Fäeag Rotuạm
Rotuman
Austronesian
Rotuman (Fäeag Rotuạm) is the language of Rotuma Island, a small autonomous dependency of Fiji ~600 km north of the main Fijian islands. Linguistically a Polynesian outlier with extensive Western Polynesian (Tongan/Samoan) and Melanesian (Fijian) lexical and structural admixture, reflecting Rotuma's position at the Polynesian-Melanesian interface. Famous for its complex umlaut-based metathesis system: alternating "complete" (full word) and "incomplete" (truncated) phases that mark grammatical contrasts. Despite its small speaker base, retains active intergenerational use on Rotuma.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Rotuman
Water
ofu
/ofu/
Fire
rerege
/ɾeɾeŋe/
Sun
asa
/asa/
Moon
hula
/hula/
Mother
ö'ö
/øʔø/
Father
öäpö
/øæpø/
Eat
te'a
/teʔa/
Drink
inum
/inum/
Love
hanis
/hanis/
Heart
huga
/huŋa/
Tree
rou
/ɾou/
House
ri
/ɾi/
Dog
kak'i
/kakʔi/
Cat
kotok
/kotok/
Hand
si'u
/siʔu/
Eye
mafa
/mafa/
Hello
noa'ia
/noaʔia/
Thank you
fai'aksia
/faiʔaksia/
One
ta
/ta/
Good
lelei
/lelei/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Rotuman | Hiri Motu | Tausug | Samoan | Motu | Tokelauan | Mussau-Emira |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ofu /ofu/ | ranu /ɾanu/ | tubig /tubiɡ/ | vai /vai/ | ranu /ɾanu/ | vai /vai/ | eai /eai/ |
| Fire | rerege /ɾeɾeŋe/ | lahi /lahi/ | kayu /kaju/ | afi /afi/ | lahi /lahi/ | afi /afi/ | kapok /kapok/ |
| Sun | asa /asa/ | dina /dina/ | adlaw /adlaw/ | lā /laː/ | dina /dina/ | la /la/ | ariu /aɾiu/ |
| Moon | hula /hula/ | hua /hua/ | bulan /bulan/ | māsina /maːsina/ | hua /hua/ | malama /malama/ | malam /malam/ |
| Mother | ö'ö /øʔø/ | sina /sina/ | inaꞌ /inaʔ/ | tinā /tinaː/ | sinana /sinana/ | matua /matua/ | nia /nia/ |
| Father | öäpö /øæpø/ | tama /tama/ | amaꞌ /amaʔ/ | tamā /tamaː/ | tamana /tamana/ | tamana /tamana/ | tama /tama/ |
| Eat | te'a /teʔa/ | ania /ania/ | kaun /kaʔun/ | ʻai /ʔai/ | aniani /aniani/ | kai /kai/ | anu /anu/ |
| Drink | inum /inum/ | inua /inua/ | minum /minum/ | inu /inu/ | inuinu /inuinu/ | inu /inu/ | inum /inum/ |
| Love | hanis /hanis/ | lalokau /lalokau/ | lasa /lasa/ | alofa /alofa/ | lalokau /lalokau/ | alofa /alofa/ | talimi /talimi/ |
| Heart | huga /huŋa/ | kudouna /kudouna/ | pusuꞌ /pusuʔ/ | loto /loto/ | kudouna /kudouna/ | fatu /fatu/ | lalota /lalota/ |
| Tree | rou /ɾou/ | au /au/ | kahuy /kahuj/ | laʻau /laʔau/ | au /au/ | lakau /lakau/ | rikei /ɾikei/ |
| House | ri /ɾi/ | ruma /ɾuma/ | bāy /baːj/ | fale /fale/ | ruma /ɾuma/ | fale /fale/ | ulemi /ulemi/ |
| Dog | kak'i /kakʔi/ | sisia /sisia/ | iruꞌ /iruʔ/ | maile /maile/ | sisia /sisia/ | kuli /kuli/ | kovur /kovuɾ/ |
| Cat | kotok /kotok/ | pusi /pusi/ | kuting /kutiŋ/ | pusi /pusi/ | gosi /ɡosi/ | pusi /pusi/ | busi /busi/ |
| Hand | si'u /siʔu/ | imana /imana/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | imana /imana/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ |
| Eye | mafa /mafa/ | matana /matana/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | matana /matana/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | noa'ia /noaʔia/ | namona /namona/ | kumusta /kumusta/ | talofa /talofa/ | namo gida /namo ɡida/ | malo ni /malo ni/ | emua /emua/ |
| Thank you | fai'aksia /faiʔaksia/ | tanikiu /tanikiu/ | magsukul /maɡsukul/ | faʻafetai /faʔafetai/ | oi namo /oi namo/ | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | poasi /poasi/ |
| One | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | isa /isa/ | tasi /tasi/ | ta /ta/ | tahi /tahi/ | esa /esa/ |
| Good | lelei /lelei/ | namo /namo/ | marayaw /marajaw/ | lelei /lelei/ | namo /namo/ | lelei /lelei/ | rop /ɾop/ |
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