Spanish on Easter Island

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Under Spanish on Easter Island means the on Easter Island spoken variants of Spanish . In addition to the Chile-Spanish standard, which has established itself as the official language since the island was annexed by Chile, there are also several oral language varieties that mix elements from both the Spanish language and the indigenous language Rapanui . The boundaries of these oral rapanui-Spanish language varieties are fluid and therefore difficult to determine, but here two varieties are distinguished according to primary language competence as follows:

  • R1S2 Rapanui-Spanish (primary language Rapanui)
  • S1R2 Rapanui Spanish (primary language Spanish)

Language contact history

→ see also contact history : History of Easter Island

The indigenous people of Easter Island , the Rapanui, spoke Rapanui before the arrival of the Chileans. With the Chileanization of the island from the second half of the 20th century, Spanish gained more and more influence.

When Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888, Spanish was given the status of the official language. In 1934, Spanish became the language of instruction and the indigenous language Rapanui was banned from schools. From 1956 it was possible for the Rapanui to attend further education in continental Chile. Until then, however, the community influence of Spanish was minimal, and it marked the beginning of the development of a learned language variety of Spanish.

In the 1960s, the Chilean civil administration was introduced on Easter Island and almost 400 administrative employees and their families moved to Easter Island. The immigrant Chileans initially had control over the administration, the school system and the island's economy , including tourism. The dominant language in the public area was Spanish, at that time Rapanui was mostly only spoken in private.

Colonial diglossia

If one language is judged to be more important than the other due to unequal power relations and the dominated language is subsequently replaced by the dominant language, it is called colonial diglossia . In the case of Rapanui, this happened with the indigenous language in favor of Spanish: first Rapanui was replaced by Spanish in the public sector, then also in the private sector. Among other things, Spanish brought with it obvious economic and social advantages and thus motivated the indigenous population to speak Spanish instead of Rapanui, which led to social bilingualism .

The increased contact with Spanish, the adoption of Chilean culture by the Rapanui and also the intercultural marriages with the continental Chileans brought Spanish into the privacy of the Rapanui. They now started to speak Spanish among themselves and with their children. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a joint language change to Spanish, with the imported continental media such as radio and television also playing a major role.

Language situation today

Since the 1970s at the latest, Spanish has been the dominant language on Easter Island and, with a few exceptions, is still the unmarked language of administration and local politics. In addition to English, it is the language of economics and tourism as well as school lessons and is also spoken in most households. All islanders have a solid knowledge of Spanish; most of them have primary language skills.

However, the Rapanui have long since left colonial diglossia behind. They have not completely stopped speaking the indigenous language, nor do they restrict it to an increasingly smaller sphere. Instead, the Rapanui have developed a bilingual style of language that places the two languages ​​side by side and thereby expresses the modern Rapanui identity and solidarity .

These bilingual language styles, some of which can be categorized, can be flexibly mixed with one another and the choice of language is strongly influenced by the respective language situation. In the course of the Pacific and Latin American indigenous movements in the 1980s, the new language styles were promoted to an interactive form. As a result, they have become normal in informal everyday usage and speaking both Rapanui and Spanish without the elements in the other language is perceived as unnatural. Instead, bilingual elements are accepted and even expected. This demonstrates a high degree of adaptation and acceptance of the different language skills and preferences.

Varieties of Spanish

Since the transitions between the individual varieties of Spanish on the island are fluid, it is difficult to set fixed boundaries for the respective language styles. However, based on aspects such as scope, speaker and phonological and morphological peculiarities, Miki Makihara distinguishes the following varieties in her model: Chilean Spanish and two varieties of Rapanui Spanish (R1S2, R2S1). The numbering of the varieties indicates which of the two languages ​​is mastered by the speaker in the primary language competence and which, on the other hand, is learned.

Chilespanish

The Chilean Spanish on Easter Island is similar to the variety spoken on the continent , especially the Spanish spoken in the area of ​​Santiago-Valparaíso-Viña del Mar. The annexation of the island in 1888, the establishment of administrative institutions by the Chilean government and the associated immigration of Chileans from the mainland led to the rapid spread of the language in areas of administration and commerce. A little later, Spanish found its way into private areas of everyday life. Thus, the use of Chilean Spanish on Easter Island can be divided into two categories. On the one hand, the use of the language as the official language in formal situations and, on the other hand, in informal situations for communication between the locals (especially teenagers and young adults) and with Chileans who live on the island and today around 50% of the island's inhabitants turn off.

Rapanui Spanish

Rapanui-Spanish is understood to mean the varieties of Spanish spoken on Easter Island, which on the one hand have developed due to the lack of skills of the speakers in one of the two languages. On the other hand, Rapanui-Spanish can fulfill a socio-pragmatic function for its speaker , which is explained in more detail in the later section. Rapanui Spanish is characterized by linguistic simplifications and Rapanui interferences on various linguistic levels. Interference means that structures of one language are transferred to equivalent structures of the other language.

