A
1 – noun modifierthis N
| None na, aña tamwaleko.This food tastes bad. |
| Uña ngaten' na, kape i-vio tev' eo.All those things will be yours. |
| Noma, ni-ajau nabene; basavono na ka tae.I used to smoke in the past; but now [at this moment] it's over. |
2 – head of NPthis
| Na nganae?!What's this? |
| Ei! Dapa! Na toñaki ae na?Hey, people! What sort of ship is that? |
| Na, piene adapa Teanu a-ko ae?How is this called in Teanu? [lit. this, in Teanu language, you say what?] |
3 – deictic frequently associated with personal pronouns; usually not translated
| En’ na dameliko tae, ene na ka mwaliko pine.with 1sgI'm not a child, I'm a grown person! |
| Kupa na kupa mwaliko tae. Ka kaipa mwaliko na ia kupa na ngatene nga na.with 1plWe are not human. You people are human, but we are creatures like this. |
| Eo na a-te vele?with 2sgWhere do you live? |
| Eo na ai-ovei !Now that's something you know. |
| Idi na dapa li-tau jebute peini po li-kila idi.with 3plPeople have cooked taros for the wedding. |
Badverb
1 – here
| Kape ne-te na labiou mijaka.I'll stay here for a little while. |
| Aero iupa i-vio vitoko na.Our (pig) pen is very close [from here]. |
| Ne temaka kula nga ponu; na, engaiote.It's the case in some places; but here, it's different. |
Cparticle
Grammar
Focus marker
| Eo na kape u-waivo ñe ene.Well, you're the one who's gonna tell me. |
| Dapa Tetawo, dapa ponu na li-abu dapa.It's the Tetawo people who killed them. |
| Dapa wopine iupa na li-ovei ebel’ ini.Our elders are the ones who’d know the proper (word). |
seena ta
na2 na noun, relational
place of ‹s.o., s.th.›
📘 Often implies that the event is only virtually present in the location — whether it has ceased to take place, or has not begun yet.
1 – s.th.location of ‹s.th.›
| U-nabe na moe iono.You mark the location of your (future) house. |
| Na moe enone i-vio re.Here is the location of my (former) house. / Here is where my house used to stand. |
2 – house+remains, ruins
| Dapa li-romo na kulumoe iadapa Mouro.They saw the remains of the Elves' village. |
na3 na subordinator
shorter variant of nara* ‘Apprehensional’
| U-vio beiuko na u-tabau!Stand firmly, don't fall down! |
~nabe (i·)naᵐbe verb, transitive
1 – mark ‹s.th.›, leave a visible mark
| U-nabe na moe iono.You mark the location of your (future) house. |
| Basa i-abu i-ka i-vesu mijaka, i-nabe i-wene, i-ko pon Toplau ie da viñevi pon.There's a place where the mountain goes down and then up again? well, there's a (visible) spot there: they say that's where the women's secret house is found. |
| Ini i-le i-la voko. I-lui i-la i-teli ne temaka na ini po i-tuku ini i-abu pon, i-nabe ñe voko.He took a stone, and carried it to the location where he had been going down (in the forest); he marked it with the stone. |
2 – abstrindicate the limits of ‹s.th.›, delimit, define; hence give precise instructions
| Dapa ka li-sube nuduro pe uña teliki li-la li-mini dapa ka li-ke li-da tanoe pe li-nabe li-mini dapa.They have committed an infraction: while our chiefs had granted them some land, they crossed the limits of that territory which had been defined for them. |
synonym~tobo ⓒ
3 – measure ‹s.th.›
| Ni-nabe jokoro lea iune ka kula.I measured the bamboo to be one fathom and a half. |
synonym~tobo ⓒ
4 – betroth ‹s.o.›; engage ‹woman› as s.o.’s future wife
| Kupa pi-nabe emele iamela i-ka teve men’ iaba.We are betrothing your daughter to our son. |
| Ka li-nabe keba ia mamote ba-kila keba tae.We're engaged [lit. they've ‘marked’ us] but we aren't married yet. |
📘 The family of the man pays a solemn visit to the parents of the future bride. The engagement ceremony takes the form of a gift, esp. of customary money (viko). Sometimes, a black rope (tero bworo) is given to the girl to wear on her wrist, as a sign of engagement.
