Mussau
Mussau-Emira
Austronesian
Mussau-Emira is an Oceanic Austronesian language of the Mussau-Emira subgroup, spoken on the St Matthias Group islands north of New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea. The St Matthias Group consists of Mussau (the larger island, ~5,000 inhabitants) and Emira (smaller, ~500 inhabitants), plus some smaller atolls. Linguistically, Mussau-Emira is interesting for its highly conservative phonology — it preserves Proto-Oceanic features lost in most Western Oceanic languages, including a 5-vowel system with no length distinction, simple consonant inventory, and SVO constituent order with classical Oceanic person-marking on verbs. SIL Bible translation work since the 1970s produced the New Testament (1995) and standardized Mussau orthography.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Mussau-Emira
Water
eai
/eai/
Fire
kuraa
/kuˈraː/
Sun
ariu
/aɾiu/
Moon
malam
/malam/
Star
katoto
/katoto/
Mother
nia
/nia/
Father
tama
/tama/
I
agi
/aɡi/
You
io
/io/
Name
arari
/arari/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hand
lima
/lima/
Heart
lalota
/lalota/
Love
talimi
/talimi/
Tree
rikei
/ɾikei/
House
ulemi
/ulemi/
Dog
kovur
/kovuɾ/
Cat
busi
/busi/
Eat
anu
/anu/
Drink
inum
/inum/
One
esa
/esa/
Two
lua
/lua/
Hello
emua
/emua/
Thank you
poasi
/poasi/
Good
rop
/ɾop/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Mussau-Emira | Fijian | Tokelauan | Samoan | Tuvaluan | Mandar | Niuean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | eai /eai/ | wai /wai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | uai /uai/ | vai /vai/ |
| Fire | kuraa /kuˈraː/ | buka /mbuka/ | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | api /api/ | afi /afi/ |
| Sun | ariu /aɾiu/ | matanisiga /matanisiŋa/ | la /la/ | lā /laː/ | laa /laː/ | mata allo /mata alːo/ | lā /laː/ |
| Moon | malam /malam/ | vula /βula/ | malama /malama/ | māsina /maːsina/ | masina /masina/ | bulang /bulaŋ/ | mahina /mahina/ |
| Star | katoto /katoto/ | kalokalo /kalokalo/ | fetu /fetu/ | fetū /fetuː/ | fetū /feˈtuː/ | bittoeng /bittoeŋ/ | fetū /feˈtuː/ |
| Mother | nia /nia/ | tina /tina/ | mātua /maːtua/ | tinā /tinaː/ | maatua /maːtua/ | indo /indo/ | matua fifine /matua fifine/ |
| Father | tama /tama/ | tama /tama/ | tamana /tamana/ | tamā /tamaː/ | tamana /tamana/ | ama /ama/ | matua taane /matua taːne/ |
| I | agi /aɡi/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | a'u /aʔu/ | au /au/ | iyau /ijau/ | au /au/ |
| You | io /io/ | iko /iko/ | koe /koe/ | 'oe /ʔoe/ | koe /koe/ | io /iʔo/ | koe /koe/ |
| Name | arari /arari/ | yaca /jaða/ | igoa /iŋoa/ | igoa /iŋoa/ | igoa /iˈŋoa/ | sanga /saŋa/ | higoa /hiˈŋoa/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hand | lima /lima/ | liga /liŋa/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ |
| Heart | lalota /lalota/ | uto /uto/ | fatu /fatu/ | loto /loto/ | fatu /fatu/ | ate /ate/ | fatu /fatu/ |
| Love | talimi /talimi/ | loloma /loloma/ | alofa /alofa/ | alofa /alofa/ | alofa /alofa/ | mappinawa /mapːinawa/ | fakaalofa /fakaalofa/ |
| Tree | rikei /ɾikei/ | kau /kau/ | lakau /lakau/ | laʻau /laʔau/ | laakau /laːkau/ | kaju /kaju/ | akau /akau/ |
| House | ulemi /ulemi/ | vale /βale/ | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | boyang /bojaŋ/ | fale /fale/ |
| Dog | kovur /kovuɾ/ | koli /koli/ | kuli /kuli/ | maile /maile/ | kuli /kuli/ | asu /asu/ | kuli /kuli/ |
| Cat | busi /busi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | mio /mio/ | pusi /pusi/ |
| Eat | anu /anu/ | kana /kana/ | kai /kai/ | ʻai /ʔai/ | kai /kai/ | ma'ande /maʔande/ | kai /kai/ |
| Drink | inum /inum/ | gunu /ŋunu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | minung /minuŋ/ | inu /inu/ |
| One | esa /esa/ | dua /ndua/ | tahi /tahi/ | tasi /tasi/ | tasi /tasi/ | mesa /mesa/ | taha /taha/ |
| Two | lua /lua/ | rua /rua/ | lua /lua/ | lua /lua/ | lua /ˈlua/ | dua /dua/ | ua /ua/ |
| Hello | emua /emua/ | bula /mbula/ | malo ni /malo ni/ | talofa /talofa/ | taalofa /taːlofa/ | salama' ma'ondong /salamaʔ maʔondoŋ/ | fakaalofa atu /fakaalofa atu/ |
| Thank you | poasi /poasi/ | vinaka /βinaka/ | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | faʻafetai /faʔafetai/ | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | kuru' sumanga' /kuɾuʔ sumaŋaʔ/ | fakaaue /fakaaue/ |
| Good | rop /ɾop/ | vinaka /βinaka/ | lelei /lelei/ | lelei /lelei/ | lei /lei/ | macoa /matʃoa/ | mitaki /mitaki/ |
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