Category:Tikopia (Language)

Tikopia is a language spoken in some places on the Solomon Islands.

THE TIKOPIA LANGUAGE
THE island of Tikopia is situated about 130 miles south-east of Vanikolo which is the nearest island ofthe Santa Cruz Archipelago. All the Melanesian islands of the Archipelago lie between Tikopia and the Reef and Duff Islands, the nearest land where the speech is Polynesian being Taumako, 200 miles away. Hence the language of Tikopia shows a good deal of difference from that of Pileni. Rotuma is 540 miles due east, and the nearest Torres Island (Hiw) is 160 miles south-west. Included with Tikopia is Fataha, or Mitre Island, seventy miles west-north-west, and Anuta, or Cherry Island, eighty miles north-west. The first account of the language was given in the philological part of a work by the French navigator D'Urville. It consisted of a vocabulary of about one hundred words. A very much longer vocabulary was collected by the Rev. W. J. Durrad of the Melanesian Mission, and a Maori student, W. K. Poata, in 1910. These vocabularies were combined, and with notes by the Ven. Archdeacon H. W. Williams, were published in the “Journal of the Polynesian Society” in 1913. Since then the Melanesian Mission have printed a little book of prayers in the Tikopia language.

The language of Tikopia differs from that of the Reef Islands. The difference appears mainly in the grammar, but there are also many variations in the vocabularies of the two languages, the Tikopian being more distinctively Polynesian than the Pileni. Thus in the short vocabulary already given,  while the Pileni may be considered to have six or seven variations from the common Polynesian words, e.g., nau, arrow; tavel, banana; loku, bow; keu, fire; tai, man; akafu, moon; vela, sun;  the Tikopian has no words which are not found in other Polynesian languages eastward, though a few words such as kalolo (bow) and the derivatives poko-ulu (head), kafi mata (eye) are not very widely spread.

A few words in Tikopian which differ from the ordinary Polynesian agree with the Pileni, as e.g., opa, father; nana, mother; pohi, pig; pita, betel-leaf (Pileni, lepita); kapia, lime. Archdeacon Williams noted the affinity of Tikopian to the language of Uvea (Wallis Island) but the agreement with Futuna (Horne Island) is much closer.

It is noteworthy that the Tikopian word kalolo, (bow), is only found elsewhere in Polynesia in the Futunaof Horne Island and the Uvea of Wallis Island, and that with the exception of the prefixes in poko-uluand kafi-mata, the Reef Island words just noted, and the word nofine for “wife,” which is also the same in Pileni, all the Tikopian words in the short comparative vocabulary are found in the Futuna dictionary.This close likeness of Futuna and Tikopian is found also in the larger Vocabulary edited by Archdeacon Williams, and appears also in the Grammar.

It is noticeable that Gaimard's Vocabulary, given by D'Urville, has preserved some Tikopian words which are more like those of Horne Island than the modern words of Mr. Durrad. Some examples are:— le for te, the article; io for a or ae, “yes”; sinu “coco-nut oil” for sinu “sap”; afe, “thousand.” A good deal of likeness also appears between the languages of Niue and Tikopia. Cf. the note in this paper on the Numerals.

The exact meaning of the likeness between the languages of Tikopia and Futuna needs determination, and may indicate a colonization of Tikopia from Horne Island. Dillon states that the Tikopians had only small canoes and voyage only to Anuto and Mannicolo (i.e., to Anuta and Vanikolo). He speaks also of an invasion of Tikopia by five large double canoes from Tongatabu.

The people of Tikopia deliberately prevented the growth of the coco-nut on Fataha (Mitre Island) in order that no food should be found there for canoe parties drifting down from the windward islands. Thilenius mentions a canoe drifting from Rotuma to Tikopia in 1798. 1. ALPHABET. In the prayers printed by the Melanesian Mission the italic n is used for the ng of Maori and g of Samoa, and I have used the same orthography (which is also that of Pileni) in these notes. The tendency to elision of vowels though apparent in Tikopia is not so prominent as in Pileni. It appears in the print in: titissara, fault, sin (Maori titi, hara); kiakke (kia koke), to thee; manavarofa (manava arofa), mercifully; nofo ton, live uprightly.