synonym~vi nuduro
synonym~teli mama
n’ adie naⁿdie
Apreposition
Blocative
temporalafterwards, then
| Nga mwaliko i-bu, dapa le-le le-iu ebele ini. N' adie, dapa abia ne kulumoe kape le-bei bete.When somebody dies, people bury their body. Afterwards, everyone in the village will hold a funeral ceremony. |
Synt.Typically expressed as a sentential topic.
synonymawoiu
Names for clothes ✧ namolo
| namolo | clothes |
| vilisa | clothes, costume, dancing gear |
| bele vilo | tapa skirt |
| tekume | women's tapa skirt |
| tolosai | men's loincloth |
| lusa | shirt |
| tekau | trousers |
| labaro | shoes |
| ~koene | put on, wear |
| ~go | ‹man› gird oneself |
| ~ativi | ‹woman› gird oneself |
2 – clothes, items of clothing
| namolo ie daviñeviwomen's clothes |
| Ini i-koene namolo 'none.He is wearing my clothes. |
| La-loko ngatene ada i-le: namolo iada, buioe ada me puluko, none ada.They took all their things with them: their clothes, their betel nut and lime, their food. |
| Namolo, noma, li-ejau ñe bele vilo.In the olden days, clothes used to be made with tree bark. |
Talking about fish ✧ namuko
| die | fishbone |
| anes | flesh |
| ngava | scales |
| dekele | tail |
| ava ①▻② | pectoral fin |
| bea | guts |
| ~oma | to fish, forage for seafood |
| mouro | shoal of ‹fish› |
Fish
fish
| anes namukofish meat |
| luene namukoa catch of many fish |
| Ni-ago namuko i-kovi.I speared a fish but it escaped. |
| Kape le-la teuko ne jokoro me le-katei ñe namuko.We'll take a fishing rod and go angling [for fish]. |
Cf. na ‘now’
ATense Aspect Mood marker
Grammar
exclamatoryApprehensional modality: (s.th. negative) might (happen); hence make sure P doesn't happen
| Netebe pon, nara u-viane!This is mud here, make sure you don't stumble! |
| Nara sa i-meli!Make sure you don't end up heartbroken! |
| Nara le-langaten' tae!with negationWe might be unable to work! |
synonymña
Bsubordinator
Grammar
1 – used as subordinatorto avoid P, for fear that P; so that not P
| Le-la i-avo korone nara i-sabu.We must hook (the bait) firmly for fear it might fall off. |
| Li-avi ñei, nara sukiro peini ma dapa i-wene ene.They're using tongs, for fear that the dirt on their hands might touch it. |
| Noma li-madau pe moe moboe abia ene, li-ko na kape idi le-wete dapa ne visone me puro.Our ancestors used to avoid having too many openings in their houses, for fear of being shot with arrows. |
nasu nasu noun, relational
Anthropology
personal belongings of ‹a dead person›, consisting of various objects: clothes, mats, baskets
| Li-loko nasu idi po li-bu me le-su.We collect the belongings of the person who died, and set fire to them. |
AnthropologyThese personal belongings were traditionally cremated (~su ①) in a fire, during a funeral ritual. A similar yet different type of funeral ceremony, sometimes held together, ended with the sinking of the dead person's mats in the sea (see ~lu bete).
Cremating a dead person's belongings ✧ Li-su nasu idi
Li-su nasu mwaliko pe i-bu ne telepakau Teanu. Kape li-la nasu mwaliko po i-bu pon, pine tae; li-lateli ne bete awoiu li-lui me topulau li-lateli ne to. Idi li-koie ne topulau li-anu kava awoiu li-e vekai, ia nasu mwaliko pe i-bu pon i-wene me idi le-romo. Awoiu pon ka awoiu ponta, ka daviñevi (idi mwalikote tae) daviñevi li-la bete nasu mwaliko pe i-bu i-wene ene pon li-lui ka li-su.
