Southeast Solomonic languages

The family of Southeast Solomonic languages forms a branch of the Oceanic languages. It consists of some 26 languages covering the Eastern Solomon Islands, from the tip of Santa Isabel to Makira. It is defined by the merger of Proto-Oceanic *l and *R. The fact that there is little diversity amongst these languages, compared to groups of similar size in Melanesia, suggests that they dispersed in the relatively recent past.^[1] Bugotu, Gela and Lengo are three of the most conservative languages out of all of them.

Southeast Solomonic
Geographic distribution	Eastern Solomon Islands
Linguistic classification	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Central–Eastern Oceanic Southeast Solomonic
Proto-language	Proto-Southeast Solomonic
Subdivisions	Gela–Guadalcanal Malaita – San Cristobal
Language codes
Glottolog	sout2853
Southeast Solomons

Languages

According to Lynch, Ross, & Crowley (2002), the structure of the family is as follows:^[2]

• Southeast Solomonic family
  • Bugotu–Gela–Guadalcanal family
    • Bughotu (Bugotu)
    • Gela–Guadalcanal family
      • Gelic: Lengo, Gela
      • Guadalcanalese: Birao, Ghari, Malango, Talise
  • Longgu–Malaita–Makira family
    • Longgu
    • Malaita–Makira family
      • Sa'a
      • Makiran (San Cristobal): Arosi, Fagani, Bauro, Kahua–Owa, ?Marau Wawa
      • Malaitan
        • Central–North Malaitan: North (To'abaita, Baelelea, Baeggu, Fataleka), Lau, Kwara'ae, Wala, Gula'alaa, Kwaio, Dori'o
        • Southern Malaitan: 'Are'are, Marau, Oroha

Basic vocabulary

Basic vocabulary in many Southeast Solomonic languages is somewhat conservative, unlike Northwest Solomonic forms, many of which have no Proto-Oceanic cognates.^[3] Below, Lengo and Arosi are compared with three Northwest Solomonic languages. Aberrant forms are in bold.

English	arm	ear	liver	bone	skin	louse
Proto-Oceanic	*lima	*taliŋa	*qate	*suRi	*kulit	*kutu
Ririo	karisi	ŋgel	tutuen	punda	kapat	utu
Zabana	kame	taliŋa	kola	huma	kafu	gutu
Maringe	lima	khuli	khebu	knubra	guli	theli
Lengo	lima	kuli	ate	thuli	ghui-ghuli	ghutu
Arosi	rima	kariŋa	rogo	su-suri	ʔuri-ʔuri	kote

References

1. Lynch, John, Malcolm Ross & Terry Crowley. 2002. The Oceanic languages. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press.
2. Lynch, John; Malcolm Ross; Terry Crowley (2002). The Oceanic languages. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon. ISBN 978-0-7007-1128-4. OCLC 48929366.
3. Pawley, Andrew. Explaining the Aberrant Austronesian Languages of Southeast Melanesia: 150 Years of Debate. Journal of the Polynesian Society, The, Vol. 115, No. 3, Sept 2006: 215–258.

Further reading

• Tryon, Darrell T. and B. D. Hackman. 1983. Solomon Islands Languages: An Internal Classification. (Pacific Linguistics: Series C, 72.) Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University