Native speakers 800 (2012) Glottolog lako1245 | ISO 639-3 lkn | |
Language family AustronesianMalayo-PolynesianOceanicSouthern OceanicVanuatuNorthern VanuatuEast VanuatuLakon | ||
Lakon [lakɔn] is an Oceanic language, spoken on the west coast of Gaua island in Vanuatu.
Contents
Names
Lakon is named after the area where it is spoken, also known as Lakona Bay, which encompasses the west coast of Gaua. It is sometimes referred to as Lakona (after its name in Mota). Its former dialects include Qatareu (Qätärew), Vure (Vurē), Toglatareu, Togla.
Phonology
Lakon has 16 phonemic vowels. These include 8 short /i ɪ ɛ æ a ɔ ʊ u/ and 8 long vowels /iː ɪː ɛː æː aː ɔː ʊː uː/.
Historically, the phonemicisation of vowel length originates in the compensatory lengthening of short vowels when the alveolar trill /r/ was lost syllable-finally.
References
Lakon language Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA