Nias language#Phonology

Nias is typically considered to have three dialects.Ethnologue{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=7}}

• Northern dialect: particularly the Gunungsitoli variety, Alasa and Lahewa area.
• South dialect: South Nias, Gomo Area, Telukdalam Area and Batu Islands.
• Central dialect: West Nias, particularly in Sirombu and Mandrehe areas.

Cognate percentage among the dialects of Nias is about 80%.{{sfn|Nothofer|1986|p=95}}

The northern variant is considered the prestige dialect. The only complete Bible translation is written in the northern dialect and is used by speakers of all dialects.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=8}}

Nias has the following phonemes (sounds only found in the northern dialect are given in {{color|#00C000|green}}, southern-only sounds are in {{color|#E00000|red}}):{{sfn|Sundermann|1913|pp=5–6}}{{sfn|Brown|2005|p=564}}

Phonetic descriptions of the sounds traditionally written as {{angbr|mb}} and {{angbr|ndr}} greatly vary. Sundermann (1913) and Halawa et al. (1983) describe them as prenasalized stop {{IPA|[ᵐb]}} and prenasalized trilled stop {{IPA|[ⁿdʳ]}} for the northern dialect,{{sfn|Sundermann|1913|p=6}}{{sfn|Halawa|Harefa|Silitonga|1983|p=19, 21}} while Brown (2005) records them as trill {{IPA|[ʙ]}} and trilled stop {{IPA|[dʳ]}} for the southern dialect.{{sfn|Brown|2005|p=564}} In an acoustic study of Nias dialects from three locations, Yoder (2010) shows a complex pattern of four phonetic realizations of {{angbr|mb}} and {{angbr|ndr}}: plain stop, prenasalized stop, stop with trilled release, stop with fricated release.{{sfn|Yoder|2010|p=1}}{{efn|"It seems that the variable character of the two phonemes is the only consistent feature that distinguishes them from the regular stops in the same places of articulation, and from the regular alveolar trill." {{harv|Yoder|2010|p=1}}}}

The status of initial {{IPA|[ʔ]}} is not determined; there are no phonetic vowel-initial words in Nias.

The contrast between {{IPA|[v]}} and {{IPA|[ʋ]}} (both written {{angle bracket|w}} in common spelling) is only observed in the southern dialect. Here, the fricative {{IPA|[v]}} only occurs in initial position in the mutated form (see §Noun case marking (mutation)) of nouns beginning with f, e.g. {{lang|nia|fakhe}} ~ {{lang|nia|wakhe}} {{IPA|[vaxe]}}.

The approximant {{IPA|[ʋ]}} can appear in initial and medial position, and is in free variation with {{IPA|[v]}} for many speakers of the southern dialect.{{sfn|Brown|2001|pp=27; 36–39}} For the northern dialect, only fricative approximant {{IPA|[ʋ]}} is reported, corresponding to both sounds of southern Nias.{{sfn|Halawa|Harefa|Silitonga|1983|p=23}} The semivowel {{IPA|[w]}} is a distinct phoneme and is written {{angle bracket|ŵ}} in common spelling.{{sfn|Halawa|Harefa|Silitonga|1983|p=39}}

Nias has an ergative–absolutive alignment.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=398–399}} It is the only known ergative–absolutive language in the world that has a "marked absolutive", which means that absolutive case is marked, whereas ergative case is unmarked.{{sfn|Comrie|2013}}{{sfn|Donohue|2008|p=27}}

There are no adjectives in Nias; words with that function are taken by verbs.{{sfn|Brown|2005|p=566}}

The following table lists the free and bound pronouns of Nias ({{color|#00C000|green}} = only used in the northern dialect, {{color|#E00000|red}} = only used in the southern dialect):{{sfn|Brown|1997|p=400}}{{sfn|Brown|2001|pp=123–124}}{{sfn|Sundermann|1913|pp=40–45, 65–66}}

Independent pronouns are used:

• as the predicate in nominal clauses

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated; IND:independent

|Ya'o zia'a

|1SG.IND first.born:MUT

|'I am the first-born.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=358}}|lang=nia}}

• as the P argument{{efn|The terminology used here follows the conventions commonly used in linguistic typology: S for the subject of intransitive verbs; A for the subject of transitive verbs; P for the object of transitive verbs.}} of transitive verbs in dependent (including relative and nominalized) clauses

