Raga language

Raga (also known as Hano) is the language of northern Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Raga belongs to the East Vanuatu languages, a branch of the Austronesian languages family. In old sources the language is sometimes referred to by the names of villages in which it is spoken, such as Bwatvenua (Qatvenua), Lamalanga, Vunmarama and Loltong.

With an estimated 6,500 native speakers (in the year 2000), Raga is the second most widely spoken of Pentecost's five native languages (after Apma), and the seventh largest vernacular in Vanuatu as a whole. There are significant communities of Raga speakers on Maewo island and in Port Vila and Luganville as a result of emigration from Pentecost.

The Raga spoken by most people today is heavily mixed with Bislama, Vanuatu's national language. The Turaga indigenous movement, based at Lavatmanggemu in north-eastern Pentecost, have attempted to purge the language of foreign influences by coining or rediscovering native words for introduced concepts such as "torch battery" (vat bongbongi, literally "night stones") and "hour" (ngguha, literally "movement"). Members of the Turaga movement write in Raga language using Avoiuli, a unique writing system inspired by local sand drawings.

Raga is generally considered an easy language to speak and learn, and is known as a second language by a number of speakers of other Vanuatu languages.

Modern Raga is relatively homogeneous, with no significant dialectal variation. A distinctive southern dialect of Raga, Nggasai, is now extinct; its last native speaker died in 1999.

Several grammatical sketches, vocabulary lists and short papers on Raga have been published, beginning with the work of R H Codrington and von der Gabelentz in the late 19th century, and a number of religious texts have been translated into the language. However, no thorough description of Raga has ever been published.

Phonology

The consonants of Raga are b, d, g (pronounced [x] like in Scottish "loch"), h, k, l, m, n, ng (like in English "singer"), ngg (prenasalised g), r, s, t, v (commonly pronounced like English f), w, and labiovelar bw, mw and vw. In printed media, ng and ngg are generally represented by n and g with italics or macrons.

Prenasalization of consonants, such that b becomes mb and d becomes nd, occurs when the preceding consonant is a nasal one (m, n or ng). Thus mabu "rest", for example, is pronounced mambu.

Raga has the five basic vowels a, e, i, o and u. Vowels are not generally distinguished for length.

Word roots in Raga nearly always end with a vowel. However, word-final vowels are often dropped within phrases, so that, for example, tanga "basket" and maita "white" combine to make tang maita "white basket".

Stress occurs on the penultimate syllable of a word.

Grammar

Basic word order in Raga is subject–verb–object.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns are distinguished by person and number. They are not distinguished by gender. The basic pronouns are as follows:

Nouns

Plurality is indicated by placing ira before a noun:

manu = [the] bird

ira manu = [the] birds

Nouns may be suffixed to indicate whom an item belongs to. For example:

iha = name

ihaku = my name

ihamwa = your name

ihana = his/her name

ihan ratahigi = the chief's name

Possession may also be indicated by the use of possessive classifiers, separate words that occur before the noun and take possessive suffixes. These classifiers are:

• no- for general possessions (nonggu tanga, "my basket")
• bila- for things that are cared for, such as crops and livestock (bilada boe, "our pig")
• ga- for things to be eaten (gam bweta, "your taro")
• ma- for things to be drunk (mara wai, "their water")

Historically there was also a classifier wa- for sugarcane to be chewed (wan toi, "his sugarcane"); this has fallen out of use among younger speakers.

The possessive suffixes are as follows:

A verb may be transformed into a noun by the addition of a nominalising suffix -ana:

bwalo = to fight (verb)

bwaloana = a fight (noun)

Modifiers generally come after a noun:

vanua = island

vanua kolo = small island

vanua gairua = two islands

Verbs

Verbs in Raga are usually preceded by a subject pronoun and by a marker indicating the tense, aspect and mood of the action.

The subject pronouns are as follows:

There is no 3rd person singular subject pronoun ("he/she/it").

Raga has five sets of tense/aspect/mood markers:

The full forms of these markers are used in the 3rd person singular, when there is usually no subject pronoun:

mwa lolia = he does it

nu lolia = he did it

vi lolia = he will do it

Elsewhere, short forms of these markers are suffixed to the subject pronoun:

nam lolia = I do it

nan lolia = I did it

nav lolia = I will do it

There are also dual (two-person) forms incorporating a particle ru "two":

ram lolia = they do it

ramuru lolia = the two of them do it

Historically there were trial (three-person) forms incorporating a particle dol or tol, but these have fallen out of use.

There is a pattern of verb-consonant mutation whereby v at the start of a verb changes to b, vw to bw, g to ngg, and t to d. This mutation occurs in imperfective aspect, and in the presence of the additive marker mom:

nan vano = I went

nam bano = I am going

Negative sentences are indicated with the two-part marker hav...te(he) "not", which encloses the verb and anything suffixed to it:

nan hav lolia tehe = I didn't do it

The passive voice can be formed by attaching the suffix -ana to the verb:

nu lolia = he did it

nu loliana = it was done

The direct object immediately follows the verb. Some object pronouns take the form of suffixes attached to the verb:

In some cases a particle -ni- interposes between the verb and the object pronoun:

nam doronia = I like it

Sample phrases

References

External links

• The Languages of Pentecost Island - information on Raga
• Leo huri ganisabuga Anglican Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer in Raga, digitized by Richard Mammana and Charles Wohlers

Languages of Vanuatu Official languages Bislama English French Indigenous languages Central Vanuatu Eton Lelepa Namakir North Efate South Efate East Vanuatu Torres-Banks Alo-Teqel Dorig Hiw Koro Lakon Lehali Lemerig Lo-Toga Löyöp Mota Mwerlap Mwesen Mwotlap Nume Olrat Vera'a Volow Vurës Penama Apma Baetora Central Maewo East Ambae North Ambrym Raga Sa Ske Sowa Sungwadia West Ambae Paama–Ambrym Dakaka Lonwolwol Orkon Paamese Port Vato Southeast Ambrym Epi Baki Bierebo Bieria Lamenu Lewo Maii Malekula Coastal Atchin Aulua Axamb Burmbar Mae Malfaxal Malua Bay Maskelynes Mpotovoro Nahavaq Näti Nese Unua Rerep Port Sandwich Uripiv Vao Wala-Rano Interior Ninde Letemboi Repanbitip Dixon Reef Nasarian Avava Lingarak Vinmavis Litzlitz Larevat Maragus Big Nambas unclassified Aveteian Navwien Sörsörian Nisvai Nasvang Navwien Polynesian Emae Futuna-Aniwa Mele-Fila West Santo Northwest Nokuku Piamatsina Tasmate Tolomako Valpei Vunapu Northeast Akei Amblong Aore Araki Kiai Mafea Merei Morouas Narango Navut Roria Malo Tambotalo Tangoa Tiale Tutuba Wailapa Wusi South Vanuatu Aneityum Ifo Kwamera Lenakel North Tanna Sie Sorung Southwest Tanna Ura Whitesands