Yele language

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The Yele language, or Yélî Dnye (IPA: [jelɯ ʈɳʲɛ]), is the language of Rossel Island, the easternmost island in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. There were an estimated 5,000 speakers in 2015, comprising the entire ethnic population.[1] It is known for its many doubly articulated consonants. The language remains unclassified by linguists.

Yele
Yélî Dnye
Pronunciation[jelɯ ʈɳʲɛ]
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionRossel Island, Louisiade Archipelago
Native speakers
5,000 (2015)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3yle
Glottologyele1255
ELPYele
Coordinates: 11°21′S 154°09′E / 11.350°S 154.150°E / -11.350; 154.150[2]
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Classification

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For now, the language is best considered unclassified. It has been classified as a tentative language isolate that may turn out to be related to the Anêm and Ata language isolates of New Britain (in a tentative Yele – West New Britain family), or alternatively closest to Sudest in the Papuan Tip languages of the Oceanic family. Typologically it is more similar to the Oceanic languages of southern New Guinea than to the isolates of New Britain. Word order tends to be subject–object–verb (SOV; verb-final).[3]

Stebbins et al. (2018) classifies Yélî Dnye as an isolate.[3] They explain similarities with Austronesian as being due to contact and diffusion. Usher classifies it as an Oceanic language, with regular sound correspondences obscured by the development of the doubly articulated consonants.

Phonology

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Yele has a uniquely rich set of doubly articulated consonants. In nearly all the languages of the world which have them, these are labial–velar consonants—that is, they are pronounced simultaneously with the lips and the back of the tongue, such as a simultaneous p and k. However, Yele is known to contrast other doubly articulated positions: besides labial–velar, it has two distinct labial–coronal articulations, all as both stops and nasals as illustrated below. There are also doubly articulated approximants: [l͡βʲ] as in lvámê (a type of cane) and [j͡β̞]. The Yele /w̪/ is more precisely a labial–dental [β̞͡ð̞].[4] These doubly articulated consonants do not contrast with labialization except in the case of the labial–velars.

The two coronal articulations are

Palatalization occurs at all places of articulation. Stops may be either pre-nasalized or post-nasalized.

Altogether, there are 58 attested consonants (56 demonstrated with solid minimal pairs) and one more that is somewhat dubious. The attested inventory is as follows:

Consonants[5][6]
Labial Denti-alveolar Postalveolar/retroflex Velar Labial-velar
plain lab. pal. lab-pal. plain lab. pal. lab-pal. plain lab. pal. lab-pal. plain lab. pal. plain pal.
Nasal m mʷʲ n̪͡m ɳ ɳ͡m ɳʲ ɳ͡mʲ ŋ ŋʷ ŋ͡m
Plosive p pʷʲ t̪͡p t̪ʲ
[t̪͡ɕ]
t̪͡pʲ ʈ ʈ͡p ʈʲ ʈ͡pʲ k k͡p k͡pʲ
Prenasalized plosive mb mbʷ mbʲ mbʷʲ n̪d̪ n̪͡md̪͡b n̪d̪ʲ
[n̪d̪͡ʑ]
n̪͡md̪͡bʲ ɳɖ ɳ͡mɖ͡b ɳɖʲ ŋɡ ŋɡʷ ŋ͡mɡ͡b
Nasal release (ʈɳ ?) ʈ͡pɳ͡m ʈɳʲ ʈ͡pɳ͡mʲ kŋʷ k͡pŋ͡m
Fricative β βʲ ɣ
Lateral approximant l l͡βʲ
Approximant
[β̞͡ð̞]
j j͡β̞

The oral stops apart from the dentialveolars are lightly voiced between vowels when the following vowel is short, but not when it is long. /ʈ/ is further reduced to a flap [ɽ]. All prenasalized stops are fully voiced. The palatalized denti-alveolar stops /t̪ʲ/ and /n̪d̪ʲ/ are pronounced as affricates [t̪͡ɕ] and [n̪d̪͡ʑ].

/ʈɳ/ (orthographic dn) is only attested from the inflectional clitic -dniye, and it is not clear that it is distinct from well-attested palatalized /ʈɳʲ/ (for *-dnyiye) (Levinson 2022:45). Some palatalized and labialized consonants are only attested from a handful of words. A gap in the chart above, *ɳ͡mɖ͡bʲ (orthographic mdy), is plausible but unattested (Levinson 2022:45). Other gaps, namely *n̪ʲ and *n̪͡mʲ (orthographic ńy and nmy) seem to not exist (Levinson 2022:46).