There is a tradition on Teanu, to burn the belongings of a person who died. People will collect some of the belongings of the person who died and place them on a mat, which is then brought to the customary house (toplau). The villagers come in, drink kava and eat the pudding, while the person's belongings are there for everyone to see. Finally, the women – never the men – seize the mat with the dead person's properties, and they set fire to it.
na ta nata
nata
1 – clause-final, following demonstrativefocal deictic, speaker-centred: this one
| Epu 'none na ta!This is my grandmother. |
| Dapa gete 'none na ta ene!My boys, here they are! |
contrasts withpon ta
Apreposition
1 – with or without motiongeneral locative preposition: at, in, on
| ne lema inside |
| ne to in the middle |
| Kape i-ka ne kulumoe na.She'll come to this village. |
| I-sabu i-abu ne ero.He fell down in the river. |
| Poi pe li-womanga ne kulumoe, vao i-moloe ne ngogoro.Domesticated pigs are fed in the village, but wild pigs wander about in the forest. |
| Ene li-waivo ene ne “National University” ne Solomon islands.I did my studies at the National University in the Solomon islands. |
MorphologyThe corresponding adverb is ene ② ‘in it, there’.
Blinker
Grammar
1 – possessive linker used with certain nouns, espec. bodily fluids
| abo ne enemy blood |
| panavono ne enemy sweat |
| I-katei ero ne et' iape.He's sucking on the milk of his mother. |
clause-finallythis: proximal demonstrative, pointing to the speaker's sphere
| nga nelike this |
| Okoro pon i-wene vele? – Ene! Ene ni-labu ne.And where is that knife? – Here! I'm holding it here. |
nebe2 neᵐbe noun
| Tepapa, li-toe kara nebe li-bo nga kulaña metele.To make a stomping board, you cut a root of rosewood tree, and carve it in the shape of a semi-circle. |
nengele neŋele noun
1 – components, pieces, parts of a bigger whole
| nengele kuothe elements of a canoe |
| nengele moe elements of a house, carpentry |
| Kape le-toe langasuo peini, ka nengele wamitaka.canoeYou cut out the big rail, and then the smaller pieces. |
nengele moe neŋele moe noun
Elements in a house structure ✧ nengele moe
| bali | overhanging pole, eaves |
| bali peini telemoe | plinth pole |
| iuro | main central pillar |
| iutego | corner pillar |
| digo | secondary pillar |
| basadigo | tie-beam |
| otovo ; sodo otovo | sago thatch roof |
| womoe | main purlin |
| dienebe | light purlin |
| lo | rafter |
| pumene | ridgepole |
| pumene aplaka | secondary ridgepole |
| busumoe | ridge-flashing |
Architecture
elements of housethe various structural components of a house and its roof
netebe neteᵐbe
antebe
noun
Geo
the island of Nendö or Santa Cruz
| Dapa Niteni li-ejau viko ñe viavia mamdeuko.The people of Santa Cruz make money using feathers of the Myzomela bird. |
Anoun, relational
Anatomy
1 – face
| viabasa ini ka noma ini ka mata iniher hair, her face, her eyes |
| Ni-aka noma.I'm washing my face. |
Blocative
3 – espa long time ago, in the old days
pe noma adjective
of the pastancient, old; historic; traditional
| kulumoe pe nomaa historic village |
| iepiene pe nomatraditional legends |
| Piene adapa Teanu, ia vesepiene pe noma.This is Teanu language, but with some archaic words. |
dapa noma noun
those beforethe people of the past, the ancestors
| Dapa noma li-vo kangele kome li-ia kome.People in the past used to break giant clams and grind them into axes. |
| Dapa iakapa noma li-ovei pe li-pwalau.Our ancestors used to practice navigation. |
synonymwopine
noma2 noma noun
(?) noma ① ⓐ ‘face, front part of (island)’
Around food ✧ Li-ejau none
| none | food; meal |
| ~womanga | feed ‹s.o.› |
| ~e | eat (tr.) |
| ~vongo ; ~labu ngatene | eat (intr.); have a meal |
| ~apinu ; ~ejau ngatene | cook, prepare food |
| ~tau | cook ‹food› |
| ~vai | bake ‹food› in oven |
| ~wapono | reheat ‹food› |
| awene | stone oven* |
| motoe | raw, uncooked |
| moioe | cooked, done |
| aña | taste |
| enaka | my [food]* |
1 – genfood
| None na, aña tamwaleko.This food tastes bad. |
| A-mene pe u-e none ponu?Aren't you tired of eating that food? |
Etym.Semantic extension of none ①.
