Marquesan language

Marquesan is a special way of talking used by people in the Marquesas Islands, which are part of French Polynesia. It belongs to a family of languages called East-Central Polynesian and is part of the Marquesic group.

People usually split Marquesan into two main types: North Marquesan and South Marquesan. This division mostly follows where people live in the islands. Both types are important for the culture and history of the islanders.

Phonology

The Marquesan languages have a special feature: they often use a glottal stop instead of the sounds /r/ or /l/ found in other Polynesian languages.

Like other Polynesian languages, Marquesan has few consonant sounds. One special consonant, /ŋ/, is only used in certain areas, and is always combined with the sound /k/. For example, the word for 'bay' is hanga in some Marquesan dialects, while in Samoan it is faga.

Vowel sounds in Marquesan include both short and long versions, similar to other Polynesian languages. The way these vowels are pronounced can change slightly depending on the sounds around them.

Alphabet

The Marquesan Language Academy uses a special way to write words, like the way Turo Raapoto writes in Tahitian. They put marks above the vowels to show sounds that change the meaning of words. Some writers use special marks or symbols to show these sounds, like in other Polynesian languages.

Morphosyntax

Verbal particles come before the verb they change.

A noun phrase in Marquesan starts with a case marker or a determiner. These markers and prepositions come before the determiners, which then come before number markers. All of these come before the noun they describe.

There are 11 personal pronouns that show if something is singular, dual, or plural. There are also two other pronouns that show ownership. Complex sentences use verbal nouns in smaller parts of the sentence.

Possession in Marquesan uses special words placed before noun phrases. There are four main possession markers: a, o, na, and no. The words a and o mean "of," while na and no mean "belong to" or "for."

Marquesan also shows different kinds of possession. A and na show when the owner is strong or in charge. O and no show when the owner is less powerful or passive.

Dialect diversity

North Marquesan is spoken on the islands of Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, and Ua Huka. South Marquesan is spoken on Hiva Oa, Tahuata, and Fatu Hiva.

People on Ua Huka mostly came from both the Northern and Southern Marquesas, so their language has traits from both North and South Marquesan.

The two main types of Marquesan have some differences. For example, Northern Marquesan uses a sound where South Marquesan uses a different sound or a pause. Northern Marquesan also uses a sound that South Marquesan changes in all words.