Yele also has 34 vowels: ten oral qualities and seven nasal, all long and short:

Vowels[5][6]
Front Central Back
Oral Nasal Oral Nasal Oral Nasal
Close i ĩ ĩː ɯ ɯː u ũ ũː
Near-close e ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː ə əː ə̃ ə̃ː o ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː
Open-mid ɛ ɛː ɔ ɔː
(Near-)open æ æː æ̃ æ̃ː ɑ ɑː ɑ̃ ɑ̃ː

Vowels may occur long or short. SIL (1992/2004) interprets vowel sequences as being separated by /j/ or /w/ rather than being in hiatus. (Possibly redundant y or w are found in the sequences iy and uw followed by most short vowels.) Given that vowels may be long or short, Yele syllables may only be of the form V or CV, with V only being short /a/ or /u/ at the beginning of a word (assuming lack of hiatus within a word).

Orthography

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Orthography a â b ch d e é ê gh i î j k l m n ń o ó p t u v w y
IPA æ ɑ p t̪ʲ ʈ ɛ e ə ɣ i ɯ t̪ʲ k l m ɳ ɔ o p u β j ◌̃

The multigraphs for complex consonants are not always transparent. The labial-velar and labial-coronal consonants are written with the labial second: kp /k͡p/, dp /ʈ͡p/, tp /t̪͡p/, ngm /ŋ͡m/, nm /ɳ͡m/, ńm /n̪͡m/, lv /l͡βʲ/. Prenasalized /mp/ is written mb, but /nd̪/ and /ŋɡ/ are written nt and nk to distinguish them from nd /nɖ/ and ng /ŋ/. Prenasalized stops are written with an m when labial, including the doubly articulated stops md /ɳ͡mɖ͡b/, mg /ŋ͡mɡ͡b/ and mt /n̪͡md̪͡b/, and with n otherwise. Nasal release is likewise written n or m, as in dny /ʈɳʲ/, kn /kŋ/, dm /ʈ͡pɳ͡m/, km /k͡pŋ͡m/. Labialization is written w, and palatalization y, apart from ch for /t̪ʲ/ and nj for /nd̪ʲ/.

Of the vowels, only a and u occur initially. Long vowels are written double, and nasal vowels with a preceding colon (꞉a for /ã/), except for short vowels after an orthographic nasal consonant, where vowel nasality is not contrastive.

Grammar

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Yele has been studied extensively by cognitive linguists. It has an extensive set of spatial postpositions. Yele has eleven postpositions equivalent to English on; using different ones depending factors such as whether the object is on a table (horizontal), a wall (vertical), or atop a peak; whether or not it is attached to the surface; and whether it is solid or granular (distributed).

Pronouns

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Yele has a set of free pronouns and a set of bound possessive pronouns.

Singular Dual Plural
English Yele English Yele English Yele
1st person free I ɳə we two n̪o we ɳ͡mo
bound a n̪i ɳ͡mɯ
2nd person free thou n̪i you two ʈ͡pũ you n̪͡mo
bound N- ʈ͡pɯ n̪͡me
3rd person free he/she they two they
bound u ji

Taboos and special registers

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There are three different types of taboos present in Yélî Dnye: vocabulary avoided by women, vocabulary avoided when in the presence of in-laws, and vocabulary related to sacred places. However, since the language has fallen into disuse, many of this special vocabulary is no longer used.[citation needed]

Additionally, special registers and terms are used when discussing shell money (kêndapî), at a mortuary feast (kpaakpaa) and during songs.[5]

Women's language

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As a form of women's speech, women avoid certain words, especially those related to the sea. Instead, other words are substituted.[5]

Sample women's language terms
Men's term Women's term Gloss
ntii tpili sea
nt꞉ee tpyele sea (locative)
nee dyudu canoe
kwede kódu yââ/mtene pyu bailer shell
lyé pele yââ coconut mat
mbwaa tolo fresh water
Lów꞉a mwada tpli pee Lów꞉a isle

In-laws

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Since great respect is shown to in-laws on Rossel Island, speakers of Yélî Dnye will not say their in-laws' names, will only speak of each in-law using the polite third-person plural pronoun yi, and will replace certain words when speaking near them. While the alternative vocabulary is mostly no longer used, the name and pronoun taboos are still observed.