irregular pluralwonone
Nubuko nuᵐbuko placename
Geo
in the bayNubuko, a place located on the east coast of the main island Banie
nuduko nuⁿduko
duduko
noun
Artf
1 – glasses, spectacles
| nuduko 'nakamy glasses |
| nuduko peini mata idi tamwaleko[glasses for bad eyes] prescription glasses |
2 – spyglass
| Li-romo ñe duduko we damala pe Franis.in times of LapérouseThey were watching using the spyglass of the foreigners from France. |
poss. classifierenaka
by analogy of shape with the centipede (nuduro ①), designates various artefacts characterised by their length – and by similar social functions
1 – long rope made of rattan stems (woworo) tied together, used as a scareline for fishing; “fishing rope”, “scareline”
| Li-ngago woworo awoiu ka li-kila li-ko nuduro.We tie together rattan stems, and call it a nuduro (scareline). |
📘 Contrary to what is observed in other parts of the Pacific, this scareline does not include coconut palms or leaves.
Scareline fishing ✧ ~lui nuduro
Basavono pe li-ejau nuduro, li-le li-toe woworo, awoiu li-ngago. Li-ngago awoiu ka li-kila li-ko nuduro. Dapa kula li-katei noma nuduro tilu ponu, li-koioi tetakoie, i-le i-vene ne moko taniboro; dapa kula li-vio ne revo li-dai adie nuduro li-abu revo, me le-labu namuko.
When we prepare the scareline, we go cut rattan stems and tie them together. Once they're tied together it becomes a ‘scareline’ (nuduro ②▻①). Some people pull the two ends of the line towards the shore, to a dry zone; others stand in the water, on the other side of the scareline, and hit the water to (scare and) catch the fish.
~lui nuduro verb-object idiom
Techniques
carry the scarelinea fishing technique whereby a group of men surround the reef at low tide, holding a long ‘scareline’ (nuduro), and catch the fish kept prisoner within the line
| Mobo kape le-lui nuduro me l-abu namuko.Tomorrow we'll carry the scareline to get some fish. |
2 – palm of coconut or palmtree, displayed in some specific location to mark it as private or taboo; hence taboo, ban, prohibition to enter a place
| ~vi nuduro set a taboo leaf; reserve s.th. for o.s. |
| Gi' one i-la nuduro i-vio ne sekele / moe / moko… (ñe uie luro).My uncle put up a taboo in his garden / in his house / on the reef… (using a coconut palm). |
| Dapa li-woi nuduro ne touro, me i-botongo temaka (ñe/mina idi).They put up taboo signs on the seashore, to protect the area (from poachers). |
| Mwalik' iote i-ka i-vokoiu nuduro.Someone came and tore out the taboo (leaf). |
nga ŋa
1 – + NPas, like
| abwa nga toloto [colour like the lagoon] turquoise colour |
| Noma ini nga et’ iape!His face is just like his mum's! |
| Li-toe kara nebe li-bo nga kulaña metele.You cut a root of rosewood tree, and carve it in the shape of [lit. like] a semi-circle. |
| Basavono na ka tae, ka li-vesu bavede ñe kuo nga noma tae.Nowadays it's over: people don't sail any more like they used to [lit. like before]. |
nga ne adverb
like thislike this: presentative accompanying gesture or reported speech
| Biouro iape nga ne –It was long like this – |
| Tetawene kape le-si nga ne –The tattoo designs, they would draw them like this – |
synonym~ko ② ⓑ▻②
Grammar
2 – habitual, + Realis or Irrealiswhen, whenever; every time
| Nga aña ene tae, ni-le ni-wene, awoiu ni-lengi wako.Whenever I feel tired, I take a nap, then I feel better. |
