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Pukapukan is a Polynesian language that developed in isolation on the island of Pukapuka in the northern group of the Cook Islands. As a "Samoic Outlier" language with strong links to western Polynesia, Pukapukan is not closely related to any other languages of the Cook Islands, but does manifest substantial borrowing from some East Polynesian source in antiquity.
| Pukapukan | |
|---|---|
| Te Leo Wale | |
| Region | Pukapuka and Nassau islands, northern Cook Islands; some in Rarotonga; also New Zealand and Australia |
Native speakers | 450 in Cook Islands (2011 census)[1] 2,000 elsewhere (no date)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pkp |
| Glottolog | puka1242 |
| ELP | Pukapuka |
 Pukapukan is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Recent research suggests that the languages of Pukapuka, Tokelau and Tuvalu group together as a cluster, and as such had significant influence on several of the Polynesian Outliers, such as Tikopia and Anuta, Pileni, Sikaiana (all in the Solomon Islands) and the Takuu Atoll in Papua New Guinea. There is also evidence that Pukapuka had prehistoric contact with Micronesia, as there are quite a number of words in Pukapukan that appear to be borrowings from Kiribati (K. & M. Salisbury conference paper, 2013).
Pukapukan is also known as "te leo Wale" ('the language of Home') in reference to the name of the northern islet where the people live. The atoll population has declined from some 750 in the early 1990s to less than 500 since the cyclone in 2005. Literacy in the Pukapukan language was introduced in the school in the 1980s, resulting in an improvement in the quality of education on the atoll.
The majority of those speaking the language live in a number of migrant communities in New Zealand and Australia. A bilingual dictionary was started by the school teachers on the island and completed in Auckland within the Pukapukan community there.[2][3] An indepth study of the language has resulted in a reference grammar.[4] The most significant publication in the Pukapuka language will be the "Puka Yā" (Bible), with the New Testament and Psalms (diglot edition, Pukapukan and English) expected to be published in early 2024.[needs update]
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Pukapukan is the language spoken on the coral atoll of Pukapuka, located in the northern section of the Cook Islands [5] Pukapukan shares minor intelligibility with its national language of Cook Islands Maori, and bears strong links to its neighboring Western Polynesian cultures specifically Samoa. The island of Pukapuka is one of the most remote islands in the Cook Islands. There is evidence that humans have inhabited the atoll for about 2000 years, but it is not clear whether it has been continuously inhabited. Various settlements may have occurred, first from Western Polynesia. Local oral tradition records that huge waves generated by a severe cyclone washed over the island and killed most of the inhabitants except for 15–17 men, 2 women and an unknown number of children. Recent interpretation of genealogies suggests that this catastrophe occurred about 1700 AD. It was from these survivors that the island was repopulated.
The island was one of the first of the Cook Islands to be discovered by the Europeans, on Sunday 20 August 1595 by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña.
Population
The Pukapukan language is indigenous to the island of Pukapuka and its satellite, Nassau. It is also spoken by small communities elsewhere in the Cook Islands, as well as in the larger diaspora communities in New Zealand and Australia. Today the population of Pukapuka has diminished with only a few hundred native speakers. From a 2001 census there were only about 644 speakers on Pukapuka and its plantation island of Nassau. As of a 2011 census, there are now only 450 speakers due to a devastating cyclone that hit the island of Pukapuka in 2005. There are a total of 2,400 speakers worldwide, including those who live on Pukapuka and the 200 speakers on Rarotonga, the most populous island of the Cook Islands.
Classification
Pukapukan is an Austronesian language of the Nuclear Polynesian branch.[6] Though grouped with the Cook Islands the language shows influence from both Eastern and Western Polynesia.
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Alphabet
There are 15 letters in the Pukapukan alphabet – five vowels and 10 consonants. The digraph ⟨ng⟩ occurs in the place that ⟨G⟩ occupies in the English alphabet. ⟨a, e, ng, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, t, u, v, w, y⟩
Consonants
The consonant phonemes in Pukapukan are / p, t, k, v, w, θ, m, n, ŋ, l /.[7]
The letters ⟨y⟩ and ⟨w⟩ are not in the Cook Islands Maori language but are additions to Pukapukan. The semivowel /w/ and the palatalised dental spirant /θʲ/, in general, regularly reflect *f and *s, respectively. The ⟨y⟩ sound in Pukapukan actually acts somewhat differently and is difficult for non native speakers to pronounce. It is pronounced like ⟨th⟩ in English "this, other".
- wano, go
- wōu, new
- wawine, woman
- yinga, fall over
- iyu, nose
- tayi, one
Vowels
The vowels in Pukapukan are respectively /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. All vowels have two sounds, a long sound and a short sound. A vowel's length is indicated by writing a macron above each vowel.
