View source for Iwá'a Tui

'''Iwá'a Tui ''' [iˈwɐ.ʔa ˈtu.i] is a language spoken by a seafaring culture known as the Tui people. The name Iwá'a Tui comes from the phrase ''iwaak-a tui'' [iˈwaːk̚.a ˈtu.i] (or, colloquially, ''iwaag'a toi'' [iˈwaː.ɠa ˈto.i]) meaning "voice of the people".

Iwá'a Tui is a mainly analytic language with few non-interacting affixes. 

== Phonology ==
A comprehensive phonological analysis of Iwá'a Tui has not been conducted, so the information present in this article is subject to change as more research is done.

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable 
! Romanization
|[m]
|[n]
|[ɲ]
|[p]
|[p̚]
|[b]
|[tʰ]
|[t]
|[t̚]
|[t͡ɕ]
|[kʰ]
|[k]
|[k̚]
|[ɡ]
|[ʔ]
|[ɸ]
|[f]
|[z]
|[ʃ]
|[x]
|[h]
|[w]
|[l]
|[j]
|[ɾ]
|-
! Pronunciation
|m
|n
|ñ
|p
|p-
|b
|th
|t
|t-
|ch
|kh
|k
|k-
|g
|'
|ph
|f
|z
|s
|x
|h
|w
|l
|y
|r
|}

Consonants of all manners except tap have been observed to be long.

[ɸ] and [f] are distinguished by the latter being pronounced noticeably stronger.

[n̩] is the only consonant observed to be syllabic, having occured in both standard and honorific forms of the word for "cloud" (''man-u'' and ''phan-u'', respectively) in which it had secondary stress.

=== Vowels ===
==== Monophthongs ====
{| class="wikitable 
! Romanization
|[i]
|[y]
|[u]
|[e]
|[ə]
|[o]
|[ɜ]
|[æ]
|[ɐ]
|[a]
|-
! Pronunciation
|i
|ú
|u
|e
|é
|o
|ë
|ä
|á
|a
|}

Only [i u e o a] have been observed to be long.

==== Diphthongs ====
{| class="wikitable 
! Romanization
|[ei]
|[ou]
|[oe]
|[ɜi]
|[ai]
|-
! Pronunciation
|ei
|ou
|oe
|ëi
|ai
|}

Only [ei] and [ai] have been observed to be lengthened, with only the i-component having increased length.

Multiple vowels next to each other are romanized with ⟨-⟩ in between if they can be confused for a diphthong.

=== Stress ===
Iwá'a Tui has phonemic primary and secondary stress.

=== Phonotactics ===
(C)(C)V(V)(L)(C)(C)

* C: consonant
* V: vowel
* L: length

== Grammar ==
=== Honorific Speech ===
Many of Iwá'a Tui's words have 2 or 3 forms reflecting respect toward their referent and give a literary implication. Formal registers include more honorific word forms than informal registers, but still can occur often in informal registers. 

When words have two honorific forms, one is the standard word and the other is the honorific word. When they have three, the third is often used by children and is honor-neutral, but viewed in concept as lesser than the standard form.

In honorific forms and formal registers, the phoneme /ɾ/ is always changed to /l/ because it is not seen as elegant.

=== Head Order ===
Iwá'a Tui is mainly head-final, but head-initiality can occur when giving emphasis or importance to a word. 

For non-verb phrases, this only occurs for one phrase in a sentence, if any, in typical registers. However, in very formal speech, a sentence will often contain many head-initial phrases, particularly for anything related to the addressee, people, nations, symbols, culturally important objects, and personally respected nouns or qualities. 

For verb-phrases, head-initiality is used much more often in all formality registers. It is more commonly used to convey significance to the event in question. Head-initiality is mandatory when the head and/or dependent are a clause or if the head is respected (in which case, it also is used in its respectful form).

