Languages of Tanna


A map of the languages of Southern Vanuatu by population
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Note that the spelling of language names in this map may not be the same as in the body of the text.

Kwamera

Island name: Tanna
Proto-language: PSV
Ross Clark (1985) local group / Tryon (1976) sub-group: Tanna
Other names: N#fe, N#nin#fe, South Tanna
Reading:
Gabelentz, H.C. von der 1861. Die melanesischen Sprachen nach ihrem grammatischen Bau und ihrer Verwandschaft unter sich und mit den Malaiisch-Polynesischen Sprachen. Abhandlungen der Königlich Sächsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-Historische Klasse 3:145-166.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1981. Speech and kava on Tanna. In Michael Allen (ed.), Vanuatu: Politics, economics and ritual in island Melanesia. New York: Academic Press; pp.379-393 * A sociolinguistic study on speech and silence, looking especially at taboos on speech at the time that kava is drunk.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1983. Metaphors of debate on Tanna. Naika (Journal of the Vanuatu Natural Science Society) 12:6-9 * Discusses the metaphors and special speech styles used in argument and debate in South Tanna society.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1983. Say what? Linguistic and political boundaries on Tanna, Vanuatu. Anthropological Linguistics 25:387-403.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1985. The politics of dictionary-making on Tanna, Vanuatu. In Andrew Pawley & Lois Carrington (eds.), Austronesian linguistics at the 15th Pacific Science Congress. Canberra: PL, C-88:329-341 * Looks at a number of problems relating to the production of a Kwamera dictionary, in particular taboo words and "nonsense" words.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1985. Personal names and social reproduction on Tanna, Vanuatu. JPS 94,1:27-45.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1986. Kwamera dictionary - Nikukua sai nagkiariien Nininife. Canberra: PL, C-95 * A medium-sized dictionary (Kwamera-English with an English index), which contains much valuable cultural information. x + 195pp.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1990. Straight talk on Tanna. In Karen Watson-Gegeo and Geoffrey White (eds.), Disentangling: Conflict discourse in Pacific Societies. Stanford: Stanford University Press; pp.373-411.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1991. Kwamera. In Darrell T. Tryon (ed.), Comparative Austronesian dictionary: An introduction to Austronesian studies. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter; pp.841-846.
Lindstrom, Lamont 1992. Context contests: Debatable truth statements on Tanna (Vanuatu). In Alessandro Duranti & Charles Goodwin (eds.), Rethinking context: Language as an interactive phenomenon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; pp.101-124 * Discusses the language of disputes and conflict-management in Kwamera, focussing on the relationship between truth and power.
Lindstrom, Lamont & John Lynch F/c. Kwamera. Languages of the World / Materials, no. 2. Munich: Lincom Europa * A general outline of the phonology, morphology and syntax of Kwamera.
Ray, Sidney H. 1926. A comparative study of the Melanesian island languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; pp.146-171.

Lenakel

Island name: Tanna
Proto-language: PSV
Ross Clark (1985) local group / Tryon (1976) sub-group: Tanna
Other names: Naviliang, Netvaar, Sangali, West Tanna
Reading:
Halle, Morris & Jean-Roger Vergnaud 1987. An essay on stress. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press * A theoretical discussion of stress, based in part on the rules assigning stress in Lenakel.
Hammond, Michael 1986. The obligatory branching parameter in metrical theory. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 4:185-228 * An essay in phonological theory which rests heavily on the rules assigning word stress in Lenakel.
Lynch, John 1973. Possessive structures in Lenakel. Linguistic Communications 11:65-82 * A description of the rather complex system of possessive marking in Lenakel.
Lynch, John 1975. Lenakel phonology. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Working Papers in Linguistics 7,1 * A published version of his PhD dissertation, this is basically a description of the phonology of Lenakel in terms of generative phonological theory. Morphophonemic alternations, the assignment of stress, and the directional application of rules receive strong emphasis. vii + 244pp.
Lynch, John 1977. Lenakel dictionary. Canberra: PL, C-55 * A medium-sized dictionary (Lenakel-English with an English index), this was the first dictionary of a Tanna language to be published. viii + 167pp.
Lynch, John 1978. A grammar of Lenakel. Canberra: PL, B-55 * A relatively "model-free" description of the phonology, morphology and syntax of Lenakel, including two texts. viii + 135pp.
Lynch, John 1983. Switch-reference in Lenakel. In John Haiman & Pamela Munro (eds.), Switch reference and universal grammar. Amsterdam: John Benjamins; pp.209-221 * Describes the system of "echo-subject-marking" in Lenakel (and other Southern Vanuatu languages), by which a verb takes a particular prefix if its subject is the same as the subject of the preceding verb ? the mirror image of most switch reference systems known at the time.

North Tanna

Island name: Tanna
Proto-language: PSV
Ross Clark (1985) local group / Tryon (1976) sub-group: Tanna
Other names: Iteing, Itonga, Loanatit
Reading:
Blaymires, Joan 1991. North Tanna. In Darrell T. Tryon (ed.), Comparative Austronesian dictionary: An introduction to Austronesian studies. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter; pp.835-840.

South-West Tanna

Island name: Tanna
Proto-language: PSV
Ross Clark (1985) local group / Tryon (1976) sub-group: Tanna
Other names: N#vai, N#vhaal, Nerokwang, Numerat, Ra'na
Reading:
Lynch, John 1982. South-west Tanna grammar outline and vocabulary. PL, A-64:1-91 * A general description of the phonology and grammar of South-West Tanna, including two texts, and a vocabulary of about 750 South-West Tanna lexical items, with English index.

Whitesands

Island name: Tanna
Proto-language: PSV
Ross Clark (1985) local group / Tryon (1976) sub-group: Tanna
Other names: East Tanna, N#rak, Napuanmen, Waesisi, Weasisi
Reading:
Gray, Rev. William 1891. Grammar of the Weasisi-Tanna language with notices of the other Tanna dialects. In D. Macdonald, South Sea languages: A series of studies on the languages of the New Hebrides and other South Sea islands, vol. 2: Tangoan-Santo, Malo, Malekula, Epi (Baki and Bierian), Tanna, and Futuna. Melbourne: Trustees of the Public Library, Museums, and National Gallery of Victoria; pp.108-162.