Dorig | |
---|---|
Dōrig | |
Pronunciation | [ⁿdʊˈriɣ] |
Native to | Vanuatu |
Region | Gaua |
Native speakers | 300 (2012) [1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
wwo |
Glottolog |
weta1242 |
ELP | Dorig |
Dorig is classified as Definitely Endangered by the
UNESCO
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Dorig (formerly called Wetamut) is a threatened Oceanic language spoken on Gaua island in Vanuatu.
The language’s 300 speakers live mostly in the village of Dorig (IPA: [ⁿdʊˈriɰ]), on the south coast of Gaua. Smaller speaker communities can be found in the villages of Qteon (east coast) and Qtevut (west coast).
Dorig's immediate neighbours are Koro and Mwerlap. [2]
The name Dorig is derived from the name of the village where it is spoken.
Dorig has 8 phonemic vowels. These include 7 short monophthongs /i ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ u/ and one long vowel /aː/. [3]
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i ⟨i⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ |
Near-close | ɪ ⟨ē⟩ | ʊ ⟨ō⟩ |
Open-mid | ɛ ⟨e⟩ | ɔ ⟨o⟩ |
Open | a ⟨a⟩, aː ⟨ā⟩ |
Dorig has 15 consonant phonemes. [4] [5]
Labiovelar | Bilabial | Alveolar | Dorsal | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Voiceless stop | k͡p ʷ ⟨q⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ | |
Prenasalized stop | ᵐb ⟨b⟩ | ⁿd ⟨d⟩ | ||
Nasal | ŋ͡m ʷ ⟨m̄⟩ | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | ŋ ⟨n̄⟩ |
Fricative | β ~ ɸ ⟨v⟩ | s ⟨s⟩ | ɣ ⟨g⟩ | |
Rhotic | r ⟨r⟩ | |||
Lateral | l ⟨l⟩ | |||
Approximant | w ⟨w⟩ |
The phonotactic template for a syllable in Dorig is: /CCVC/ — e.g. /rk͡pʷa/ ‘woman’ (< *rVᵐbʷai); /ŋ͡mʷsar/ ‘poor’ (< *mʷasara); /wrɪt/ ‘octopus’ (< *ɣurita). Remarkably, the consonant clusters of these /CCVC/ syllables are not constrained by the Sonority Sequencing Principle. Historically, these /CCVC/ syllables reflect former trisyllabic, paroxytone words */CVˈCVCV/, after deletion of the two unstressed vowels: [6] e.g. POc. *kuRíta ‘octopus’ > *wərítə > /wrɪt/.
The system of personal pronouns in Dorig contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural). [7]
Spatial reference is based on a system of geocentric ( absolute) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages. [8]