Olo language
Olo (Orlei) is a non-Austronesian, Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea. The language is spoken in 55 villages, from the Aitape Township (north) to the Sandaun Province (south), and is at risk of going extinct.[1] Olo is believed to be a Goal Oriented Activation language, meaning the speaker chooses their words with an idea of what they are trying to achieve with the listener in mind,[2] this has been labeled as referential theory. Referential theory has been divided into four groupings, all of which come with disadvantages, recency, episodes, prominence, and memorial activation.
| Olo | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Sandaun Province |
Native speakers | 14,000 (2003)[1] |
Torricelli
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ong |
| Glottolog | oloo1241 |
| ELP | Olo |
Classification
Olo derives from the Torricelli language Phylum and belongs to the Wape Family. The two dialects that are spoken are Payi()Pay) and Wapi (Wape). The dialect boundaries are not absolute and are based on the prominent differences in grammar. Despite the differences, they share dialect chaining.
Phonology
Nouns
Nominal plural formatives include:[3]
gloss singular plural ‘ear’ mingi mingim ‘banana’ tefa tefas ‘betelnut’ mere meri ‘garden’ liom lipes ‘coconut’ wom wefes ‘boar’ wasene wasem ‘wound’ pam pape ‘seasoning’ num nus ‘hand’ eti esi ‘branch’ uno ine ‘wing’ naru nare ‘liver’ pale palu
Consonants
The chart below includes the consonants used in the Olo language, /p,t,k,f,s,m,n,ŋ,w,y/. Three types of nasals are used when speaking this language, alveolar, bilabial, and velar. Alveolar nasals occur near the teeth, /n/, bilabial nasals occur at the base of the tongue in close proximity to the roof of the mouth towards the beginning of the throat, and velar nasals occur on the lips. A rule of Olo is that a velar nasal only happens before a velar stop. Stops are not executed on the exhalation of breathe, making them weakly articulated.
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ |
| Stop | p | t | k |
| Fricative | f | s | |
| Lateral | l | ||
| Liquid | r | ||
| Semivowel | w | j |
Semantics
Structure
Olo is classified as an SVO (subject, verb, object) language under normal circumstance, but, in certain cases, the object can be fronted, the subject can continue on as a free noun, or there can be occurrences similar to passive tense in English. The prefixes that attach to the verb serves as markers for the subjects and gives the listener information about the person, number and gender. the object's person, number, and gender is identified by the suffix or infix. [Person: first, second, third; Number: singular, dual, plural; Gender: masculine, feminine.]
Subject prefix
| k- | first person singular | I' |
|---|---|---|
| w- | first person dual | we two |
| m- | first person plural | we |
| o- | second person singular | you |
| y- | second person plural | you |
| l- | third person singular masculine | he |
| n- | third person singular female | she |
| t- | third person dual masculine | they two |
| m- | third person dual feminine | they two |
| p- | third person plural | they |
Verbs that begin with a vowel take the prefix. Verbs that start with /r/ and /l/ are the only verbs that begin with a consonant that can take on a verbal prefix.
Object infixes
| -l- | him |
|---|---|
| -n- | her |
| -ut- | two males |
| -m- | two females |
| -p- | them |
Object suffixes
Suffixes, and some infixes, indicate first or second person objects and applies to all transitive verbs. When an infix is used to describe an object's first or second person, if the first syllable contains /a/ or /e/, then it transforms into /ei/.
| -iki | first person singular | I |
|---|---|---|
| -uku | first person plural | us |
| -ye | second person singular | you |
| -ise | second person plural | you |
There is a fundamental difference between -(w)o and -o, -o follows the vowel /i/ and -wo follows in all other scenarios.
| set 1 | set 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| -(w)o | -o | third singular masculine | him |
| -ene | -ne | third singular feminine | her |
| -enge | -nge | third dual masculine | them |
| -eme | -me | third dual feminine | them |
| -epe | -pe | third plural | them |
References
- Olo at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- Staley, William (1995). Referent management in Olo: a cognitive perspective. OCLC 896393831.
- Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- "Type IPA phonetic symbols - online keyboard". ipa.typeit.org. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- McGregor, Donald E. (1982). Olo language materials. McGregor, Aileen R. F. Canberra, A.C.T., Australia: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 0858832623. OCLC 10825288.