The suppression of o was noted by Archdeacon Williams:2 fe for foe, me for moe. There is also ke for koe. In the print e is used where i is more common: kaena for kaina village. Some words are written together: iasonei, now; teariki, the chief1; teasonei, this day; esogotas (e sogo tasi) “is alone one.” In the prayers g (not nasal) and k are both used. They apparently interchange: fagamana, to open; fakaora, save, but fagarurufagarofa or fakarurfākarofa, suffered. The uncertainty between r and l is very prominent. Both M. Gaimard and Mr. Durrad wrote r for l and vice versa. In the printed book l is only found in laoi, good, and its derivative faka laoi, praise (P. lavoi). There is no word with w in the print, but v appears in vare, many; vevete, forgive, unloose; vaerani, sky. 2. ARTICLE. There is no appearance of le in the print or in Mr. Durrad's MS. Yet in view of the great likeness ofFutuna (Horne Island) and Tikopia Gaimard's word can hardly be regarded as a misprint, but te must be supposed rather to have supplanted an earlier le still used in Horne Island.

The plural article is na as in Maori. This is not found in Horne or Wallis Islands or in Uvea. A plural article ais found in Tikopia in the word anea, things; (Pileni, a feina).

Examples of articles: te vaerani, the sky; te aso nei, this day; na tamarikiriki, the boys. 3. NOUNS. Derivation:— A verbal noun is formed by na or rana: tarana (talana in the Voc.) saying; tanagirana, assembly (tanaki in Voc.); noforana, seat; faena, doing, act. The equivalent of the Pileni tuki is matua, the common word for “adult,” “parent”: matua-mana, almighty (P. tukimana); matua-arofa, most merciful (P. Tuki-fakalofa).

The word faoa (in Voc. “people”) is used as equivalent to the Pileni tanai: te faoa tapu, the saints (P. tanai e tapu). Personal and place names following the prepositions ki or i are preceded by the nominal particle a: muna ki a Poata, tell Poata; ku faanau i te fafine ia Maria, born to the maiden Mary; ne sege atu ki a Anatua, went down to Hades. The particle ko is not prominent: e pa, ko te matua-mana, O father, the almighty. Case:— Nouns in apposition have i between them. The nominative may apparently be used either before or after the verb: e roa te mauna, is high the mountain; te reo e kara, the voice is hoarse; ku vare te fenua, is numerous the people; te futi ku reu, the banana is ripe. The vocative sign is e, in the text before, in the vocabulary after, the noun: E te Ariki! O Lord! Soa e! Friend! 4. ADJECTIVES. The adjective follows its noun unless used predicatively with verbal particle, when it may stand before or after: te rima matau, the right hand; te rotu tapu, the holy worship; te tupua e tapu, the holy spirit. 5. PRONOUNS. Personal. These appear thus:— Singular: 1. kuou, kuau or koau, avau, au; 2. koke, ke; koia, ia, nai. Plural: 1. (inclus.) tatou, to; (exclus.) matou; 2. koutou, kotou; 3. ratou. Dual. 1. (inclus.) taua, tau, ta; (exclus.) maua, ma; 2. korua, koro; 3. raua, ra. Of these kuou and kuau appear to be compounds of a particle ku with the pronoun au. They are apparently used without other verbal particle (cf. Tongan kuou and Pileni ku). Similarly in 2nd singularkoke is equivalent to ku ke. (Tongan kuoke, Pileni ko): ko au e nainai, I am sick; kuau muna ki a ke, I speak to thee; koke nofo i fea? You live where?; ne kage koia, he climbed up.