- papa, rock
- papā, European
- pāpā, father
- pāpa, crewcut (hairstyle)
In Pukapukan it is safe to say that every syllable ends with a vowel, every vowel is pronounced, and there are no diphthongal sounds.
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Basic word order
Pukapukan uses the two distinctive word orders of verb–subject–object and verb-object-subject, although it is clear that VSO is used more commonly. Adjectives always follow their nouns in Pukapukan. Waka- is often used as a causative prefix in Austronesian languages, but in Pukapukan it has various functionalities. Due to Rarotongan influence, waka- is shortened to aka-, whereas waka- is seen to be more formal.[7] Nouns prefixed by waka- become verbs with similar meanings:
- au 'peace' → waka-au 'to make peace'
- lā 'sun' → waka-lā 'to put in the sun to dry'
- ela 'wedge' → wakaela 'to wedge'
Adjectives prefixed by waka- become transitive verbs:
- yako 'straight' → waka-yako 'to straighten'
- kokoi 'sharp' → waka-kokoi 'to sharpen'
Some verbs prefixed by waka- have specialized meanings that become somewhat difficult to predict from the base meaning.
- yā 'sacred' → waka-yā 'to observe as sacred'
- pono 'to be sure' → waka-pono 'to decide to finalize'
Reduplication
Like many other Polynesian languages, Pukapukan uses a lot of full and partial reduplication, some times to emphasize a word or to give it new meaning.
- kale, wave/surf; kale-le, undertow of the sea (waves coming in and others receding)
- kapa, to clap hands in rhythm; kapa-kapa, to flutter
Numerals
- tayi “one”
- lua “two”
- tolu “three”
- wā “four”
- lima “five”
- ono “six”
- witu “seven”
- valu “eight”
- iva “nine”
- laungaulu “ten”
Pukapukan uses two different counting systems in the language; the ‘one unit’ and the ‘two unit’. Numeral classifiers are also used as prefixes for numbers over ten and different objects. The ‘one unit’ uses its word for ten ‘laungaulu’ and adds the ‘one unit’ number.[7]
- 18 – laungaulu ma valu (ten and eight)
For numbers above nineteen the single unit numbers are used.
- 30 – lautolu (two three)
- 40 – lauwā (two four)
The ‘two unit’ is derived from the ‘one unit’.
Demonstratives and Spatial Deictics
Different form classes
Demonstrative pronouns
Much like other Oceanic languages, Pukapukan has a three-way distinction of positional demonstrative particles that relate to the position of the speaker and addressee.[8] In Pukapukan, these include nei ‘near to the speaker,’ nā ‘near to addressee and lā ‘away from both the speaker and addressee.’ Pukapukan also has the demonstrative particle ia meaning ‘aforementioned.’[9] These demonstrative particles form compounds with the singular articles te and e and with the preposition ki ‘to.’[10]
The definite demonstrative pronouns are formed by adding the singular specific article te-. For example, when adding te-, nei becomes tēnei ‘this (by me),’ nā becomes tēnā ‘that (by you),’ lā becomes tēlā ‘that (over there)’ and ia becomes teia ‘this (being demonstrated or mentioned previously).’ These demonstrative pronouns only occur as subjects of nominal predicates and as represented below can be equated with personal pronouns (example 1), pronouns (examples 2–3) or definite common noun phrases (examples 4–5).[10]
(1)
Ko
PRD
oku
I
tenei
this
ko
PRD
Vakayala.
Vakayala
This is me, Vakayala.
(2)
Ko
PRD
koe
you
koia
exactly
tēnā
that
na
TAM
langaina
uproot-CIA
toku
my
kongá?
place-DA
Was that indeed you who uprooted my garden?
(3)
Ko
PRD
ai
ANAPH.PN
tēlā
that
e
TAM
yaelé.
walk-DA
Who is that walking over there?
(4)
Ko
PRD
tona
his
teina
brother
teia.
this
This is his brother.
(5)
Ko
PRD
te
ART
lili
anger
teia
this
o
POSS
te
ART
wī
all
lōpā.
youth
This was [why] all the youths were angry.
The demonstrative subject may separate the head from the possessive phase when the nominal predicate is a complex phrase whose head is modified by a postposed possessive phrase, as shown in example 6 below.[11]
(6)
Ko
TOP
te
ART
kau
group
teia
here
o
POSS
tona
his
vaka
canoe
These are the people belonging to his canoe.
