Nyelâyu
Pronunciation[jãlɑjʊ]
Native toNew Caledonia
Native speakers
2,000 (2009 census)[1]
Dialects
  • Tiari-Balade
  • Belep
  • Arama
Language codes
ISO 639-3yly
Glottolognyal1254  Nyalayu/Belep
bala1316  Balade
ELPBelep
Nyâlayu is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Nyelâyu (Yâlayu), also known as Nyalâyu, is a Kanak language of northern New Caledonia, spoken by approximately 2,000 speakers. There are two dialects that are not mutually intelligible. Pooc (or Haat) is spoken in the Belep islands, which are located just north of Grande Terre. Puma (or Paak or Ovac) is spoken in the northernmost regions of New Caledonia in the areas around Poum in the west and Pouébo and Balade in the east.

Phonology

Consonants

Labiovelar Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stops plain pʷ p t c k
aspirated pʰʷ pʰ tʰ cʰ kʰ
prenasalized ᵐbʷ ᵐb ⁿd ᶮɟ ᵑg
Nasals plain mʷ m n ɲ ŋ
aspirated mʰʷ mʰ nʰ ɲʰ
Fricatives β ɣ (x) h
Semivowels plain w j
aspirated wʰ jʰ
Trill r
Laterals l lʰ l᷉

Voiceless stops, nasals, and approximants exhibit a contrast of aspiration exhibited in the following examples.

  • pe [pe] "ray fish" || phe [pʰe] "sharpening stone"
  • teec [teec] "scorching" || theec [tʰeec] "washed up"
  • nu [nu] "coconut palm" || nhu [nʰu] "hot"

Aspirated consonants are very subtly marked. Aspiration seems to be a prosodic trait that affects the overall realization of the syllable by lowering the register of the voice. [2]

Vowels

Oral Vowels
Front Central Back
High i (y) iː u uː
Mid e (ø) eː o oː
Open a aː
Nasal Vowels
Front Central Back
High ĩ ĩː ũ ũː
Mid ẽ ẽː õ õː
Open ã ãː

The vowels /y/ and /ø/ are in parentheses, because they are very rare and appear only in a few words. [2]

Notes

  1. ↑ Nyelâyu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 Ozanne-Rivierre (1998).

References

  • Ozanne-Rivierre, Françoise (1998). Le Nyelâyu de Balade (Nouvelle-Calédonie). Paris: Peeters Press.
  • McCracken, Chelsea (2013). A grammar of Belep (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). Rice University. hdl:1911/71287.


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