Lehali language

{{Infobox language

|name=Lehali

|altname=

|nativename=Loli

|pronunciation={{IPA|tql|lɔli|}}

|states=Vanuatu

|region=Ureparapara

|speakers=200

|date=2010

|ref=

|familycolor=Austronesian

|fam2=Malayo-Polynesian

|fam3=Oceanic

|fam4=Southern Oceanic

|fam5=North-Central Vanuatu

|fam6=North Vanuatu

|fam7=Torres-Banks

|iso3=tql

|glotto=leha1243

|glottorefname=Lehali

|map = Lang Status 80-VU.svg

|mapcaption = {{center|{{small|Lehali is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger}}}}

}}

File:WIKITONGUES- Anna speaking Tehali.webm.A rough translation can be found in the comments to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chsL-GSpTBc Youtube version] of this video.]]

Lehali (previously known as Teqel) is an Oceanic language spoken by about 200 people, on the west coast of Ureparapara Island in Vanuatu.[http://alex.francois.online.fr/AF-field.htm#Vanuatu List of Banks islands languages]. It is distinct from Löyöp, the language spoken on the east coast of the same island.

Name

The language is named after the village where it is spoken, natively referred to as {{lang|tql|Loli}} {{IPA|tql|lɔli|}}. The name Lehali does not have any etymological value, other than being a corruption of the native name.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Phonology

Lehali phonemically contrasts 16 consonants and 10 vowels.François (2021).

=Consonants=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Lehali consonants !colspan="2"\| ! Bilabial ! Alveolar ! Dorsal ! Labialized velar ! Glottal
colspan="2"\| Nasal \| {{IPA link\|m}} {{angbr\|m}} \| {{IPA link\|n}} {{angbr\|n}} \| {{IPA link\|ŋ}} {{angbr\|n̄}} \| {{IPA link\|ŋʷ}} {{angbr\|n̄w}} \|
rowspan="2"\| Stop ! voiceless \| {{IPA link\|p}} {{angbr\|p}} \| {{IPA link\|t}} {{angbr\|t}} \| {{IPA link\|k}} {{angbr\|k}} \| {{IPA link\|kʷ}} {{angbr\|q}} \|
prenasalized \| \| {{IPA link\|ⁿd}} {{angbr\|d}} \| \| \|
colspan="2"\| Fricative \| {{IPA link\|β}} {{angbr\|v}} \| {{IPA link\|s}} {{angbr\|s}} \| {{IPA link\|ɣ}} {{angbr\|g}} \| \| {{IPA link\|h}} {{angbr\|h}}
colspan="2"\| Approximant \| \| {{IPA link\|l}} {{angbr\|l}} \| {{IPA link\|j}} {{angbr\|y}} \| {{IPA link\|w}} {{angbr\|w}} \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Lehali consonants

!colspan="2"|

! Bilabial

! Alveolar

! Dorsal

! Labialized
velar

! Glottal

colspan="2"| Nasal

| {{IPA link|m}} {{angbr|m}}

| {{IPA link|n}} {{angbr|n}}

| {{IPA link|ŋ}} {{angbr|n̄}}

| {{IPA link|ŋʷ}} {{angbr|n̄w}}

rowspan="2"| Stop

! voiceless

| {{IPA link|p}} {{angbr|p}}

| {{IPA link|t}} {{angbr|t}}

| {{IPA link|k}} {{angbr|k}}

| {{IPA link|kʷ}} {{angbr|q}}

prenasalized

| {{IPA link|ⁿd}} {{angbr|d}}

colspan="2"| Fricative

| {{IPA link|β}} {{angbr|v}}

| {{IPA link|s}} {{angbr|s}}

| {{IPA link|ɣ}} {{angbr|g}}

| {{IPA link|h}} {{angbr|h}}

colspan="2"| Approximant

| {{IPA link|l}} {{angbr|l}}

| {{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}

| {{IPA link|w}} {{angbr|w}}

=Vowels=

The 10 vowel phonemes are all short monophthongs {{IPA|/i ɪ ɛ æ ə a ɒ̝ ɔ ʊ u/}}:{{sfn|François|2011|p=194}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Lehali vowels ! \| ! \|Front ! \|Central ! \|Back
Close \| {{IPA link\|i}} {{angbr\|i}} \| \| {{IPA link\|u}} {{angbr\|u}}
Near-close \| {{IPA link\|ɪ}} {{angbr\|ē}} \| rowspan="2" \| {{IPA link\|ə}} {{angbr\|ë}} \| {{IPA link\|ʊ}} {{angbr\|ō}}
Open-mid \| {{IPA link\|ɛ}} {{angbr\|e}} \| {{IPA link\|ɔ}} {{angbr\|o}}
Near-open \| {{IPA link\|æ}} {{angbr\|ä}} \| \| {{IPA link\|ɒ\|ɒ̝}} {{angbr\|ö}}
Open \| colspan="3" \| {{IPA link\|a}} {{angbr\|a}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Lehali vowels

