Ontong Java language

Ontong Java
Luangiua
Native to	Solomon Islands
Region	Ontong Java Atoll
Native speakers	(2,400 cited 1999)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Polynesian Ellicean Ontong Java
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ojv
Glottolog	onto1237

Ontong Java is a Polynesian language located on the Ontong Java Atoll (formerly Lord Howe atoll), in Solomon Islands. It has two dialects, Luangiua and Pelau, named after the two principal inhabited islands; the name Luangiua is also commonly used to refer to the Ontong Java language as a whole.^[2][3]

Ontong Java is commonly used by all speakers, young and old. There are approximately 2,370 residents^[4] of Ontong Java Atoll and has an estimated 2,400 speakers living on the atoll.

Classification

Ontong Java is closely related to the Ellicean languages of Polynesia and to Sikaiana, Takuu, and Nukumanu in Papua New Guinea.^[4]

Phonology

The phoneme inventory of this language is poorly studied, and many sources have conflicting phoneme inventories.^{[3]: 226 [5]}

Consonants^[3]^[6]

	Labial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m		ŋ
Plosive	p		k	ʔ
Fricative	v	s		h
Lateral		l[note 1]

Vowels^[3]

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

An older source lists two additional vowels, /ɑ/ and /ə/.^[5]

Grammar

Ontong Java word order is normally VSO^[4] and SVO.^[7]

Notes

1. This source says there is one liquid consonant (r / l), but does not specify which one.

References

1. Ontong Java at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. "Luangiua". Glottolog. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
3. Salmond, Anne (1974). A Generative Syntax of Luangiua: A Polynesian Language. The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton & Co. NV. pp. 256.
4. "Ontong Java". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
5. Lanyon-Orgill, Peter A. (1944). A Study of the Leuangiua Language. The Hague, Netherlands: Luzac & Co. p. 24.
6. Krupa, Viktor (1973). Polynesian Languages: A Survey of Research. The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton & Co. NV. pp. 108.
7. Tomlin, Russell S. (2014-02-03). Basic Word Order (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar): Functional Principles. Routledge. ISBN 9781317933793.

• Mugler, France; Lynch, John (1996). Pacific Languages in Education. [email protected]. ISBN 9789820201231.

External links

• Materials on Ontong Java are included in the open access Arthur Capell collections (AC1 and AC2) held by Paradisec.

Further reading

• Thorpe, Mary Anne (1968). A Transformational-generative Syntax of Luangiua (Thesis). University of Auckland.
• Hogbin, H. I. B. (1930). "Notes on a grammar of the language of Ontong Java". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 5 (4): 823–853. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00090534.