In her model, Makihara divides Rapanui Spanish into two varieties, depending on the speaker's primary language competence. Thus, the speakers can also be divided into two groups: It is assumed that speakers born before the 1970s have Rapanui as their primary language , while those born after the 1970s have Spanish, because during this period the language change from Rapanui to Spanish instead of. Not to be forgotten are some speakers who have primary competencies in both languages ​​and therefore cannot be classified in Makihara's model.

R1S2 Rapanui-Spanish

R1S2 Rapanui Spanish is mainly spoken by the Rapanui who grew up on the island and were born before 1975. Speakers of this variety have primary language skills in Rapanui while learning Spanish as a secondary language. R1S2 Rapanui Spanish has Rapanui interference at all levels of the linguistic structure; H. Rapanui structures are carried over to equivalent structures in Spanish. This variety is also characterized by the phenomenon of simplification, which means that some grammatical categories of Spanish that do not exist in Rapanui are often not implemented by the speakers in earlier stages of learning. Thus, the learner variety can be seen as simplified in relation to this grammatical category.

Lexicons

It is important to note that Hispanisms appearing in Rapanui are mainly interactional copies. This phenomenon is also known as "code switching". It presupposes a pronounced bilingualism and allows that "every lexical or free grammatical element and every syntactic unit from the word to the sentence can be copied from Spanish into the spoken Rapanui, ie on the parole level ". Lexical copies often experience a change in the word class.

“The reason for this is that in Rapanui, it is often difficult to determine whether an element belongs to one of the word classes that are fundamentally accepted for the morphology of European languages. For the function of a lexeme - whether verbal, nominal or adjectival - depends less on morphological and more on syntactic aspects; in other words: not the form but the position indicates its function in the Rapanui. "

In addition to interactional copies, there are a number of conventionalized Hispanisms that can be considered more nativized . These can be summarized in the following groups: terms for new cultural concepts, terms from the semantic area of ​​emotions, relationships and functional words.

However, these observations can vary individually from speaker to speaker.

Phonology
1. Simplification of sounds

The phenomenon of simplification can be observed, for example, in the implementation of the Spanish sounds in R1S2 Rapanui Spanish. Since Spanish has a wider range of consonants than Rapanui , some of them that have no equivalent in Rapanui are often replaced by another consonant that is similar to them in terms of articulation. The typical substitutions of the sounds can be found in the following table:

Sounds in Spanish Corresponding sounds in R1S2 Rapanui Spanish
[r, l, d] [r]
[b] [v]
[ù] [i]
[g, x] [k]
[s, cˇ] [t]

The phenomenon should be illustrated using the following examples:

Spanish word Spanish pronunciation R1S2 pronunciation
Jarro / xaro / / diamonds /
Guitarra / gitara / / kitara /
Familia / familia / / famiria /
Idea / idea / / irea /
Sabana / sabana / / tavana /
2. Open syllable structure

Another specialty of R1S2 Rapanui-Spanish is the open syllable structure , also known as the law of the open syllable, which is characterized by the increasing syllable sonority . In order to adapt the lexemes to this rule, the consonants may disappear or a vowel may be added at the end of the word.

  • Spanish: color, grupo
  • Rapanui: korore, kurupo
3. Interference

A phonological example for the phenomenon of interference offers the different realization of the Spanish loan word después (dt. After): / despues /, / despue / etc. The individual realization possibilities are arranged according to their increasing adaptation to the Rapanui phonology.

Morphosyntax
1. Simplification of gender

At the level of morphosyntax , the phenomenon of simplification can also be observed, sometimes in combination with interference. For example, the grammatical category of gender can be viewed as simplified, since, according to Makihara in Rapanui, it is not always differentiating meanings.

2. Simplification of verb inflection

Since the verbs in Rapanui no grammatical markedness have in terms of person and tense, are also found in R1S2 Rapanui Spanish place of all the verbs ( past tense , past tense , future tense , etc.) almost exclusively verbs in the indicative mood . In addition, regardless of the contextual person and the number, the verb form of the 3rd person singular is preferred. This phenomenon is led to the preferred use of the personal pronoun usted in Latin America .

3. Synonymous use of usted and

Another aspect is the mixed use of verbal conjugation forms for usted and . It can happen that the speaker uses the individual verb forms as if there were no semantic differences between them and the personal pronouns were synonymous .

4. Interference

An example on the morphosyntactic level would be Spanish verbs conjugated in the 3rd person singular, which are used as nouns within the Rapanui utterances.

