Löyöp language

Löyöp [løjøp] (formerly known as Lehalurup) is an Oceanic language spoken by about 240 people, on the east coast of Ureparapara Island in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu.^[1][2] It is distinct from Lehali, the language spoken on the west coast of the same island.

Löyöp
Pronunciation	[løjøp]
Native to	Vanuatu
Region	Ureparapara, formerly Rowa Islands
Native speakers	240 (2010)[1][2]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic North-Central Vanuatu North Vanuatu Torres-Banks Löyöp
Language codes
ISO 639-3	urr
Glottolog	leha1244
ELP	Löyöp
Löyöp is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The language was originally native to the Rowa Islands, having been brought to Ureparapara around the 1930s when a tsunami struck the Reef Islands and forced the speakers to relocate.^[3]

It is considered a vulnerable language by UNESCO.

Name

The name Löyöp [løjøp] used since 2009^[4][5][6] refers to the area called "Divers' Bay" in English, in the eastern part of Ureparapara. It derives from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *loroβi, with cognates in Lehali Loyēp [lɔjɪp]. The now-deprecated name Lehalurup once used by certain authors (e.g. Tryon) is likely a result from a transcription error, possibly under the influence of neighboring Lehali.

Phonology

Löyöp phonemically contrasts 16 consonants and 11 vowels.^[6]

Consonants

Löyöp consonants

		Labiovelar	Bilabial	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Dorsal
Nasal		ŋ͡mʷ ⟨m̄⟩	m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩		ŋ ⟨n̄⟩
Stop	voiceless	k͡pʷ ⟨q⟩	p ⟨p⟩	t ⟨t⟩	t͡ʃ ⟨j⟩	k ⟨k⟩
	prenasalized			ⁿd ⟨d⟩
Fricative			β ⟨v⟩	s ⟨s⟩		ɣ ⟨g⟩
Approximant		w ⟨w⟩		l ⟨l⟩		j ⟨y⟩

Vowels

These are ten short monophthongs /i ɪ ɛ æ a œ ø y ɔ ʊ/, and one diphthong /i͡ɛ/.^[5][6]

Löyöp vowels

	Front		Back
	plain	round
Close	i ⟨i⟩	y ⟨u⟩
Near-close	ɪ ⟨ē⟩	ø ⟨ö⟩	ʊ ⟨ō⟩
Open-mid	ɛ ⟨e⟩	œ ⟨ë⟩	ɔ ⟨o⟩
Near-open	æ ⟨ä⟩
Open	a ⟨a⟩

Grammar

The system of personal pronouns in Löyöp contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural).^[7]

Spatial reference in Löyöp is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is in part typical of Oceanic languages, and yet innovative.^[8]