After ki and i the nominal particle a appears, but in some examples and ko is also seen: matou roto e maanatukie fifia ki akoe, our hearts think agreeable to thee; sori mai iako matou, give to us; matou emeaki aku kiake, we beseech thee; sosoa mai kia ko matou, help us. Possessive:— These precede the noun. The following forms appear. Singular: 1. toku, taku, oku, aku; 2. tou, to, tau, o, au; 3. tona, tana, ona, ana. Examples: toku pokouru, my head; me ko o mata, shut your eyes; tou, inoa, thy name; to rima matau, the right hand; tona toki, his axe. As in Pileni na may be prefixed for the 3rd singular: na inoa seā? his name what? In the Dual and Plural the ordinary pronouns are used instead of the possessive words: te tatou ariki, our chief; matou taro, our prayer; ratou faena, their doing. Demonstrative:— Tenei, this; tena, that; tera, that there; -nei (suffix) this; -na (suffix) that: raronei, this world (this below); te orana, that life; sau mai te nea na, give me that thing. Interrogative:— Ai? who? nia? what? Koke fai ko nia? thou doest what? seā? what? na-inoa seā? his name what? Indefinite:— E tasi, some, any; tetasi, one, another; take, takei, another, some, different one; nolakea, few; rava, many. 6. VERBS. Derivation:— The causative prefix appears in the print also as faga, and once as vaga: fakarono, hear; fakatonu, believe;fagariari, show; fagarofa, merciful; vagaako, teach. The reciprocal fe appears in the vocabulary: fekite, meet; fetali, wait for; fesili, ask; fenatu, go. The desiderative is seen in fia inu, thirsty; fia kai, hungry. Some verbs appear in the print with suffixes which are not found in Mr. Durrad's sentences or vocabulary. These correspond in form, but not in meaning to the Samoan: ratou tanumia, they buried him; ku fakanofoia e te tupua, was conceived by the spirit.1 The suffixes -aki, -laki are also found, but is apparently confused with -ake, up: tulaki, rise up.

Verbal particles:— E.—E generally marks present time: tou, inoa e tapu, thy name is holy; kuou e fakatonu, I believe; matou e meaki atu kiake, we beseech thee; te maunga e tivativa, the hill is steep (Horne Island tiva, sloping); koau e tunu te ufi, I roast a yam.

Ku.—This denotes completed action (Horne Island ku). Kua is a variant of ku: ku faanau, he was born; te sheep ku lavaki, sheep that are lost; ratou ku oro, they are gone; te futi ku reu, the banana is ripe.

Ne.—This denotes past time (Pileni ne): matou ne oro vare, we have gone astray; matou ne teke, we have rejected; ne fakatupu i runa, (he) has made heaven (above); te aso toru ne kage koia ma te mate, the third day he rose up from death.

Ka, ke.—Is future: ka ifo mai i ki varonei, shall come down here below; tatou ka pese, we will sing; take aso ka fenatu ikuau, some day I will go; te tino ke kage ki runa, the body will rise again.

Other particles given in the vocabulary are: i, past time; a, inceptive; u (? o). Mood:— A sequence of verbs has the particle o between as in Pileni and Horne Island: poi o kai, go and eat; kuau ka poi o male, I will go and bathe. (Cf. Horne Island ano o ngaoi, go and work. The imperative has no sign: tukua matou! spare us!; rakaraka mai! hasten!; vave mai! be quick!; sau ko matou ma te titissara, take us from the evil. The particle me is given as an imperative in the vocabulary: me ko o mata! shut your eyes! Here me may be for moe sleep. The prohibitive is introduced by kaese: kaese manatu matou faena, do not remember our doings; kaese sorisori ko matou ki te tatanutu, do not deliver us to deception. In the vocabulary this is kai se: kai se puke!don't hold it!; kai se tus ia raro te ara, don't write under the line. In the vocabulary also kau is a negative imperative particle: kau seva, don't make a noise! Other examples are not clear and kau is confused withkua: kau mate and kua mate, dead; kau ufi, covered; kau poi and kua poi, gone. The subjunctive has the particle ge, in the vocabulary ke: ka ifo mai iki raronei ge fakanaro ko te ora, shall descend hither to judge the living; puke ke mau! hold it (so that it may be) firm. In the print ke means “let”:tou kaena ke oko mai, let thy kingdom come. This is apparently the ki of the vocabulary: tatou ki araara!let us chat!