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated; IND:independent

|Andrehe'e nasu si-usu ya'o

|DIST dog:MUT REL-bite 1SG.IND

|'That's the dog that bit me.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=413}}|lang=nia}}

• following certain prepositions and {{Lang|nia|ha}} 'only'
• in fronted (topicalized) position

Absolutive pronouns are used:

• as the S argument of independent intransitive and nominal clauses (in the southern dialect, only in realis mood)

{{interlinear|indent=4

|Mofökhö ndra'o

|sick 1SG.ABS

|'I am sick.'

|c1 = (northern dialect){{sfn|Sundermann|1913|p=108}}|lang=nia}}

• as the P argument of transitive verbs in independent clauses

{{interlinear|indent=4

|I-tegu ndra'o ama-gu

|3SG.ERG-scold 1SG.ABS father-1SG.GEN

|'My father scolds me.'

|c1 = (northern dialect){{sfn|Sundermann|1913|p=97}}|lang=nia}}

• as the stimulus with intransitive verbs expressing emotions or states of mind

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated;

|Ata'u nasu ndrao

|afraid dog:MUT 1SG.ABS

|'The dog is afraid of me.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=578}}|lang=nia}}

Genitive pronouns are used:

• as possessor, e.g. {{Lang|nia|ama-gu}} 'my father'
• following certain prepositions, e.g. {{Lang|nia|khö-gu}} 'to me'
• as the S argument in nominalized intransitive clauses

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated; NR:nominalizer

|Löna ahono ve-mörö-nia

|not calm NR:MUT-sleep-3SG.GEN

|'Her sleep was not restful.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=315}}|lang=nia}}

• as the A argument in nominalized transitive clauses

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated; NR:nominalizer; IPF:imperfective

|La-faigi vamaoso-ra

|3PL.ERG-see NR:MUT:IPF:raise-3PL.GEN

|'They watched them raise [it].'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=314}}|lang=nia}}

• as the A argument in relative clauses with the P argument of a transitive verb as head

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated; PASS:passive

|U-fake zekhula ni-rökhi-nia

|1SG.ERG-use coconut:MUT PASS-grate-3SG.GEN

|'I used the coconut which she grated.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=420}}|lang=nia}}

Ergative (realis) pronouns are used:

• as the A argument in independent transitive clauses (in the southern dialect, only in realis mood)

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated

|I-tataba geu

|3SG.ERG-cut wood:MUT

|'He cut up the wood.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=529}}|lang=nia}}

Irrealis pronouns are used in the southern dialect:

• as the S argument in independent intransitive clauses in irrealis mood

{{interlinear|indent=4

|Gu-möi ba fasa mahemolu

|1SG.IRR-go LOC market tomorrow

|'I want to go to the market tomorrow.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=153}}|lang=nia}}

• as the A argument in independent transitive clauses in irrealis mood

{{interlinear|indent=4

|Gu-moturagö ndraugö khö-ra

|1SG.IRR-IRR:tell.about 2SG.ABS DAT-3PL.GEN

|'I'm going to tell them about you.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=549}}|lang=nia}}

In the northern dialect, the irrealis pronouns are restricted to third person, and are employed in what Sundermann (1913) calls "jussive" mood.

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=JUSS:jussive mood

|Ya-mu-'ohe

|3SG.JUSS-JUSS-bring

|'He shall bring it.'

|c1 = (northern dialect){{sfn|Sundermann|1913|p=81}}|lang=nia}}

Case marking of nouns is indicated in Nias by mutation of the initial consonant. Several consonants are subject to mutation as shown in the table below. Where a word begins in a vowel, either n or g is added before the vowel; the choice of n or g is lexically conditioned. (For example, {{Lang|nia|öri ~ nöri}} is 'village federation', {{Lang|nia|öri ~ göri}} is 'bracelet'.){{sfn|Brown|2005|p=567}}

Other consonants do not change.

The unmutated case form is used in citation. It further appears in all functions described above for independent pronouns:

• as the predicate in nominal clauses
• as the P argument of transitive verbs in dependent (including relative and nominalized) clauses
• following certain prepositions and {{Lang|nia|ha}} 'only'
• in fronted (topicalized) position

Additionally, A arguments in independent transitive clauses appear in unmutated case, cross-referenced by the corresponding ergative or irrealis pronoun.

