Yele language: Difference between revisions

The '''Yele language''', or {{lang|yle|'''Yélî Dnye'''}} ({{IPA|yle|jelɨ t̠n̠ʲɛʈɳʲɛ|IPA}}), is the language of [[Rossel Island]], the easternmost island in the [[Louisiade Archipelago]] off the eastern tip of [[Papua New Guinea]]. There were some 4,000 speakers in 1998, comprising the entire ethnic population.<ref name=e18/> The language remains unclassified by linguists.

! colspan=3| [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolarPostalveolar/retroflex]]

| {{IPAlink|m}} || {{IPAlink|mʷ}} || {{IPAlink|mʲ}} || {{IPAlink|mʷʲ}} || {{IPAlink|n̪}} || {{IPAlink|nm|n̪͡m}} || || {{IPAlink|n̠ɳ}} || {{IPAlink|n̠͡mɳ͡m}} || {{IPAlink|n̠ʲɳʲ}} || {{IPAlink|ŋ}} || {{IPAlink|ŋʷ}} || {{IPAlink|ŋʲ}} || {{IPAlink|ŋ͡m}}

| {{IPAlink|p}} || {{IPAlink|pʷ}} || {{IPAlink|pʲ}} || {{IPAlink|pʷʲ}} || {{IPAlink|t̪}} || {{IPAlink|tp|t̪͡p}} || {{IPAlink|t̪ʲ}} || {{IPAlink|t̠ʈ}} || {{IPAlink|t̠͡pʈ͡p}} || {{IPAlink|t̠ʲʈʲ}} || {{IPAlink|k}} || {{IPAlink|kʷ}} || {{IPAlink|kʲ}} || {{IPAlink|k͡p}}

It is not clear how many of the labial–velar and labial–alveolar consonants such as {{IPA|ŋ͡m}} may also be labialized or palatalized. Nor is it clear how many of these articulations occur prenasalized or with nasal release, but besides those noted above, the following are noted in SIL 1992/2004: {{IPA|/mbʷ, mbʷʲ, n̪d̪ʲ, t̠n̠ʲʈɳʲ, t̠͡pn̠͡mʲʈ͡pɳ͡mʲ, ŋkʷ, kŋʷ/}}.

The oral stops {{IPA|/p t̠ʈ k/}} (that is, apart from dental {{IPA|/t̪/}}) are voiced between vowels and when prenasalized. The (post-)alveolar is further reduced to an (apparently dental) flap {{IPA|[ɾ̪]}} between vowels. Some of the palatalized alveolar stops are pronounced as fricatives or affricates, such as {{IPA|[tɕ]}} (or perhaps {{IPA|[ɕ]}}) and {{IPA|[ndʑ]}} (or perhaps {{IPA|[ʑ]}}), but SIL (1992/2004) contradicts itself as to which these are.

| {{IPA|ɑ}} || {{IPA|æ}} || {{IPA|t̠ʈ}} || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ɛ}} || {{IPA|ə}} || {{IPA|ɣ}} || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|ɯ}} || {{IPA|k}} || {{IPA|l}} || {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n̠ɳ}} || {{IPA|n̪}} || {{IPA|ŋ}} || {{IPA|ɔ}} || {{IPA|o}} || {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|t̪}} || {{IPA|u}} || {{IPA|β}} || {{IPA|w̪}} || {{IPA|j}} || {{IPA|̃}}

The [[multigraph]]s for complex consonants are not always transparent. The labial-velar and labial-alveolar consonants are written with the labial second: ''kp, dp, tp, ngm, nm, ńm, lv.'' Prenasalized {{IPA|/mp/}} is written ''mb,'' but {{IPA|/nt̪/}} and {{IPA|/ŋk/}} are written ''nt'' and ''nk'' to distinguish them from ''nd'' {{IPA|/nt̠nʈ/}} and ''ng'' {{IPA|/ŋ/}}. Prenasalized stops are written with an ''m'' when labial, including doubly articulated stops, as with ''md'' {{IPA|/n̠͡mt̠͡pɳ͡mʈ͡p/}} or ''mg'' {{IPA|/ŋ͡mk͡p/}}, and with ''n'' otherwise. Nasal release is likewise written ''n'' or ''m,'' as in ''dny'' {{IPA|/t̠n̠ʲʈɳʲ/}}, ''kn'' {{IPA|/kŋ/}}, ''dm'' {{IPA|/t̠͡pn̠͡mʈ͡pɳ͡m/}}, ''km'' {{IPA|/k͡pŋ͡m/}}. Labialization is written ''w,'' and palatalization ''y,'' apart from ''ch'' for {{IPA|/tʲ/}} and ''nj'' for {{IPA|/ntʲ/}} (it is not clear if ''ch'' and ''nj'' are dental or (post-)alveolar).

| rowspan="2" | '''I''' || {{IPA|n̠əɳə}} || rowspan="2" | '''we two''' || {{IPA|n̪o}} || rowspan="2" | '''we''' || {{IPA|n̠͡moɳ͡mo}}

|{{IPA|n̠͡mɨɳ͡mɨ}}

| rowspan="2" | '''[[thou]]''' || {{IPA|n̪i}} || rowspan="2" | '''you two''' || {{IPA|t̠͡pũʈ͡pũ}} || rowspan="2" | '''you''' || {{IPA|n̪͡mo}}

|{{IPA|t̠͡pɨʈ͡pɨ}}

: {{IPA|kijɛ β̞͡ð̞ɑ̃ː u pi pɛːt̪uːki, ka kʷɔ, t̠ɔːŋəʈɔːŋə {{!}} n̠əɳə kuː {{!}} t̠aːʈaː a β̞͡ð̞ɑ̃ː {{!}} ŋkal u β̞͡ð̞ɑ̃ː {{!}} ŋkal ŋə jin̠əjiɳə kaː ŋə {{!}} β̞͡ð̞ɑ̃ː t̠ɔn̠ɔʈɔɳɔ {{!}} pi jilɨ u t̪ɛ {{!}} u n̠uːɳuː u pi t̠aʈa t̪oː {{!}} pi u lama t̠aːʈaː t̪oː {{!}} mĩːtuβ̞͡ð̞ɔ jit̠ikajiʈika, mepe t̪͡pɔ̃ː mɨ kijɛ ŋə {{!}} t̠aːn̪t̪eʈaːn̪t̪e {{!}} mepe t̠on̠oʈoɳo ŋə pʲɔt̠ɔpʲɔʈɔ {{!}} apə, β̞͡ð̞ɑ̃ː mpʷæmə n̠ɨn̠əɳɨɳə tʲɑpʷɔ {{!}} ŋkal ŋə kʷɔ "upɔ̃" {{!}} β̞͡ð̞ɑ̃ː mɨ mpəpə β̞͡ð̞ɔ, tʲiː mən̠əməɳə {{!}} mepe ŋə β̞͡ð̞ɑ̃ː mpʷæmə mət̠ɨpəməʈɨpə tʲɑpʷɔ {{!}} aβ̞͡ð̞ət̠ɛaβ̞͡ð̞əʈɛ ka kʷɔ, t̠ɔːŋəʈɔːŋə {{!}} pi maː t̠aːʈaː t̪ã {{!}} a t̠an̠əmpumʈaɳəmpum u tɨ {{!}}|lang=yle}}