Капингамаранги: особенности полинезийского языка

Polynesian language

Kapingamarangi is a Polynesian language spoken in the Federated States of Micronesia. It had 3,000 native speakers in 1995.

The syllable structure of the Kapingamarangi language is VV, VVV, VCV, CVV, CCVV, CVCV, and CCVCV. In Kapingamarangi, like most Polynesian languages, it is impossible for a word to end in a consonant, but it is possible for there to be two consonants together, as long as it is the same letter. Example: The term for un groomed hair is libgo wwana. In this term, the two (W's) stand together in the word wwana.

There are three possible word orders in the Kapingamarangi language. The word order of Kapingamarangi is SVO (subject–verb–object), VSO (Verb Subject Object), or OSV (Object Verb Subject). SVO is the commonly used word order, followed by VSO, and finally OSV is the least used and is a very case in the language. The word order for questions is the same as they are for statements. In research for the grammar of Kapingamarangi, deciphering reasoning or specific uses for the alternative word orders are unsure. ex. Mee gu noho I dono hale. He is staying at the house.

Morphology is another pivotal element to understanding the grammar of Kapingamarangi. Morphology is the descriptive analysis of words. The morphology of Kapingamarangi is extremely extensive. The word classes in Kapingamarangi are pronouns, possessives, demonstratives, verbs, nouns, adverbs, adjectives, negatives, particles, conjunctions, and interjections. Many verbs can take a prefix, but even more verbs take a suffix. For example, a verb may have a prefix like haka before a word, and a suffix like –ina after a word. Like the French language, adjectives follow nouns; and adverbs follow verbs, adjectives, and/or demonstratives. Negatives in Kapingamarangi immediately precede verbs or verb particles. Conjunctions mark serial relationships, and interjections denote emotion. The pronouns in Kapingamarangi can be dual (two people), plural (more than two people), inclusive (including the addressee), or exclusive (excluding the addressee). Serial relationships are expressed by the pronoun mo, which means "and". For example, "David and I" would be, "Kimaua mo David". The pronouns in the Kapingamarangi language are very different from the pronouns in the English language. The pronouns in Kapingamarangi are not gender specific. For example, Kinae means "him or her"; therefore the gender must be translated through the context of a sentence or conversation.

Kapingamarangi has access to many different materials. One of the materials that the Kapingamarangi language has access to is an online talking dictionary. It is a dictionary where one can enter a word in English and it will automatically translate it to Kapingamarangi. Unreliable source: date=February 2015 Many words in this dictionary also have a vocal response on how to pronounce the word, which is why it is called a talking dictionary. This is a resourceUnreliable source: date=February 2015 because it not only provides visual correlations between the English and Kapinga translation for a word, but it also has vocal responses so that scholars of Kapingamarangi can hear a word and how to correctly pronounce it. A Kapingamarangi lexicon has also been published by Michael D. Lieber and Kalio H. Dikepa. Kapingamarangi also has access to a variety of books, including dictionaries, books that contain linguistic information, and even books about the atoll of Kapingamarangi. Many native speakers were involved in the translation project that resulted in the Kapingamarangi Bible. These are resources because they are full of information and are highly reliable. Unreliable source: date=February 2015 Websites like Facebook and YouTube also contain information on Kapingamarangi. The Facebook page is a Micronesia Language Revitalization Workshop page and it contains information about a workshop that was held all throughout Micronesia, including Kapingamarangi. There is a YouTube video of an interview with a speaker who is bilingual in both English and Kapinga and he explains the importance of speaking Kapingamarangi and language revitalization. There are also selections of poetry in Kapingamarangi.

It is likely that Kapingamarangi is being transmitted to children, because attempts to revitalize Kapingamarangi are being carried out, and the number of speakers keeps increasing. Since the language is taught in schools, it can be assumed that language is being passed down to the next generation. Since Kapingamarangi has so many resources for people to go to, children have access to a variety of resources to assist their education of the language. Kapingamarangi is not endangered; however, it is threatened. The language is taught in schools and churches, but is not used in all domains. According to Ethnologue, Kapingamarangi is taught in primary schools. Unreliable source: reason=Ethnologue is notoriously bad with this kind of information. Find a better source for this information, possibly the Pohnpei Department of Education It is also used at home, in the community, and in churches. The language is at a current growing state, and might become a language in the near future.