Penrhyn
Mangarongaro, Penrhynese, Tongareva
tongareva
Native toCook Islands
RegionPenrhyn Island, Northern Cook Islands
Native speakers
200 (2011 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3pnh
Glottologpenr1237
ELPPenrhyn
Penrhyn is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Penrhyn language is a Cook Islands Maori dialectal variant[2] belonging to the Polynesian language family. It is spoken by about 200 people on Penrhyn Island and other islands in the Northern Cook Islands.[3] It is considered to be an endangered language as many of its users are shifting to Cook Islands Māori and English.

Phonology

Main article: Cook Islands Maori § Writing system and pronunciation

Alphabet

The alphabet used in the Penrhyn Dictionary has 21 letters: a, ā, e, ē, f, h, i, ī, k, m, n, ng, o, ō, p, r, s, t, u, ū, v[4]

Long vowels are written with a macron.

Consonants

Consonants in Penrhyn
Labial Alveolar Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Stop p t k
Fricative (f) v s h
Liquid l ⟨r⟩

Tongareva is one of the few Cook Islands languages without a glottal stop [ʔ]. There is allophonic voicing of stops present. [f] is present in loanwords from languages like Rakahanga-Manihiki and Tahitian.[4]

Grammar

Main article: Cook Islands Maori § Grammar

References

  1. ^ Penrhyn at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Te Reo Maori Act 2003 – via www.paclii.org
  3. ^ "Penrhyn". Ethnologue. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  4. ^ a b "About - Penrhyn Dictionary". Dictionary of Cook Islands Languages.

Further reading


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