Difference between revisions of "Oan language"
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| + | The Oan language (natively called Oalanu) is widely spoken in [[Konoa]], [[The Oan Isles]], [[East Polynesia]], and to a lesser degree, [[Asian Pacific Islands]]. It forms the part of the West Polynesian branch of [[Polynesia]]n languages. It is the only surviving member of the Oanoana family. It spoken by 90 million people across the South Pacific Ocean, and forms one of the official languages of the [[Polynesian Union]]. Various accents and dialects of the language exist, the "core" dialect being Rokalanunyanataoalanu of the Oan capital [[La Rochelle]]. In Codexian, it is frequently referred to as '''Oan''' (which is also the Codexian demonym for the Oan Isles). | ||
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==Phonology== | ==Phonology== | ||
[[File:Oareato.png|thumbnail|This is the Oan National Emblem (it is not a çoat of arms as it does not contain an escutcheon). The text is in the Oan native script called Pounamu. The top text reads "Kia hoa a ro komotua" and the bottom text reads "Oareatu". ]] | [[File:Oareato.png|thumbnail|This is the Oan National Emblem (it is not a çoat of arms as it does not contain an escutcheon). The text is in the Oan native script called Pounamu. The top text reads "Kia hoa a ro komotua" and the bottom text reads "Oareatu". ]] | ||
Revision as of 03:20, 8 August 2017
The Oan language (natively called Oalanu) is widely spoken in Konoa, The Oan Isles, East Polynesia, and to a lesser degree, Asian Pacific Islands. It forms the part of the West Polynesian branch of Polynesian languages. It is the only surviving member of the Oanoana family. It spoken by 90 million people across the South Pacific Ocean, and forms one of the official languages of the Polynesian Union. Various accents and dialects of the language exist, the "core" dialect being Rokalanunyanataoalanu of the Oan capital La Rochelle. In Codexian, it is frequently referred to as Oan (which is also the Codexian demonym for the Oan Isles).
Phonology
Vowels:
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Post Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Stop | p | t | k | ||
| Fricate | s | h | |||
| Approximant | l | y | w | ||
| Trill | r |
Words and Morphemes
The two most basic language units of the Oan language are words and morphemes after letters and syllables. The Oan language has a high amount of morphemes. It is regarded as a synthetic language. Morphemes are letter clusters that carry meaning, but cannot stand alone. Words are always free standing. For example the letter "a" when placed alone before a word or morpheme group represents a negation whereas an "a" affixed to the end of a word or phrase represents a relation.
There are a small group of words that form the basis of the entire Oan language. Most of them are morphemes. They are often fused together to create many other words. For example the word "komotua" means boundary or space between islands. It is formed from the word komo meaning space (which is infact derived from the morphemes for location and here), and tu(a) meaning a single object.
Phrases
Words and morphemes, while they form the most basic units in a language, cannot be used alone in a sentence. Words and phrases must appear together in groups called phrases, in order to make sense. For example "u Manu ua pala ro u solo". The word "manu" which means "man" cannot appear alone. It must appear with a morpheme, in this "u" which indicates a singular idea.
Parts of Speech
WORDS are made up of four distinct parts of speech: verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
- Verbs are states of being. Simple ideas such as "be" and "is" are morphemes".
- Nouns are words that identify things.
- Adjectives describe nouns and other adjectives.
- Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs and other adverbs.
Parts of speech are indicated by morphemes. All words can change meaning depending on the morpheme they are used with. No true particles and articles exist. Certain morphemes represent specific grammatical ideas. A common morpheme must be used for verbs (and their adverbial components) and subjects (and their adjectival components) must all "agree" with one another. For example look at the phrase "u manu ua pala ro u solo". The noun and verb classes must agree. Both must begin with the morpheme "u". The phrase cannot be "u manu ia pala ro u solo".
All prepositions are morphemes which change meaning depending on how they are used.
Idioms
The Oan language is extremely idiomatic. For example the phrase "u manu palo ro u solo" literally means the man meets with the sun. In actual fact it means the man has awoken. This expression is used instead of "u manu ua (ki)tika". Which would mean, the man rises.