The nonspecific article e and the positional demonstrative particles can also be combined to form indefinite demonstrative pronouns. These include ēnāi ‘this (by me),’ ēnā ‘that (by you),’ ēlā ‘that (over there)’ and eia ‘here with (being demonstrated).’ These demonstrative pronouns constitute the nucleus of indefinite nominal predicates and are normally followed by their subjects as shown in examples 7–10 below.[11]
(7)
Ēnāi
This
toku
my
manako,
thought
ka
TAM
wō
go.PL
tāua
we.DU
ki
G
te
ART
keonga,
point
tunu
cook
i
ACC
a
POSS
tāua
we.DU
manu
bird
nei.
here
This is my idea, let's go to the point and cook our birds.
(8)
Ēnā
that
ake
DIR
te
ART
puká.
book-Da
Please pass that book there.
(9)
Ēlā
that
te
ART
weke
octopus
koa
TAM
lele
run
ki
G
loto
inside
o
POSS
te
ART
pū.
hole
Over there's an octopus fleeing to his hole.
(10)
Eia
here.with
tau
your
kapu
cup
kaope.
coffee
Here is your cup of coffee [handing it over]
The demonstrative particles can also form compounds with the preposition ki- ‘to.’ These compounds can be used as a substitute (pro-form) for locational nouns. These type of demonstrative pronouns in Pukapukan include, kinea ‘to here,’ kinā ‘to there, by you,’ kilā ‘to over there’ and kiai ‘to there,’ in which kiai is an anaphoric form.[12]
These demonstrative pronouns occur as the head of a locative predicate as demonstrated in examples 11–13 below.[12]
The compound kiai is formed by joining the case marker ki (meaning ‘to’) to the anaphoric pronoun ai. Kiai may replace a personal pronoun or a proper locational noun. This can be seen in example 13 in which the locational noun wale ‘home’ is replaced with kiai in the following constituent.[12]
(11)
Nā
TAM
i
LOC
kinei
here
oki
also
te
ART
tele
tour.group
i
LOC
te
ART
taime
time
ia.
AF
The tour group was here at that time.
(12)
Ko
TAM
i
LOC
kinā
there
mō
Q
ia
ART
Kalaka
Kalaka
ma
and
Pilipa.
Pilipa
Kalaka and Pilipa are where you are, aren't they?
(13)
Angatu
go
atu
DIR
au
I
ki
G
wale,
home
ko
TAM
i
LOC
kiai
there
ia
ART
Pāpā
Father
mā.
etc.
When I got home, Father and the others were there.
These forms can also be used to substitute a noun phrase which has been marked for case by a preposition. For example:[12]
(14)
Ka
TAM
lōmamai
come.PL
ai
ANAPH.PN
ia
ART
Ngake
Ngake
ki
G
kinei
here
angaanga.
REDUP-work
The whole of Ngake will come here to work.
(15)
Ko
PRD
te
ART
tokatolu
PRE-three
lā
over
kilā
there
The three of them over there.
Demonstrative modifiers
Pukapukan has several classes of modifiers.[13] In particular, the directional and positional modifiers help indicate spatial and temporal directions and positions from the speaker and/or addressee.[13]
| mai | 'towards speaker' |
| atu | 'away from speaker' |
| ake | 'upwards,' 'oblique to speaker'; 'please' |
| io | '?downwards,' 'misfortune' |
According to Clark (1976),[14] cognates of the directional particles of Pukapukan are found in all Polynesian languages.
The directional particles tend to modify verbs more frequently than nouns and are often associated with verbs that denote movement, as well as verbs that denote speech, perception, cognition and social interaction.[15]
Mai indicates real or implied movement in the direction of the speaker, for example:[16]
(16)
Teketeke
REDUP-move
mai
DIR
kai
G-ART
aku
I
nei.
here
Move a little closer to me.
(17)
Auwē
NEG.IMP
koe
you
e
TAM
tāpitāpi
sprinkle
mai,
DIR
ka
TAM
yuyū
wet
toku
my
kākawu.
clothes.
Don't splash water on me in case my clothes get wet.
Atu can indicate physical movement away from the speaker, as in:[16]
(18)
Yoloyolo
REDUP-move
atu
DIR
koe
you
ki
G
te
ART
toe
other
kaokao.
side
Move away from me to the other side.
and for verbs of perception and communication can also indicate direction away from the deictic centre, for example:[16]
(19)
Ko
TAM
tātā
write
atu
DIR
iāna
he
kia
G-ART
koe?
you
Does he write to you?
Atu can also encode temporal progression away from the present.[16]
(20)
Wea
what
atu
DIR
ai
ANAPH.PN
koe?
you
What did you do then?