! |

! |Front

! |Central

! |Back

| {{IPA link|i}} {{angbr|i}}

| {{IPA link|u}} {{angbr|u}}

Near-close

| {{IPA link|ɪ}} {{angbr|ē}}

| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ə}} {{angbr|ë}}

| {{IPA link|ʊ}} {{angbr|ō}}

Open-mid

| {{IPA link|ɛ}} {{angbr|e}}

| {{IPA link|ɔ}} {{angbr|o}}

Near-open

| {{IPA link|æ}} {{angbr|ä}}

| {{IPA link|ɒ|ɒ̝}} {{angbr|ö}}

Open

| colspan="3" | {{IPA link|a}} {{angbr|a}}

=Historical phonology=

The {{angbr|y}} /j/ phoneme originates in a former trill *r: e.g. /-jɔ/ < POc *rua 'two'.{{sfn|François|2016|pp=31, 46}} Lehali shares that particular sound change with its neighbors Löyöp, Volow, and Mwotlap.

Grammar

The system of personal pronouns in Lehali contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural).{{sfn|François|2016}}

Spatial reference in Lehali is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is in part typical of Oceanic languages, and yet innovative.{{sfn|François|2015|pp=175–176}}

References

Bibliography

{{cite journal

|last=François

|first=Alexandre

|author-link = Alexandre François (linguist)

|year=2011

|title=Social ecology and language history in the northern Vanuatu linkage: A tale of divergence and convergence

|journal=Journal of Historical Linguistics

|volume=1

|issue=2

|pages=175–246

|doi=10.1075/jhl.1.2.03fra

|url=https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2011_JHL1-2_Social-ecology_Vanuatu.pdf

|hdl=1885/29283

|s2cid=42217419

|hdl-access=free

}}.

{{cite journal

|last=François

|first=Alexandre

|author-mask=2

|year=2012

|title=The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among northern Vanuatu languages

|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language

|volume=2012

|issue=214

|doi=10.1515/ijsl-2012-0022

|pages=85–110

|s2cid=145208588

|url=https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2012_NorthVanuatuSocioling_IJSL.pdf

}}

{{Cite book

| publisher = Asia-Pacific Linguistics

| isbn = 978-1-922185-23-5

| pages = 137–195

|editor=Alexandre François |editor2=Sébastien Lacrampe |editor3=Michael Franjieh |editor4=Stefan Schnell

| last = François

| first = Alexandre

|author-mask=2

| title = The languages of Vanuatu: Unity and diversity

| chapter = The ins and outs of up and down: Disentangling the nine geocentric space systems of Torres and Banks languages

| location = Canberra

| series = Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia

| url = http://hdl.handle.net/1885/14819

| contribution-url= https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2015_North-Vanuatu-space-directionals.pdf

| date = 2015| hdl = 1885/14819

}}

{{cite book

|last=François

|first=Alexandre

|author-mask=2

|year=2016

|contribution = The historical morphology of personal pronouns in northern Vanuatu

|editor1-last = Pozdniakov

|editor1-first = Konstantin

|title = Comparatisme et reconstruction : tendances actuelles

|volume = 47

|pages = 25–60

|publisher = Peter Lang

|place = Bern

|series = Faits de Langues

|contribution-url= https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2016_History-personal-pronouns_north-Vanuatu_published.pdf

}}

{{cite web

|url=https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/corpus/Lehali?lang=en&mode=pro&seeMore=true

|title=Presentation of the Lehali language and audio archive

|last=François

|first=Alexandre

|author-mask=2

|author-link=

|date=2021

|website=Pangloss Collection

|location=Paris

|publisher=CNRS

|access-date=21 Feb 2022

|quote=

|ref=pangloss}}

External links

[https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/corpus/Lehali?lang=en&mode=pro Audio recordings in the Lehali language], in open access, by A. François (Pangloss Collection).

Category:Banks–Torres languages

Category:Languages of Vanuatu

Category:Vulnerable languages