== Vocabulary ==
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! Iwá'a Tui
! English
! Notes
|-
|'''yu-i''' [ˈju.i]
|clothes
|
|-
|'''yu-itai''' [ˈju.i.tai]
|clothes
|Clothes when worn on the body or high-class clothing. Evolved from the honorific form of ''yu-i''.
|-
|'''omú''' [ˈo.my]
|book
|
|-
|''''eheän''' [ˈʔe.he.æn]
|movie
|
|-
|'''ámä''' [ɐˈmæ]
|ocean (childhood)
|
|-
|'''onnaa''' [onˈnaː]
|ocean
|
|-
|'''ommaa''' [omˈmaː]
|ocean (honorific)
|
|-
|'''wassii''' [waˈʃːiː]
|crashing wave
|
|-
|'''oitai''' [ˈoi̯.tai̯]
|wave
|Used exclusively for waves before crashing.
|-
|'''olitai''' [ˈo.liˌtai̯]
|wave (honorific)
|Used exclusively for waves before crashing.
|-
|'''mizu''' [miˈzu]
|drinking water
|
|-
|'''gá'in''' [ˈɡɐ.ʔin]
|music
|
|-
|'''gé'in''' [ˈɡə.ʔin]
|music (honorific)
|Used much more often than ''gá'in''.
|-
|'''thamwi''' [ˈtʰam.wi]
|boat
|
|-
|'''thamui''' [tʰaˈmu.i]
|boat (honorific)
|
|-
|'''mau''' [ˈma.u]
|arm
|Not including its hand.
|-
|'''imau''' [ˌiˈma.u]
|arm
|The arm and its hand.
|-
|'''telehi''' [ˈteˌleˌhi]
|river
|
|-
|'''telehe-i''' [ˌte.leˈhe.i]
|major river
|Refers to a large, thick, or culturally/politically/ecologically important river. Evolved from the honorific form of ''telehi''.
|-
|'''mboku''' [ˈmboku]
|car
|
|-
|'''khaa-i''' [ˈkʰaː.i]
|foot
|
|-
|'''okhaa-i''' [ˈoˌkʰaː.i]
|leg
|Not including its foot.
|-
|'''mut-tha''' [mut̚ˈtʰa]
|leg
|The leg and its foot.
|-
|'''ele''' [e.le] +
|to be on the path to
|Prefixed to the destination.

|-
|'''eleäm''' [e.le.æm] +
|to be on the path to (honorific)
|Prefixed to the destination.
|-
|'''ele-i''' [e.leˈi]
|to be going
|Does not specify destination, used when the destination is implied or unnecessary to mention.
|-
|'''maki''' [ˈma.ki] +
|wanted (childhood)
|Prefixed to noun. Words must be nominalized to have this form.
|-
|'''maaki''' [ˈmaː.ki] +
|wanted
|Prefixed to noun. Words must be nominalized to have this form.
|-
|'''maakhi''' [ˈmaː.kʰi] +
|wanted (honorific)
|Prefixed to noun. Words must be nominalized to have this form.
|-
|'''ewethoo''' [ˈe.weˌtʰoː]
|path to
|Used as an adjective. The path in question must be chosen, not unintentional.
|-
|'''eweo''' [ˈe.we.o]
|path to (honorific)
|Used as an adjective. The path in question must be chosen, not unintentional.
|-
|'''to'ikare''' [ˈto.ʔiˈka.ɾe]
|computer
|
|-
|'''to'ikäle''' [ˈto.ʔiˌkæ.le]
|computer (honorific)
|
|-
|'''ah''' [ah]
|NMZ
|Nominalizer
|-
|'''iwaa''' [iˈwaː]
|voice
|
|-
|'''kenh iwaa''' [kenn̥ iˈwaː]
|to say one word
|
|-
|'''teh iwaa''' [teh iˈwaː]
|to talk about
|
|-
|'''lahah iwaa''' [lahah iˈwaː]
|to discuss
|
|-
|'''+ oh iwaa''' [oh iˈwaː]
|to speak from the perspective of
|Suffixed to the source of the perspective.
|-
|'''kawih iwaa''' [kaˈwih iˈwaː]
|to argue
|
|-
|'''yallh iwaa''' [jalːl̥ iˈwaː]
|to sing
|
|-
|'''yällh iwaa''' [jælːl̥ iˈwaː]
|to sing (honorific)
|
|-
|'''ocheh iwaa''' [oˌt͡ɕeh iˈwaː]
|to say a proverb
|
|-
|'''abih iwaa''' [aˈbih iˈwaː]
|to announce
|Used for informative declarations and speeches.
|-
|'''koe iwaa''' [koe iˈwaː]
|to declare
|Used for declarations of novel or sudden information.
|-
|'''imakh iwaa''' [iˈmakʰ iˈwaː]
|to write
|
|-
|'''ptayeh''' [ptaˈjeh]
|to look
|Involving intent, focus and/or study.
|-
|'''imai''' [iˈmai]
|to see
|To observe without focus and not for a long time; to happen to see.
|-
|'''oto'i''' [oˌtoˈʔi]
|to glimpse
|Also used for hardly being able to see.
|-
|'''masëi''' [maˈʃɜi]
|to stare
|To stare with an inactive mind, unphasedly, or due to being zoned out.
|-
|'''yomai''' [ˈjoˌmai]
|to stare
|To stare with an active mind, intently, or as a response.
|-
|'''''' []
|
|
|-
|'''''' []
|
|
|-
|'''''' []
|
|
|-
|'''''' []
|
|
|}

<onlyinclude><includeonly>
|-
|'''''' []
|
|
</onlyinclude></includeonly>