Mai and atu can co-occur when modifying the same verb, when one has a directional meaning and the other has a temporal or aspectual meaning.[17]
Ake mostly functions as a politeness marker, but the directional particle ake now has meanings 'upwards' and 'oblique to speaker,' which appears to be a one-particle combination of Proto-Polynesian's hake 'upwards' and aŋe 'oblique to speaker.'[15][18] Hence, it can function similar to atu and mai in term of denoting temporal and aspectual meanings. However, these forms are rarely used in present day.[18]
In saying that, io is found to be used even less. Reflexes of its Proto-Polynesian form have traditionally been glossed 'downwards,' but this meaning is hardly apparent in Pukapukan and is more often associated with meaning 'misfortune coming upon one.'[18]
| nei | 'near to speaker' |
| nā | 'near to addressee' |
| lā | 'away from both, 'intensifier' |
| -V | definitive accent: 'away from both' |
| ia | 'aforementioned' |
The positional modifiers indicate location in space or time relative to the speaker or to the deictic centre of the discourse.
Nei 'near to speaker' can modify a noun in a noun phrase or a locative phrase. Doing so indicates that the entity encoded by the noun is within sight of or in the general locality of the speaker. For instance, in example 21 below, the speaker is likely pointing to a 'word' near them while asking the question.[9]
(21)
E
PRD
wea
what
te
ART
ingoa
name
nei?
here
What is this word?
Nā 'near to addressee' only occurs in noun phrases and can denote a position near to the addressee (example 22), something belonging to the addressee or a characteristic behavior pattern or inherent quality of the addressee (example 23) or, in long-distance communication nā can indicate that the addressee is anticipated to be in a certain place at the time of reading the letter or story or answering the phone call during the long-distance communication (example 24).[19]
(22)
Aumai
bring
ake
DIR
taku
my
pāla
knife
nā.
there
Please pass my knife [that you have].
(23)
Kokoto
R-grunt
ake
DIR
tā
POSS
kōtou
you
īmene
song
nā
there
ke
C
langona.
hear
Please start your song so [we] can hear [it].
(24)
Auwā
probably
ko
TAM
lelei
good
wua
just
kōtou
you
i
LOC
Wale
home
nā.
there.
I hope you are all well there in Pukapuka [where you are].
Lā 'away from both speaker and addressee; intensifier' may only occur with a directional meaning in verb phrases, not in noun phrases. Lā often modifies motion verbs and can take on the directional meaning of 'there, yonder.'[20] For example:
(25)
Luku
dive
lā
there
koe
you
ki
G
te
ART
watu.
stone
Dive down to the rock.
Demonstrative predicates
In Pukapukan, demonstrative predicates take on a number of roles and functions.
Firstly, indefinite demonstrative pronouns can function as predicates which denote spatial or temporal location and are usually followed by their subjects as demonstrated in examples 7–10 above.[21]
When denoting temporal location, demonstrative predicates may do this specifically (as in example 26) or indirectly (as in example 27).
(26)
Ēnei
here
loa
INT
te
ART
taime
time
ko
TAM
velavela.
RR-hot
This is really the time when [the food] is hot.
(27)
Kalia
wait-CIA
wua,
just
ēnei
here
na
TAM
pau.
finish
Just wait, [I'm nearly] finished.
In narratives, demonstrative predicates may be used to set the scene for an imminent event, such as:
(28)
Ēnei
here
iki
carry
nā
ART
vaka
canoe
Here [they were] carrying the canoes.
They may also function as an affirmation seeker or used to describe or explain an aside in real time to listeners and readers.
(29)
Ēnei,
here
na
TAM
tiketike
RR-high
ai
PRO
te
ART
langi
sky
ki
G
lunga
up
nei.
here
Thus, the sky is high up above.
(30)
Ēlā,
there
ko
TOP
te
ART
tangata
person
na
TAM
uwiuwia
RR-cover-CIA
na
ART
pulú,
husk-DA,
ko
PRD
Tepou.
Tepou
You know, that person who was turning over those husks, it was Tepou.
In particular, eia can be used to set apart narrative clauses from backgrounding comments and is also used as a marker which concludes a narrative.
(31)
Eia,
so
Kave
take
loe
INT
lā
INT
oki
also
lātou
they
ia
ART
Uyo
Uyo
ma
and
tana
his
lau.
men
So, then they took Uyo and his men.
(32)
Eia,
so
pau
finish
atu
DIR
ai
PRO
taku
my
tala
story
ia.
AF
So, that's the end of my story.
Lastly, demonstrative predicates do not allow topicalisation of their subjects.
(33)
*Te,
ART
puka
book
ēnei.
here
(Here is the book).
