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Halia language

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(Redirected from Selau language)
Halia
Selau
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionBuka Island, Selau Peninsula
Native speakers
25,000 (2005)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3hla
Glottologhali1244

Halia is an Austronesian language of Buka Island and the Selau Peninsula of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea.

Phonology

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The phonology of the Halia language:[2]

Consonants

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Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b g
Affricate ts ~
Fricative s h
Lateral l
Rhotic r
Semivowel w j

Vowels

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Front Central Back
High i u
ɪ ʊ
Mid (e) o
ɛ ɔ
Low a

Diphthong vowel sounds include /ei, au, ou/.

[e] exists, but not as a monophthong.

Allophones

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Phoneme Allophones
/b/ [β]
/ɡ/ [ɣ], [χ]
/ts/ []
/r/ [ɾ]
/a/ [æ], [ɐ], [ʌ]
/ʊ/ [ɨ]
/ei/ [e], [ɛi], [ɛ]

Grammar

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Pronouns

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There are four sets of pronouns. The first set functions as the subject when preceding the verb. Set 2 functions as a subject or object when following the verb. Set 3 is used for inalienable possession. Set 4 is used for alienable possession. There is an inclusive/exclusive first person distinction.

Pronoun 1 2 3 4
1SG alia lia -r i tar
2SG alö -mulö i tamulö
3SG nonei -en -nen i tanen
1PL (incl.) ara ra -rara i tarara
1PL (excl.) alam lam -mulam i tamulam
2PL alimiu limiu -milimiu i tamilimiu
3PL nori -en -ren i taren

The suffix -e signifies a transitive verb.[3]

Literature

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In the 1960s Francis Hagai produced a series of liturgies in Halia as part of his work with the Hahalis Welfare Society.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Halia at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Allen, Jerry (1987). Halia grammar. Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, 32: Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics. pp. 4–10, 215–219.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ Allen, Jerry; Latu, Marcello; Koesana, Maurice; Tsirumits, Maurice (1982). Dictionaries of Papua New Guinea, Volume 6: Halia Language. The Long Now Foundation. Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
  4. ^ Trompf, G. W. (1994). Payback: The Logic of Retribution in Melanesian Religions. Cambridge University Press. p. 224. ISBN 9780521416917.
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