Rapanui (language)
| Rapanui | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
Chile ; Region: Easter Island | |
| speaker | 2500–3500 first-language speakers | |
| Linguistic classification |
|
|
| Official status | ||
| Recognized minority / regional language in |
Easter island | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639 -1 |
- |
|
| ISO 639 -2 |
rap |
|
| ISO 639-3 |
rap |
|
Rapanui or Pascuense is a Polynesian dialect of the Austronesian language family used by the Rapanui people on Easter Island (Spanish Isla de Pascua ) . There are between 2,500 and 3,500 Rapanui-speaking people on the island and mainland Chile, as well as Tahiti and the United States .
classification
Rapanui is directly related to the languages of the East Polynesian subgroup ( Tahitian , Marquesan , Hawaiian or Māori ). Many of the words that are valid today come from Tahitian. The script Rongorongo is probably an early form of Rapanui, today Rapanui is written in the Latin script . The language includes 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 10 consonants (h, k, m, n, ng, p, r, t, v and ʻ ). The voiced plosives ( [b, d, g] ), fricatives ( [x, f, s, ʃ, θ] ) and the [l] that occur in most European languages are not available .
history
Rapanui was formed from the original Polynesian language during the long period of isolation after the colonization of Easter Island. Until the arrival of the Europeans in the 18th century, only Rapanui was spoken on Easter Island.
The first official Rapanui classes were held in 1975 by order of the Chilean Ministry of Education. In the following year, Rapanui was introduced as a subject in primary school. With the so-called Aborigines Act (Act No. 19.253) of 1993 there was for the first time a regulation for the protection, promotion and development of the culture and language of the local people. The National Association for Local Development (CONADI) was also founded.
grammar
noun
Verbs
Personal pronouns
| Singular | dual | Plural | |
| 1 | (ko) au | incl. taua excl. maua |
tātou mātou |
| 2 | koe | kōrua | kōrua |
| 3 | īa | rāua | rāua |
Examples
| Rapanui | German |
|---|---|
| ahu | ceremonial platform |
| akuaku | Spirit soul |
| ana hanga koe | Sorry |
| ariki | chief |
| henua | Earth, world, land |
| ʻIorana | Welcome / Goodbye (formerly ku mao ʻā) |
| ina | No |
| kāinga | Property |
| Ko āi toʻou ingoa? | What is your name? |
| mahina | moon |
| maururu | thank you |
| Pehē koe? | How are you? |
| raʻā | Sun |
| rapa | Ceremonial paddle |
| rangi | Sky, cloud |
| rivariva | Well |
| rongorongo | Beter, term for wooden writing boards |
| tangata | Man, man |
| tapu | holy, forbidden |
| tokerau | wind |
| vai kava | sea |
| katahi | 1 |
| karua | 2 |
| katoru | 3 |
| kahā | 4th |
| karima | 5 |
| kaono | 6th |
| kahitu | 7th |
| kavaʻu | 8th |
| kaiva | 9 |
| ka'angahuru | 10 |
| kahānere | 100 |
| captains | 1,000 |
Web links
literature
- Bergmann, Hans-Georg 1963: Comparative studies on the language of Easter Island. Hamburg, dissertation.
- Du Feu, Veronica 1996: Rapanui. London, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-00011-4 .
- Huke Atán, Karlo; Pauly, Stephanie 1999: Oral Tradition of Easter Island. Freiburg, Steinhart, ISBN 3-932248-08-2 .
- Kahlo, Gerhard 1959: From Jünnan to Rapanui. In: Research and Progress, Volume 33, pp. 123–125, Berlin, Akademischer Verlag.
- McCall, Grant 1994: Tradition and survival on Easter Island. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
- Pagel, Steve 2010: Spanish in Asia and Oceania . Frankfurt / M .: Peter Lang.
- Pinks, Regina 1991: A Linguistic Study of the Metoro Chants from Easter Island (Rapanui). Goettingen.
- William Churchill: Easter Island - The Rapanui Speech and the Peopling of Southeast Polynesia . BiblioLife, 2009, ISBN 1-110-75838-3 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
Individual evidence
- ^ Ethnologue.org accessed on March 13, 2010
- ↑ Rongorongo- The silent boards of Easter Island ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Osterinsel.net - language accessed on March 14, 2010
- ↑ Languages of the World - Rapanui accessed on March 14, 2010 ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Conadi.cl accessed 14 March 2010
