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by | Mar 16, 2018 | Clematis

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The Kwaraʼae or Kwaraqae language is spoken in the West, Central & Eastern regions of Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands. In 1999, there were 32,400 people known to speak the language. It is the largest indigenous vernacular of the Solomon Islands.

Phonology

Consonants in Kwaraʼae
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
nor. lab.
Stop voiceless t k kʷ ʔ
voiced b d ɡ ɡʷ
Fricative (f) s x ~ h
Nasal m n ŋ ŋʷ
Rhotic ɾ
Lateral l
Approximant w j

The /f/ sound is merged with /h/. Most speakers of Kwaraʼae choose to pronounce /h/ as an /f/ sound in some vocabulary.

Vowels in Kwaraʼae
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid ɛ ɔ
Low a

The sound [ə] is recognized as an allophone of /a/.[2] There is vowel reduction, so final /i/ and /u/ are often deleted. Before /i/, the vowel /a/ may become [e], forming the diphthong [ei].

References

  1. ^ Kwaraʼae at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Macdonald, Daryl Eveline (2010). A Grammar Sketch of Kwaraqae (Master of Arts thesis). University of Waikato. hdl:10289/5755.

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