In this article, we are going to explore and analyze Olrat language from different angles and perspectives. Olrat language is a topic that has aroused great interest and debate in today's society, which motivates us to delve into its relevance and impact in various contexts. Through this analysis, we will seek to understand the importance of Olrat language and how it impacts people's lives, culture and society in general. To do this, we will examine different opinions and arguments, with the aim of generating a complete and enriching overview of the topic. We hope this article serves as a starting point for deeper reflection and greater understanding of Olrat language.
Olrat | |
---|---|
Ōlrat | |
Pronunciation | [ʊlrat] |
Native to | Vanuatu |
Region | Gaua |
Native speakers | 3 (2012) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | olr |
Glottolog | olra1234 |
ELP | Olrat |
Olrat is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Olrat was an Oceanic language of Gaua island, in northern Vanuatu. It became extinct in 2009, with the death of its last speaker Maten Womal.
The name Olrat (spelled natively as Ōlrat [ʊlrat]) is an endonym. Robert Codrington mentions a place south of Lakon village under the Mota name Ulrata. A few decades later, Sidney Ray mentions the language briefly in 1926 under the same Mota name ‒ but provides no linguistic information.
In 2003, only three speakers of Olrat remained, who lived on the middle-west coast of Gaua. Their community had left their inland hamlet of Olrat in the first half of the 20th century, and merged into the larger village of Jōlap where Lakon is dominant.
Alexandre François identifies Olrat as a distinct language from its immediate neighbor Lakon, on phonological, grammatical, and lexical grounds.
Olrat has 14 phonemic vowels. These include 7 short /i ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ u/ and 7 long vowels /iː ɪː ɛː aː ɔː ʊː uː/.
Front | Back | |
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Near-close | i ⟨i⟩ ∙ iː ⟨ii⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ ∙ uː ⟨uu⟩ |
Close-mid | ɪ ⟨ē⟩ ∙ ɪː ⟨ēē⟩ | ʊ ⟨ō⟩ ∙ ʊː ⟨ōō⟩ |
Open-mid | ɛ ⟨e⟩ ∙ ɛː ⟨ee⟩ | ɔ ⟨o⟩ ∙ ɔː ⟨oo⟩ |
Open | a ⟨a⟩ ∙ aː ⟨aa⟩ |
Historically, the phonologization of vowel length originates in the compensatory lengthening of short vowels when the voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ was lost syllable-finally.
The system of personal pronouns in Olrat contrasts clusivity, and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual, trial, plural).
Spatial reference in Olrat is based on a system of geocentric (absolute) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages.