Central Solomons languages
Encyclopedia
The Central Solomon languages are four distantly but demonstrably related languages of the Solomon Islands
, identified as a family by Wilhelm Schmidt in 1908. They were classified as East Papuan languages
by Wurm, but this does not now seem tenable, and was abandoned in Ethnologue
(2009).
The four languages are,
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, identified as a family by Wilhelm Schmidt in 1908. They were classified as East Papuan languages
East Papuan languages
*Baining family*North Bougainville family — Bougainville*South Bougainville family — Bougainville*Central Solomon family...
by Wurm, but this does not now seem tenable, and was abandoned in Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
(2009).
The four languages are,
- Bilua of Vella LavellaVella LavellaVella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group...
and Ghizo IslandGhizo IslandGhizo Island, home to Gizo the capital of the Western Province, Solomon Islands. The island is named after an infamous local head-hunter. It is located west of New Georgia and Kolombangara....
s, - TouoTouo language-External links:*...
(also known as Baniata) of Rendova IslandRendova IslandRendova Island is an island, part of the New Georgia Islands of Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea. There are two indigenous languages spoken on Rendova Island: the Austronesian language Ughele in the north, and the Papuan language Touo in the south.The black-sand...
, - LavukaleveLavukaleve languageLavukaleve is one of the four Central Solomons languages of the Solomon Islands. It is thus assumed to be the descendant of the languages spoken in the Solomon Islands before the spread of the much more numerous Austronesian languages. The name Lavukaleve derives from the ethnonym Lavukal...
of the Russell IslandsRussell IslandsThe Russell Islands are two small islands, as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands. They are located approximately 48 km northwest from Guadalcanal. The islands are partially covered in coconut plantations, and have a copra and oil factory at...
, and - SavosavoSavosavo languageThe Savosavo language is spoken on Savo, a small volcanic island north of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Savosavo is one of the Central Solomon Papuan languages, unlike most of the languages in the vicinity, which are members of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian language family. The...
of Savo IslandSavo IslandSavo Island is a volcanic island in the Solomon Islands group in the South Pacific ocean. It is located to the northeast of the northern tip of Guadalcanal Island at . Politically, Savo Island is a part of the Solomons' Central Province. The indigenous language of Savo is the Savosavo language.The...
.
Pronouns
The pronouns Ross reconstructs for proto-Central Solomons are,I | *ŋai, *a | s/he & I | *e-le, *-ge | exclusive we Clusivity In linguistics, clusivity is a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person pronouns and verbal morphology, also called inclusive "we" and exclusive "we"... |
*a, *e |
thou & I | *mai-le ?, *-be | inclusive we Clusivity In linguistics, clusivity is a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person pronouns and verbal morphology, also called inclusive "we" and exclusive "we"... |
*mai ?, *-me | ||
thou | *ŋo, *-ŋa | you two | *-bele | you | *me, *-me |
she | *ko, *-ma | they two (F) | *-lo | they | *-ma |
he | *vo, *lo, *-va, *-la | they two (M) | *-la |