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
31 core words in Rotuman
Water
tạnu
/ˈtɔnu/
Fire
rahi
/ˈrahi/
Sun
asa
/asa/
Moon
hula
/hula/
Star
hefu
/hefu/
Mother
ö'honi
/øʔhoni/
Father
ö'fā
/øʔˈfaː/
I
gou
/ŋou/
You
'äe
/ʔæe/
Name
asa
/asa/
Eye
mafa
/mafa/
Hand
si'u
/siʔu/
Heart
huga
/huŋa/
Love
hanis
/hanis/
Tree
rou
/ɾou/
House
ri
/ɾi/
Dog
kak'i
/kakʔi/
Cat
kotok
/kotok/
Eat
te'a
/teʔa/
Drink
inum
/inum/
One
ta
/ta/
Two
rua
/rua/
Hello
noa'ia
/noaʔia/
Thank you
fai'aksia
/faiʔaksia/
Good
lelei
/lelei/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Rotuman | Hiri Motu | Motu | Samoan | Tokelauan | Rapanui | Tausug |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | tạnu /ˈtɔnu/ | ranu /ɾanu/ | ranu /ɾanu/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | tubig /tubiɡ/ |
| Fire | rahi /ˈrahi/ | lahi /lahi/ | lahi /lahi/ | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | ahi /ahi/ | kayu /kaju/ |
| Sun | asa /asa/ | dina /dina/ | dina /dina/ | lā /laː/ | la /la/ | raʻā /raʔaː/ | adlaw /adlaw/ |
| Moon | hula /hula/ | hua /hua/ | hua /hua/ | māsina /maːsina/ | malama /malama/ | mahina /mahina/ | bulan /bulan/ |
| Star | hefu /hefu/ | hisiu /hisiu/ | hisiu /hisiu/ | fetū /fetuː/ | fetu /fetu/ | hetuʻu /heˈtuʔu/ | bituun /bituʔun/ |
| Mother | ö'honi /øʔhoni/ | sina /sina/ | sinana /sinana/ | tinā /tinaː/ | mātua /maːtua/ | matuʻa vahine /matuʔa vahine/ | inaꞌ /inaʔ/ |
| Father | ö'fā /øʔˈfaː/ | tama /tama/ | tamana /tamana/ | tamā /tamaː/ | tamana /tamana/ | matuʻa tāne /matuʔa taːne/ | amaꞌ /amaʔ/ |
| I | gou /ŋou/ | lau /lau/ | lau /lau/ | a'u /aʔu/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | aku /aku/ |
| You | 'äe /ʔæe/ | oi /oi/ | oi /oi/ | 'oe /ʔoe/ | koe /koe/ | koe /koe/ | ikaw /ikaw/ |
| Name | asa /asa/ | ladana /laˈdana/ | ladana /ladana/ | igoa /iŋoa/ | igoa /iŋoa/ | ingoa /iˈŋoa/ | ngan /ŋan/ |
| Eye | mafa /mafa/ | matana /matana/ | matana /matana/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hand | si'u /siʔu/ | ima /ima/ | ima /ima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | rima /ɾima/ | lima /lima/ |
| Heart | huga /huŋa/ | kudouna /kudouna/ | kudouna /kudouna/ | loto /loto/ | fatu /fatu/ | mahatu /mahatu/ | pusuꞌ /pusuʔ/ |
| Love | hanis /hanis/ | lalokau /lalokau/ | lalokau /lalokau/ | alofa /alofa/ | alofa /alofa/ | hanga /haŋa/ | lasa /lasa/ |
| Tree | rou /ɾou/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | laʻau /laʔau/ | lakau /lakau/ | tumu rākau /tumu raːkau/ | kahuy /kahuj/ |
| House | ri /ɾi/ | ruma /ɾuma/ | ruma /ɾuma/ | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | hare /haɾe/ | bāy /baːj/ |
| Dog | kak'i /kakʔi/ | sisia /sisia/ | sisia /sisia/ | maile /maile/ | kuli /kuli/ | paihega /paiheŋa/ | iruꞌ /iruʔ/ |
| Cat | kotok /kotok/ | pusi /pusi/ | gosi /ɡosi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | kati /kati/ | kuting /kutiŋ/ |
| Eat | te'a /teʔa/ | ania /ania/ | aniani /aniani/ | ʻai /ʔai/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | kaun /kaʔun/ |
| Drink | inum /inum/ | inua /inua/ | inuinu /inuinu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | unu /unu/ | minum /minum/ |
| One | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | ta /ta/ | tasi /tasi/ | tahi /tahi/ | tahi /tahi/ | isa /isa/ |
| Two | rua /rua/ | rua /rua/ | rua /rua/ | lua /lua/ | lua /lua/ | rua /ˈrua/ | duwa /duwa/ |
| Hello | noa'ia /noaʔia/ | namona /namona/ | namo gida /namo ɡida/ | talofa /talofa/ | malo ni /malo ni/ | ʻiorana /ʔioɾana/ | kumusta /kumusta/ |
| Thank you | fai'aksia /faiʔaksia/ | tanikiu /tanikiu/ | oi namo /oi namo/ | faʻafetai /faʔafetai/ | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | maururu /mauɾuɾu/ | magsukul /maɡsukul/ |
| Good | lelei /lelei/ | namo /namo/ | namo /namo/ | lelei /lelei/ | lelei /lelei/ | riva /ɾiva/ | marayaw /marajaw/ |
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