| Nga mwaliko i-bu, le-iu ebele ini i-wene ne kie ini.When somebody dies, their body is buried in a grave. |
| Nga ne tomoro nga le-romo ngiro wako, le-vesu i-katau.If they found the wind to be fine, they would sail along. |
3 – conditional, + Irrealisif, in case
| Nga u-romo leka, kape u-kila.Should you have any eye contact with your cross-cousin, you will have to marry her. |
| Da viñevi kula nga awa dapa li-ko li-anu kava, mijaka, me le-lengi.Some women, if they want to drink kava, [they can] do so, a little, to get a taste of it. |
| Nga i-abu mata, kape bwara mata ini kilo ñei.counterfactualIf he had hit her eyes, she could have turned blind. |
Ngabe ŋaᵐbe placename
Ngambe, location on the southwest coast of Banie island
| Li-makui Ngabe pon, temaka po toñaki tamwaliko.underwater archaeologyThey've been diving around Ngambe, at the site of the wreckage. |
~ngago (i·)ŋaᵑgo verb, transitive
1 – tie, bind ‹rope, string+›
| Li-ngago woworo awoiu ka li-kila li-ko nuduro.We tie together rattan stems, and call it a nuduro (scareline). |
2 – esptie ‹belt, clothing› around o.'s body
| Ni-la bele vilo, ni-ngago ñe waluko ene.I took a bark cloth and wrapped it around my thighs. |
nga li-ko ŋaliko
ngaliko
phrase
Discourse
commlike (we/they) sayformula used when looking for words: ‘such as’, ‘like’; ‘how should I say’, ‘you know’
| Webwe iape ngaliko i-vene i-wene ne ma ini.His armands, they were, like, they went all the way up his arm. |
nga ebele li-ko phrase
Discourse
like (we/they) sayformula used when looking for words: ‘such as’, ‘like’; ‘how should I say’, ‘you know’
| In’ na, nga ebele l’ko Teliki Makumoso, ai’ akapa, i-waivo idi ñe telepakau, ñe piene, i-waivo idi ñe ngatene pe li-ajau : nga ebele ko i-waivo idi pe li-vo mwoe, i-waivo idi pe li-bo vilo, kuo ngatene nga pon, wele, ngaten’ abia pon na…And that's him – how shall I say – that's Elderly Lord, our father, he's the one who taught us our culture, our language, everything we do: for example, he taught us how to build houses, how to create things with wood, how to cut canoes, how to make paddles, all those things… |
Geo
Ngama, location on the southwest coast of Banie
| N' adie Laperus dapa li-ka Ngama susuko.Then Lapérouse and his men arrived precisely where Ngama is. |
ngapiene ŋapiˈene noun
Anthropology
dance festival
| li-vete ngapieneannounce the festival |
| Ngapiene ka i-sali pon ta — bwogo tili.Then the festival comes to an end, after five days. |
📘 These dance festivals occur seldom nowadays; but they are central to many traditional stories.
Dance festivals ✧ Li-mini ngapiene
Among major community events on Vanikoro, the main one was a dance festival called ngapiene. While such events occur seldom nowadays, they are central to many traditional stories. The festival revolved around a sort of greasy pole (blateno), erected in the middle of the village area (mane), loaded with fruit and food. Stomping boards (tepapa*) were laid out in a circle all around that pole, half-buried in the ground; for days on end, villagers would stomp those boards (~wate tepapa) and dance (~mako, ~pinoe) in a joyful and rowdy atmosphere. Such dancing festivals could last for several weeks on end, bringing the whole community together.
