| Proto-Polynesian | |
|---|---|
| PPn | |
| Reconstruction of | Polynesian languages |
| Region | Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands |
Reconstructed ancestors | |
Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the hypothetical proto-language from which all the modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a daughter language of the Proto-Austronesian language. Historical linguists have reconstructed the language using the comparative method, in much the same manner as with Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Uralic. This same method has also been used to support the archaeological and ethnographic evidence which indicates that the ancestral homeland of the people who spoke Proto-Polynesian was in the vicinity of Tonga, Samoa, and nearby islands.[1]
Proto-Polynesian has a small phonological inventory, with 13 consonants and 5 vowels.[2]
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ |
| Nasal | *m | *n | *ŋ | |
| Fricative | *f | *s | *h | |
| Trill | *r | |||
| Lateral | *l | |||
| Glide | *w |
Proto-Polynesian had five vowels, /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/, with no length distinction. In a number of daughter languages, successive sequences of vowels came together to produce long vowels and diphthongs, and in some languages these sounds later became phonemic.[3]
| Proto-Polynesian | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ | *m | *n | *ŋ | *w | *f | *s | *h | *l | *r | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tongan | p | t | k | ʔ | m | n | ŋ | v | f | h | l | l/Ø | |||
| Niuean | Ø | ||||||||||||||
| Niuafoʻou | ʔ/Ø | h | h/Ø | ||||||||||||
| Proto-Nuclear-Polynesian | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ | *m | *n | *ŋ | *w | *f | *s | *Ø | *l | |||
| Samoan | p | t~k | ʔ | Ø | m | n | ŋ | v | f | s | Ø | l | |||
| East Futunan | t | k | ʔ/Ø | ||||||||||||
| Tikopian | Ø | ɾ | |||||||||||||
| Nukuoroan | h | l | |||||||||||||
| Proto-Eastern-Polynesian | *p | *t | *k | *ʔ/Ø | *m | *n | *ŋ | *w | *f | *h | *Ø | *l | |||
| Rapa Nui | p | t | k | ʔ/Ø | m | n | ŋ | v | v/h | h | Ø | ɾ | |||
| MVA, Cook Islands Māori | Ø | ʔ/v | ʔ | ||||||||||||
| Tuamotuan | f/h/v | h | |||||||||||||
| Māori | w | ɸ/h | |||||||||||||
| Tahitian | ʔ | ʔ | v | f/v/h | |||||||||||
| N. Marquesan | k | k | h | ʔ | |||||||||||
| S. Marquesan | ʔ | n | f/h | ||||||||||||
| Hawaiian | k | v/w | h/w | l | |||||||||||
The following is a table of some sample vocabulary as it is represented orthographically in various languages.[4] All instances of ⟨ʻ⟩ represent a glottal stop, IPA /ʔ/. All instances of ⟨ng⟩ and Samoan ⟨g⟩ represent the single phoneme /ŋ/. The letter ⟨r⟩ in all cases represents voiced alveolar tap /ɾ/, not /r/.
| Proto-Polynesian | Tongan | Niuean | Samoan | Rapa Nui | Tahitian | Māori | Cook Islands Māori | S. Marquesan | Hawaiian | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *taŋata | tangata | tangata | tagata | tangata | ta'ata | tangata | tangata | ʻenata | kanaka | person |
| *sina | hina | hina | sina | hina | hinahina | hina | ʻina | hina | grey-haired | |
| *kanahe | kanahe | kanahe | ʻanae | 'anae | kanae | kanae | ʻanae | mullet | ||
| *tiale | siale | tiale | tiale | tiare | tiare | tīare | tiare | kiele | flower | |
| *waka | vaka | vaka | vaʻa | vaka | va'a | waka | vaka | vaka | waʻa | canoe |
| *fafine | fefine | fifine | fafine | vi'e/vahine | vahine | wahine | vaʻine | vehine | wahine | woman |
| *matuʔa | mātu'a | motua | matua | matuʻa | metua | matua | metua, matua | motua | makua | parent |
| *rua | ua | ua | lua | rua | rua[5] | rua | rua | ʻua | lua | two |
| *tolu | tolu | tolu | tolu | toru | toru | toru | toru | toʻu | kolu | three |
