 (2): 443–504
- François, Alexandre (2010a), "Phonotactics and the prestopped velar lateral of Hiw: Resolving the ambiguity of a complex segment", Phonology 27 (3): 393–434
- François, Alexandre (2010b), "Pragmatic demotion and clause dependency: On two atypical subordinating strategies in Lo-Toga and Hiw (Torres, Vanuatu)", in Bril, Isabelle, Clause hierarchy and Clause linking: The Syntax and Pragmatics interface, Studies in Language Companion Series 121, Amsterdam: Benjamins, pp. 499–548, ISBN 978-90-272-0588-9
- François, Alexandre (2012), "The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among northern Vanuatu languages", International Journal of the Sociology of Language 214: 85–110, doi:10.1515/ijsl-2012-0022
External links
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