Aadverb
1 – pointing to the addressee's actions or speechlike thatlike that, in that way
| Nga ponu na susuko.It's perfect like that (like you're doing). |
| Pi’ on’ ka i-vete nga pon tae.My grandfather never said anything like that. |
Discourse
3 – commedging strategy in speech‘and so on’, ‘that sort of thing’. Generally not translated
| Li-toe iuro, ae, digo, we uña ngatene nga pon.They cut out pillars, beams, and other pieces like that. |
4 – commjust, only: restrictive
| Ni-ovei mijaka nga ponu.I only know a little. |
| Ponu kava pon, piene peini kuledi nga pon.And so, the story of kava is just a short one like that. |
| Sande, moro pine, pe li-langatene tae, pe li-tamava, pe li-te ne moe nga pon.Sunday is an important day – one when we don't work, when we pray, when we just stay at home. |
| Telepakau pe noma, basavono po li-ve dameliko, nga emele kape li-abu dapa. Kape le-loko ne i-te iune ngapon, li-abu dapa.According to an ancient practice, when female children were born, they would be killed. People would keep only one daughter; others would be killed. |
Cf. nga ⓐ▻① ‘like’
how?
| Pine ngapwae?How big is it? |
| Buioe amela, kela bai-odo ngapwae?Your areca nuts (for you to chew), how will you find them? |
| Dapa ka li-romo i-katau kape li-ejau ngapwae.The people had had the time to figure out how exactly they were going to proceed. |
synonym~kae
Aadjective
| Ene ngasune nga eo.I am just like you. |
| Ka vitoko ngasune nga piene akapa.It's nearly the same as our language. |
| “Menu aplaka 'none”, we “men’ one aplaka”, da-tilu ngasune susuko.“Menu aplaka 'none”, or “men’ one aplaka” [my little baby], both (word orders) are equally correct. |
| Ni-toe jokoro iote me susuko me ngasune semame jokoro iote.I cut a bamboo rod to the same length as the other one. |
ngaten’ ae ŋatenae interrogative
what thingwhat?
| Li-le pe ngaten' ae?Why did they go? [lit. they went due to what thing?] |
main entrynganae
thing
1 – concrthing, object
| Uña ngaten' na, kape i-vio tev' eo.All those things will be yours. |
| Li-makui li-odo ngatene peini toñaki ie Laperus.They search underwater for objects from the wreck of Lapérouse. |
2 – esps.o.'s belongings; luggage
| Uña ngaten' enaka i-wene tev' iu re.My stuff (bags+) is up over there. |
3 – piece of food
| Le-le le-labu ngatene?Shall we go grab something? (=food) |
| Li-e ngatene pe mie, li-ko “te masi”.The food they eat is smelly, they call it “te masi”. |
4 – rareanimal; non-human creature
5 – abstrthing; topic, issue, idea, meaning
| Ngatene pon etapu tamwase pe li-vet’ piene ñi.This topic is very delicate to talk about. |
| Vesepiene iune, i-vete ngatene tilu.polysemyIt is the same word, but with two distinct meanings. [lit. it says two things] |
seeawa
ngava ŋava noun
Anatomy
scales
| U-do ngava, awoiu u-ia bea mina.You scrape off the scales, and then gut it. |
~nge (i·)ŋe verb, transitive
chew ‹sugarcane+› so as to suck out its juice while avoiding to eat the fibres
| Dameliko li-nge to.The kids are chewing some sugarcane. |
| Lekele i-nge wa vede.Flying-foxes chew fruits of pandanus. |
1 – in questionswho
| Ngele? Sintia pe Niteni?Who? Sintia from Santa Cruz? |
| Ngele i-wablei kupa?Who is teasing us? |
| Buluko ie ngele ponu?Whose flashlight is that? |
| Enga eo ngele?What [lit. who] is your name? |
2 – freqwhen hesitating on s.o.'s nameer –
| Ka dapa ka li-odo ngele, Laperusi.So they went to search for, er, Lapérouse. |
ngele nga ŋeleŋa
POc*aŋin
Anoun
bush, forest (opp. kulumoe, village)
| Ngogoro ka i-maili.The bush has grown there. |
| Li-le li-toe longe ne ngogoro ka li-tabe li-kamai li-wapio i-vio ne moe.They went to chop firewood in the bush, then brought it back and piled it up in the house. |
| Poi pe li-womanga ne kulumoe, vao i-moloe ne ngogoro.Domesticated pigs are fed in the village, but wild pigs wander about in the forest. |
Bpredicative
placebe overgrown by nature
| Ka ngogoro tamwase.with perfect ka ②This place is totally overgrown. |