Demonstrative adverbs
Pukapukan has four demonstrative adverbs. These include pēnei ‘like this,’ pēnā ‘like that [by you],’ pēlā ‘like that [over there]’ and peia ‘like so [being demonstrated]’ can modify a predicate, function as verbs, denote modality, introduce direct or indirect speech or stand as a pro-form for a prepositional phrase. For example, peia functions as a verb meaning ‘carry on in like manner’ to the action or state described in a previous clause as seen in example 34 below.
(34)
[Nō
POSS
kiai
that
kake
climb
loa
INT
iāna
he
i
ACC
te
ART
niu
coconut
mua],
first
[kake
climb
i
ACC
te
ART
lua],
second
[pēia
like-so
wua
just
ai],
PRO
[oko
arrive
ki
G
te
ART
niu
coconut
openga].
last
So he climbed the first coconut, climbed the second, and carried on like that [until he] got to the last coconut.
Deictic distinctions
This demonstrative paradigm below shows the four deictic patterns found in Pukapukan.
| Postposed Positionals |
Subject Pronouns |
Nominal Predicate Heads |
Similative Pro-verbs |
Locative Pronouns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern 1 | nei | tēnei | ēnei | pēnei | kinei |
| Pattern 2 | nā | tēnā | ēnā | pēnā | kinā |
| Pattern 3 | -V | tēlā | ēlā | pēlā | kilā |
| Pattern 4 | ia | teia | eia | peia | kiai |
Pattern 1 generally corresponds to ‘near speaker, or deictic centre.’[23] For example:
(35)
Ko
TAM
i
LOC
loto
inside
o
POSS
te
ART
pia
box
nei.
here.
[It] is inside the box [that I am holding].
Pattern 2 generally corresponds to ‘near the addressee.’[23]
(36)
Ko
TAM
i
LOC
loto
inside
o
POSS
te
ART
pia
box
nā
there.
[It] is inside the box [that you are holding].
Pattern 3 generally corresponds to ‘away from both speaker and addressee.’[23]
(37)
Ko
TAM
i
LOC
loto
inside
o
POSS
te
ART
piá.
box-DA
[It] is inside the box over there.
Pattern 4 generally corresponds to ‘aforementioned or being demonstrated.’[23]
(38)
Ko
TAM
i
LOC
loto
inside
o
POSS
te
ART
pia
box
ia.
AF
[It] is inside the box [that we mentioned, or that I am giving to you].
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Indigenous vocabulary
- kāvatavata “noise made by snapping tongue”
- Pōiva “name of a deified ancestor”
- pulu “the calf of the leg”
- Yāmatangi “prayer for a fair wind”
Loanwords
Pukapukan is not closely related to other Cook Islands languages but it does show substantial borrowing from Eastern Polynesian languages, such as Rarotongan. In fact, because there is no ‘r’ in Pukapukan ‘l’ takes its place in Rarotongan borrowings.[7]
| Pukapukan | Rarotongan | |
|---|---|---|
| Rarotonga | Lalotonga | Rarotonga |
| torch | lama | rama |
| hurry | limalima | rimarima |
| angry | lili | riri |
| pour | lilingi | riringi |
Homophones
Pukapukan uses many homophones in its vocabulary usually to give names to new words or items with similar origin meanings.[5]
kapa
- v. to clap hands in rhythm
- v. to cry loudly
- n. corner
ata
- n. an emotional shock
- n. shadow
- n. Dawn
- v. to change color
- Verbal prefix: good at, skilled in
lulu
- v. to tie up
- n. Bundle, village, group, team
- n. Name of a taro preparation
- n. Name of a bird
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Materials
There is a limited list when it comes to the language of Pukapukan. Although, today speakers of the language, locals of Pukapuka, and especially teachers on the island are working to put together books and resources dedicated to the teaching and structure of Pukapukan. Collaboratively the locals of the island are also working to bring back to their own community since the devastating Cyclone Percy in 2005. Since 2005 it has taken nearly 6 years to rebuild their communities.[24] Currently there are a select number of manuscripts and dictionaries on the language of Pukapukan, but their culture is kept alive through music and dance collaborations across the pacific and websites like YouTube.
Vitality
According to Ethnologue Pukapukan is considered to be a threatened language and its “Intergenerational transmission is in the process of being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.[25] Speakers of Pukapukan especially children are multilingual in English and Cook Islands Maori, but English is rarely spoken outside of schools and many classes are actually taught in Pukapukan. Today, revitalization efforts of Pukapuka and its language is underway.[24]
Per the Te Reo Maori Act, Pukapukan is deemed to be a form of Cook Islands Māori for legal purposes.
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