Most of the taboo words are body parts, clothing or carried possessions. Not all body words are replaced, however: for example, 'neck', 'Adam's apple' and 'stomach' retain their everyday forms.[5]

Sample in-law terms
Everyday term In-law term Gloss
ngwolo yi wuché / yi chéé dê eye
kópu yi kp꞉aa têdê words
kêê yi kéépi hand
yodo yi mbwene belly
péé yi mgéé basket
kada ghââ in front of
tpe/tpoo yi tapa vagina

Vocabulary

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Selected basic vocabulary items in Yélî Dnye:[7]

gloss Yélî Dnye
bird ńmê; ńmo
blood wêê
bone dînê
breast ngmo
ear ngweńe
eat ma
egg w꞉uu
eye ngwolo
fire ndê; ndyuw꞉e
give yeede
go ; lili;
ground mbwóó; têpê
hair gh꞉aa
head mbodo
leg yi
louse y꞉emê wee
man pi
moon d꞉ââ
name pi
one ngmidi
road, path maa
see m꞉uu
sky mbóó; vyââ
stone chêêpî
sun kââdî
tongue dêê
tooth nyóó
tree yi
two miyó
water mbwaa; tolo
woman kumbwada; pyââ

Sample text

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Yélî Dnye:

Kiye w꞉ââ u pi Peetuuki, ka kwo, Doongê. Nê kuu. Daa a w꞉ââ. Nkal u w꞉ââ. Nkal ngê yinê kaa ngê. W꞉ââ dono. Pi yilî u te. U nuu u pi da tóó. Pi u lama daa tóó. M꞉iituwo Yidika, Mépé tp꞉oo mî kiye ngê. Daanté. Mépé dono ngê pyodo. Apê, W꞉ââ mbwámê nînê châpwo. Nkal ngê kwo, "Up꞉o" . W꞉ââ mî mbêpê wo, chii mênê. Mépé ngê w꞉ââ mbwámê mêdîpê châpwo. Awêde ka kwo, Doongê. Pi maa daa t꞉a. A danêmbum u dî.

Yélî Dnye in the International Phonetic Alphabet:

kijɛ w̪ɑ̃ː u pi pɛːt̪uːki, ka kʷɔ, ʈɔːŋə | ɳə kuː | ʈaː a w̪ɑ̃ː | ŋɡal u w̪ɑ̃ː | ŋɡal ŋə jiɳə kaː ŋə | w̪ɑ̃ː ʈɔɳɔ | pi jilɯ u t̪ɛ | u ɳuː u pi ʈa t̪oː | pi u lama ʈaː t̪oː | mĩːtuw̪ɔ jiʈika, mepe t̪͡pɔ̃ː kijɛ ŋə | ʈaːn̪d̪e | mepe ʈoɳo ŋə pʲɔʈɔ | apə, w̪ɑ̃ː mbʷæmə ɳɯɳə tʲɑpʷɔ | ŋɡal ŋə kʷɔ upɔ̃ | w̪ɑ̃ː mbəpə w̪ɔ, tʲiː məɳə | mepe ŋə w̪ɑ̃ː mbʷæmə məʈɯpə tʲɑpʷɔ | aw̪əʈɛ ka kʷɔ, ʈɔːŋə | pi maː ʈaː t̪ã | a ʈaɳəmbum u |

Translation:

The savage dog is called "Peetuuki", and he lives at Doongê. It's nothing to do with me. It's not my dog. It's Nkal's dog. He raised it. It's a bad dog. It bites everyone. It doesn't like anyone. Recently it bit Mépé's son, Yidika. It really bit him hard. Mépé became very angry, and said, 'I'm going to kill that dog'. The dog ran away into the bush, so Mépé could not kill it. So now it's still there at Doongê, so there's not a safe road through there. That's the end of my story.

(SIL 1992/2004)

References

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  1. ^ a b Yele at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)  
  2. ^ NIMA (2004). Sailing Directions 164 (Enroute): New Guinea (9th ed.). Annapolis: Lighthouse Press. p. 177. ISBN 9781577855699.
  3. ^ a b Stebbins et al. 2018
  4. ^ Henderson (2004)
  5. ^ a b c d e Levinson 2022
  6. ^ a b Henderson 1995
  7. ^ Henderson & Henderson 1999

Bibliography

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