Mwerlap language

Mwerlap is an Oceanic language spoken in the south of the Banks Islands in Vanuatu.

Mwerlap
Merelava, Merlav
N̄wërlap
Pronunciation	[ŋʷɞrˈlap]
Native to	Vanuatu
Region	Merelava, Gaua
Native speakers	ca. 1,100 (2012)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic North-Central Vanuatu North Vanuatu Torres-Banks Mwerlap
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mrm
Glottolog	merl1237
Mwerlap is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Its 1,100 speakers live mostly in Merelava and Merig, but a fair proportion have also settled on the east coast of Gaua island.^[2] Besides, a number of Mwerlap speakers live in the two cities of Vanuatu, Port Vila and Luganville.

The language has been studied by Alexandre François, and more recently by Agnès Henri.^[3]

Name

The language is named after Mwerlap, the native name of Merelava island.

Phonology

Consonants

Mwerlap has 16 phonemic consonants.

Mwerlap consonants

		Labiovelar	Labial	Alveolar	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	kʷ ⟨q⟩	p ⟨p⟩	t ⟨t⟩	k ⟨k⟩
	prenasal		ᵐb ⟨b⟩	ⁿd ⟨d⟩
Nasal		ŋʷ ⟨n̄w⟩	m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩	ŋ ⟨n̄⟩
Fricative			v ~ β ⟨v⟩	s ⟨s⟩	ɣ ⟨g⟩
Rhotic				r ⟨r⟩
Lateral				l ⟨l⟩
Approximant		w ⟨w⟩

/v/ is also heard as [β] when geminated in syllable-initial position.

/s/ may also be heard as alveolo-palatal [ɕ] when in geminated positions.^[4]

Vowels

Mwerlap has 12 phonemic vowels. These include 9 monophthongs /i ɪ ɛ ʉ ɵ ɞ ʊ ɔ a/,^[4] and 3 diphthongs /ɛ͡a ɔ͡ɞ ʊ͡ɵ/.^[5]

Mwerlap vowels

	Front	Central rounded	Back		Diphthongs
Close	i ⟨i⟩	ʉ ⟨u⟩	(u) ⟨u⟩
Near-close	ɪ ⟨ē⟩	ɵ ⟨ö⟩	ʊ ⟨ō⟩		ʊ͡ɵ ⟨ōö⟩
Open-mid	ɛ ⟨e⟩	ɞ ⟨ë⟩	ɔ ⟨o⟩		ɔ͡ɞ ⟨oë⟩
Open	a ⟨a⟩				ɛ͡a ⟨ea⟩

/ʉ/ may also be heard as back [u] among speakers.^[4]

Grammar

The system of personal pronouns in Mwerlap contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes three numbers (singular, dual, plural).^[6]

Independent pronouns in Mwerlap^[7]

		Singular	Dual	Plural
1st	inclusive	no ~ në /nɔ/~/nœ/	dōrō /ⁿdʊrʊ/	gean /ɣɛ͡an/
	exclusive		kamar /kamar/	kemem /kɛmɛm/
2nd		neak /nɛ͡ak/	kamrō /kamrʊ/	kemi /kɛmi/
3rd		(ki)sean /(ki)sɛ͡an/	karar /karar/	kear /kɛ͡ar/

Spatial reference in Mwerlap is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals.^[8] That system is partly typical of Oceanic languages, and yet innovative.^[9]