Native to Vanuatu ISO 639-3 tlm | Native speakers 900 (2001) | |
Region Big Bay, Espiritu Santo Island Language family Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Oceanic
Southern Oceanic
Northern Vanuatu
Northeast Vanuatu – Banks Islands
West Santo
Tolomako Dialects Tolomako proper
Tsuréviu | ||
Tolomako is a language of the Oceanic subgroup of Austronesian languages. It is spoken on Santo island in Vanuatu.
Contents
Characteristics
It distinguishes four numbers for its personal pronouns: singular, dual, trial, plural. Its verbs have no tense or aspect marking, but two moods, realis and irrealis. Substantives and numerals also have the same two moods. E.g.
Someone is missing
There is nobody.
Tolomako proper is characterized by having dentals where the mother language had labials before front vowels. It shares this feature with Sakao, but not with its dialect Tsureviu, which is otherwise very close. Thus:
When labials do occur preceding front vowels they seem to be reflexes of older labiovelars:
Compare with Fijian ŋata "snake" (spelt gata).
It is possible that Tolomako is a very simplified daughter-language or pidgin of the neighboring language Sakao. However, Tolomako is more likely a sister language of Sakao, not a pidgin. It cannot be phonologically derived from Sakao, whereas Sakao can be from Tolomako to some extent. Comparing Tolomako with its close dialect of Tsureviu allows to reconstruct an earlier state, from which most of Sakao can be regularly derived. This earlier state is very close to what can be reconstructed of Proto-Vanuatu. Thus Tolomako is a very conservative language, whereas Sakao has undergone drastic innovations in its phonology and grammar, both in the direction of increased complexity.
Phonology
Tolomako has a simple syllable structure, maximally consonant-vowel-vowel: V, CV, VV, CVV.
Deixis
There are three degrees of deixis, here/this, there/that, yonder/yon.
Nouns
Tolomako has inalienably possessed nouns, which are regularly derived:
Syntax
Tolomako syntax is isolating. It has a single preposition, ne, for all relationships of space and time; below it is used to distinguish the object of a verb from the instrument used.