R2S1 Rapanui-Spanish

The R2S1 Rapanui Spanish is used on the one hand by speakers who were born on the island after 1975 and whose primary language is Spanish. In the course of socialization , however, these speakers received passive knowledge of the Rapanui. On the other hand, it is also spoken of by Chilean migrants who have lived on the island for a long time and have acquired a Japanese language vocabulary in the meantime. Compared to R1S2 Rapanui Spanish, this variety is mainly characterized by the interactive copying of the lexical material from the Rapanui.

Text example

The following text example illustrates a family conversation. In this short excerpt, some of the phenomena of speech interaction listed above can be observed. The Spanish elements are indicated by italics and the elements from the Rapanui by normal script.

Language variety speaker translation to German
Chilespanish Felipe: Tia, ¿qué se hizo su auto? Aunt, what happened to your car?
Rapanui Laura: Ko more 'ā te ŋao. Hey aha rō! Ko more 'ā te ŋao o te' auto. The neck (tube) is torn apart. I wonder why! The neck (pipe) of the car is torn apart.
R1S2 Elena: Así que a raro 'ā ka turu ena, a raro' ā ka hoki mai ena. So really , it was down when (we) went down (and) was down when (we) came back.
Chilespanish; R2S1 Mariana: Sí, po. Tu auto está malo, po. Hizo hore en ŋao. Yes. Your car is broken. The neck (tube) was cut.
R2S1 Elena: Hizo more el ŋao. [Laughter] Hizo hore el ŋao. (It should read) " The neck (tube) has been torn apart." [Laughter] (Not) " The neck (tube) has been cut."
R2S1 Mario (to his grandfather): Koro! Vamo (vamos) al uta ('uta) mañana ? Koro! Let tomorrow into the interior drive ?
Chilespanish Mariana: ¡A pie! On foot!
[Laugh]
R1S2 Elena: He kī ki ta'a korohu'a he iri a pie ! Tell the old man (your grandfather) to walk there !

Reasons for language choice

When choosing the language or language variety used, the respective conversation situation as well as the age, status and preferences of the speaker are important. The speaker is always aware of the choice of language and the reasons for this cannot be limited to just one factor, rather it is a combination of several reasons.

For example, it is reported that some S1 speakers are afraid of saying something wrong in Rapanui, especially in situations with a very high degree of formality, and therefore being corrected and mocked by the older speakers. Linguistic frustration makes it easier to have a conversation that involves multiple languages ​​and / or language varieties. It is also reported that on Rapanui you cannot express everything the way you want. Sometimes there is no suitable word for some things - these are mainly terms or objects that did not exist on Easter Island before Chileanization, for example in the area of ​​technology. Therefore, a language variety that takes both languages ​​into account is preferred. In addition, a form of interaction in which several language varieties occur has become normal, especially in communication situations between generations.

Language choice and identity

When choosing the language, the newly invented, puristic form of Rapanui is perceived as archaic and the Rapanui-free variety of Spanish has been wrong since the Pacific and Latin American indigenous identity movements. From the point of view of ethnic solidarity, the use of a Rapanui-Spanish variety is preferred as it does not exclude either language. The choice of language also expresses the Rapanui identity: For example, if two speakers who are both fluent in Spanish prefer to speak a Rapanui-Spanish variety with each other. The prestige that the young Rapanui ascribe to most aspects of their culture and language is very high, and the choice of language demonstrates either a demarcation or belonging in the respective language situation. In conversations, all three languages ​​can be used side by side, which is associated with group solidarity and modern indigenous identity.

literature

  • Makihara, Miki. 2001: Changing Rapanui Language and Identity. Pacific 2000. Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress on Easter Island and the Pacific, edited by CM Stevenson, G. Lee, and FJ Morin: 425-428. Los Osos, CA: Easter Island Foundation.
  • Makihara, Miki. 2005: Being Rapa Nui, Speaking Spanish: Children's Voices on Easter Island. Anthropological Theory 5 (2): 117-134
  • Makihara, Miki. 2005: Rapa Nui Ways of Speaking Spanish: Language Shift and Socialization on Easter Island. Language in Society 34 (5): 727-762
  • Pagel, Steve 2010: Spanish in Asia and Oceania. Frankfurt / M .: Peter Lang, ISBN 978-3631608302

Individual evidence

  1. A description of the Rapanui spoken before the arrival of the Chileans z. B. Pagel, Steve 2010: Spanish in Asia and Oceania. Frankfurt / M .: Peter Lang, ISBN 978-3631608302 , p. 172
  2. ^ Pagel, Steve 2010: Spanish in Asia and Oceania. Frankfurt / M .: Peter Lang. P. 208
  3. ^ Pagel, Steve 2010: Spanish in Asia and Oceania. Frankfurt / M .: Peter Lang. P. 207
  4. Makihara, Miki. 2005: Rapa Nui Ways of Speaking Spanish: Language Shift and Socialization on Easter Island. Language in Society 34 (5): 747