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Tanema language

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Tanema
Tetawo
Native toSolomon Islands
RegionVanikoro
Native speakers
1 (2012)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3tnx
Glottologtane1237
ELPTanema
Tanema is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Tanema (Tetawo, Tetau) is a nearly extinct language of the island of Vanikoro, in the easternmost province of the Solomon Islands.

Vitality

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Map of Vanikoro I., showing the historical territories of the three tribes of Lovono, Tanema and Teanu.[2]

As of 2012, Tanema is only spoken by one speaker, Lainol Nalo.[1][3] Like its neighbour Lovono, it has been replaced by Teanu, the main language of Vanikoro.

The late Emele Mamuli was a prolific storyteller who could speak fluently the three languages of Vanikoro: Teanu, Lovono and Tanema.[4] She was one of the last speakers of Tanema.

The language

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Some information on the languages of Vanikoro, including Tanema, can be found in François (2009) for the grammar, and François (2021) for the lexicon.[5]

Notes

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References

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  • François, Alexandre (2009), "The languages of Vanikoro: Three lexicons and one grammar" (PDF), in Evans, Bethwyn (ed.), Discovering history through language: Papers in honour of Malcolm Ross, Pacific Linguistics 605, Canberra: Australian National University, pp. 103–126
  • —— (2021). Online Teanu–English dictionary, with lexical data in Lovono and Tanema. Paris, CNRS.
  • —— (2022). "Presentation of the Tanema language, and audio archive". Pangloss Collection. Paris: CNRS. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
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