Nalögo language
| Santa Cruz | |
|---|---|
| |
| Native to | Solomon Islands |
| Region | Santa Cruz Islands, Eastern Solomons |
Native speakers | 1,500 (2012)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nlz |
| Glottolog | nalo1235 |
| Coordinates: 10°49′18″S 165°49′30″E / 10.82167°S 165.82500°E | |
Nalögo [nalɵᵑgo] is an Oceanic language spoken on the island of Nendö or 'Santa Cruz', in the Solomon Islands. It used to be lumped together with Natügu under a single language called "Santa Cruz language"; but the two varieties were finally recognized to be two distinct languages.[1]
Together, Nalögo, Natügu and Nanggu are the three indigenous languages of Nendö island.
Nalögo has been described by linguist Valentina Alfarano.[2]
The language
[edit]Name
[edit]The name Nalögo (new orth. Nalrgo) comes from nalö-go [nalɵᵑgo], literally "our language"[1] – from nalö "language, word" + -go "1st + 2nd person augmented enclitic").
Genetic affiliation
[edit]Like its neighbours Natügu and Nanggu, Nalögo was once thought to be dialects of a language labelled “Santa Cruz”; and the latter was long thought to be a Papuan language. In the 2000s however, it became clear that was shown to be a member of the Austronesian language family, like the rest of the Reefs – Santa Cruz languages.[3]
Dialects
[edit]Nalögo and Natügu are recognised as opposite ends of a dialect continuum.[1] The Nalögo section of the dialect chain includes two named dialects, Nea and Nooli.
Phonology
[edit]Consonants
[edit]Alfarano's analysis[2]: 42 counts 15 consonant phonemes. They are indicated here, with the orthography in ⟨angled brackets⟩:
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial-velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | voiceless | p ⟨p⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ | ||
| prenaszd | ᵐb ⟨b⟩ | ⁿd ⟨d⟩ | ᵑɡ ⟨g⟩ | |||
| Affric. | prenaszd | ⁿd͡ʒ ⟨j⟩ | ||||
| Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | |||
| Fricative | v ⟨v⟩ | s ⟨s⟩ | ||||
| Approximant | l ⟨l⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | w ⟨w⟩ | |||
Nalögo has the same consonants as those of neighbouring Natügu – with the addition of Nalögo pronunciation: [ⁿd͡ʒ].
Prenasalized stops can optionally be realized as plain voiced consonants.[2]: 43
Vowels
[edit]Nalögo has ten vowel phonemes:[2]: 53
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i ⟨i⟩ | ʉ ⟨ʉ⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ |
| Close-mid | e ⟨u⟩ | ɵ ⟨ö⟩ | o ⟨o⟩ |
| Near-open | ɛ ⟨ä⟩ | ɜ ⟨ë⟩ | |
| Open | a ⟨a⟩ | ɒ ⟨â⟩ |
These vowels can be nasalized; but Alfarano does not consider nasalization to be phonemic in the language.[2]: 60
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Boerger, Brenda H.; Zimmerman, Gabrielle (January 2012). "Recognizing Nalögo and Natügu as separate languages: Code-splitting in ISO 639-3". Journal of the Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea. 30 (1): 95–132.
- ^ a b c d e Alfarano (2021).
- ^ Næss, Åshild; Brenda H. Boerger (2008). "Reefs – Santa Cruz as Oceanic: Evidence from the verb complex". Oceanic Linguistics. 47: 185–212. doi:10.1353/ol.0.0000. hdl:1959.13/1052427.
Bibliography
[edit]- Alfarano, Valentina (2021). A grammar of Nalögo, an Oceanic language of Santa Cruz Island. PhD dissertation in Linguistics (Thesis). Paris: INALCO. grammar. Retrieved 3 Nov 2025.