The negatives are sisi and se used with the tense particles: matou sise ne fae anea katoa, we have not done all the things; te ora sise naa ia ko matou, life is not found in us. In the vocabulary the position of the particle is sometimes changed kuau sise poto (Horne Island poto), we do not know; se matou iloa, sisi matou iloa, we do not know. Ki with the negative is equivalent to “not yet”: sise ki au mai Rofai, he has not yet come from Rofai. “Lest” is na (as in Horne Island); ono kie na toka, look at it lest (it) fall. 7. ADVERBS. Directive: mai, atu: sori mai, give; sori atu, give away. Time: afea? when? re, rei, then (perhaps error of ra); te aso-nei, to-day; iasonei, on this day; nanafi, yesterday; aponiponi, to-morrow; aganei, fakaaganei, now; foki, again; faimau, always. Place: fea? where? ratou oro ki fea? they go to where? koke nofa i fea? you live at where? tera, there; te nei ori konei, here. Local nouns are used in compounds: ki muli, behind; i muri, after; i raro, below; mua, before; i mua, first. Manner: fefea? how? e fai fefea? it is done how?fakapena, thus; fuarei, only, alone. Other adverbs found are: ma? why? (probably ma a? for what?); ae, a, yes! (io, yes! given by Gaimard is Horne Island io); makoli, intensive. 8. PREPOSITIONS. The simple prepositions are: i, in, of; and objective, ki, to; mai, from; ma, for.

Local nouns are: fafo, outside; fono, top, summit; runa, luna, top; mua, front; muri, muli, behind; raro, lalo, below; roto, within; tua, back. 9. CONJUNCTIONS. Mo and (Niue and Horne Island, mo); ma and, with numerals (Niue and Samoan, ma); soki, like; pe, if, or (Samoan and Horne Island, pe); pea.…pea, whether.…or; na, lest (Horne Island, na). 10. INTERJECTIONS. Vocative: e! In bidding farewell, to one staying, aufe!; to one departing, mavai! (Horne Island, mavai, to depart, leave one another. 11. NUMERALS. The Numerals as given by Mr. Durrad are somewhat confused as Archdeacon Williams has pointed out, 15but the confusion may be partially explained by reference to the Futuna of Horne Island, the Uvean of Wallis Island and the Niue. (In the following H. = Horne Island, W. = Wallis Island, and N.=Niue.)

1 tasi, tasa; H. tasi; N. taha. 2 rua; H. lua; N. ua. 3 toru; H. tolu; N. tolu. 4 fa; H. fa; N. fa. 5 rima, lima; H. lima; N. lima. 6 ono; H. ono; N. ono. 7 fitu; H. fitu; N. fitu. 8 varu, waru; H. valu; N. valu. 9 siva; H. iva; W. hiva; N. Hiva.

In the table of numerals  “ten” is given as fuagafuru (i.e., ana-fulu in the Mission spelling, with a prefix fuor fua). In the words for “twenty, thirty,” etc., matarua, matatoru, etc., mata is also used for “ten.” But fua is used in Horne Island in counting certain foods cooked in packets : ko le fua anafulu i kanaka, ten small packets of kanaka. It is also used of coco-nuts in tens.

The Tikopia numerals were given in counting grains of rice.

In Horne Island mata is used of fish caught or birds killed: ko ika matalua, 20 fishes. In Pileni mata means a “company.” The word rau given in the table for 100 is the Horne Island lau, and afe given by Gaimard for 1000 is the Horne Island afe. The word mano used on reaching 300 is the Samoan mano, myriad, indefinite number, used as equivalent to ku vare, the Horne Island vale, “foolish, ignorant.” With regard to the words used in reckoning different articles, fua and mata have already been explained. Intinotoru, 30 birds, tino means “body” and is used in Horne Island only of persons: tinotolu 30 persons. In the expression given for 30 fathoms, e toru nafoi kumi, or ku toru ku narari kumi is the Niue kumi, ten fathoms, and foi is probably equivalent to the Tonga fo'i, bunch; na is the Niue plural sign for “a few things.” I cannot explain narari. The expression used for 35, e toru ku na kumi kai e rima nafoi rofa, appears to mean “three the tens (fathoms) but five the separate fathoms; rofa being the proper word for “fathom,” Horne Island, lofa.

The particles used with numerals are tua and toko. Both these are said to form ordinals. But tua is no doubt the Horne Island and Niue tua meaning “times,” and toko is probably the personal prefix, which is in Horne Island toka, Niue toko.

See Also

Tikopia Rosary Prayers