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Wailapa | |
---|---|
Moiso, Ale | |
Native to | Vanuatu |
Region | Espiritu Santo |
Native speakers | 500[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | wlr |
Glottolog | wail1242 |
ELP | Wailapa |
Espiritu Santo, where Wailapa is spoken on the southern coast | |
Wailapa is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Wailapa, or Moiso or Ale, is an Oceanic language[2][3] or dialect[4] spoken on Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.
It is possibly endangered[5], with its status described as "shifting".[6] It is also described as "stable".[3]
It has multiple dialects.[7]
Wailapa is generally described as a language,[2][3] but also as a dialect of the proposed, lexicostastically defined Southwest Santo language along with Araki, Tangoa, and Wailapa.[8][4]
The list below is a sample of words in Wailapa. [7]
Wailapa | English |
---|---|
patu-ku | head |
umʷi-ku | beard |
tamanpatu-ku | belly |
laso-ku | testicles |
marau-ku | left hand |
tˢino-ima | door |
tikinoβu | centipede |
lano | fly (n) |
moɂi | mosquito |
paɂeo | shark |
apa-na | wing |
tˢio | grasshopper |
aβua | turtle |
korui niu | dry coconut |
pioro | sandalwood |
matˢoe | star |
βusiβusi | sand |
βaliβali tasi | foam |
paka | bow |
soɂo | digging stick |
βuro | fight |
tˢoriɂa | yellow |
mo tolu | three |
raβurua | seven |
mo-βisa | how many |
taun | year |
inia | he |
inira | they |
atia | bite |
ɂaniɂan | eat |
sisia apu | blow |
kunu | run |