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated

|I-rino vakhe ina-gu

|3SG.ERG rice:MUT mother-1SG.GEN

|'My mother cooked rice.'

|c1 = (southern dialect){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=537}}|lang=nia}}

The mutated case form of the noun corresponds in function to both the absolutive and the genitive pronouns:

• as the S argument of independent intransitive and nominal clauses

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated

|Mate zibaya-nia meneßi

|die uncle:MUT-3SG.GEN yesterday

|'His uncle died yesterday.'

|c1 = (southern dialect; unmutated: sibaya){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=559}}|lang=nia}}

• as the P argument of transitive verbs in independent clauses

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated

|I-rino vakhe ina-gu

|3SG.ERG rice:MUT mother-1SG.GEN

|'My mother cooked rice.'

|c1 = (southern dialect; unmutated: fakhe){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=537}}|lang=nia}}

• as the stimulus with intransitive verbs expressing emotions or states of mind
• as possessor

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=MUT:mutated

|omo ga'a-gu

|house older.sibling:MUT-1SG.GEN

|'my brother's house'

|c1 = (southern dialect; unmutated: ka'a){{sfn|Brown|2001|p=348}}|lang=nia}}

• following certain prepositions
• as the S argument in nominalized intransitive clauses
• as the A argument in nominalized transitive clauses
• as the A argument in relative clauses with the P argument of a transitive verb as head

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|25em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Lea |year=1997 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iyGd2N1KwO4C&pg=PA395 |chapter=Nominal Mutation in Nias |editor1=Odé, Cecilia |editor2=Wim Stokhof |title=Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam |isbn=90-420-0253-0 |language=en |via=books.google.com}}
• {{cite thesis |last=Brown |first=Lea |year=2001 |title=Grammar of Nias Selatan |type=PhD Thesis |publisher=University of Sidney: Department of Linguistics |hdl=2123/12669 |hdl-access=free |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Lea |year=2005 |chapter=Nias |editor1=Adelaar, Alexander |editor2=Himmelmann, Nikolaus P. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAShwSYLbUYC&pg=PA562 |title=The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-7007-1286-0 |language=en |via=books.google.com}}
• {{citation |last=Comrie |first=Bernard |year=2013 |chapter=Alignment of Case Marking of Full Noun Phrases |editor1=Dryer, Matthew S. |editor2=Haspelmath, Martin |title=The World Atlas of Language Structures Online |publisher=Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |chapter-url=http://wals.info/chapter/98 |access-date=6 Jun 2019 |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last=Donohue |first=Mark |year=2008 |chapter=Semantic alignment systems: what's what, and what's not |editor1=Donohue, Mark |editor2=Søren Wichmann |title=The Typology of Semantic Alignment |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Halawa |first1=T. |url=http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/3607/1/Struktur%20bahasa%20nias.pdf |title=Struktur Bahasa Nias |last2=Harefa |first2=A. |last3=Silitonga |first3=M. |publisher=Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan |year=1983 |location=Jakarta |language=id |trans-title=Nias Language Structure |access-date=11 December 2021 |via=repositori.kemdikbud.go.id}}
• {{cite book |last=Nothofer |first=Bernd |year=1986 |chapter=The Barrier island languages in the Austronesian language family |editor1=Paul Geraghty |editor2=Lois Carrington |editor3=Stephen A. Wurm |title=FOCAL II: Papers from the Fourth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics |pages=89–107 |location=Canberra |publisher=Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University |doi=10.15144/PL-C94.87 |doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite book |last=Sundermann |first=Heinrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkGuBgAAQBAJ |title=Niassische Sprachlehre |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |year=1913 |location='s-Gravenhage |isbn=978-94-011-9348-1 |language=de |trans-title=Nias Grammar |via=books.google.com}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Yoder |first=Brendon |year=2010 |title=Prenasalization and trilled release of two consonants in Nias |journal=Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session |language=en |volume=50 |doi=10.31356/silwp.vol50.03 |doi-access=free}}

{{refend}}

{{InterWiki|code=nia}}

• [https://abvd.shh.mpg.de/austronesian/language.php?id=104 Nias wordlist], Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
• [http://www.niasisland.com/dict/dict.php Online dictionary of Nias]
• [http://niasonline.net/category/kamus-dict-nina/ Kamus Nias-Indonesia (Nias-Indonesian Dictionary)]
• [http://niasonline.net/category/artikel/bahasa-nias/ Articles on Nias Language (in Indonesian)]

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