Pingelapese language

Pingelapese
Native to	Micronesia
Region	Pingelap
Ethnicity	(undated figure of >2,000 Pingelapese)
Native speakers	(2,500 cited 1991)[1] All users: 4,500
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Micronesian Nuclear Micronesian Chuukic–Pohnpeic Pohnpeic Pingelapese
Writing system	Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	pif
Glottolog	ping1243
ELP	Pingelapese
Pingelapese is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

The Pingelapese language is a Micronesian language native to Pingelap, an atoll belonging to the state of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. This atoll is the homeland to the Pingelapese people, consisting of a three-square mile range of uninhabited small coral islets, Daekae and Sukora, and the inhabited islet, Pingelap. These islands partially make up the Caroline Islands.^[2]

Because of natural disasters and emigration consequent to European and U.S. influence, the local population of the Pingelapese people is small. There are at least 2,000 Pingelapese people worldwide.

Although the official language of the Pohnpei State is English, 200 of the 250 Pingelap atoll residents and 1,200 Pohnpei residents speak Pingelapese. The Pingelapese language is used for face-to-face communication among speakers of all ages. It is classified as a vigorous language. With the help of linguists like Leilani Welley-Biza sharing knowledge from her elders, significant cultural/historical connections to the Pingelapese language have been more thoroughly documented and preserved,^[3] to be passed down between generations. The Doahkaesa and King of Pingelap, His Majesty Dr. Berysin D. Salomon, and His Majesty's chosen traditional leaders, through the Pingelapese customary rite, strive to maintain the traditional language and the cultural/historical heritage of the people of Pingelap.

Pingelapese is a Micronesian member of the Austronesian language family. It is closely related to other languages within the Chuukic-Pohnpeic branch, sharing 83% lexical similarity with Mokilese and sharing 79% lexical similarity with Pohnpeian. Approximately 5,000 years ago, the Austronesian peoples voyaged eastward from Taiwan, and eventually made it to Micronesia about 3,000 years later. Morton et al. estimated that the Micronesian peoples have resided on Pingelap for 1,000 years, nearly 800 years before any European contact were to be recorded.

Popular Pohnpeian legends passed down in oral history have created an endless controversy over the origins of the Pingelapese people, or any outer island of Pohnpei for that matter, suggesting possible origins from the people of Kosrae in the Legend of Nahwehlap, or a differing ancestry claimed to be linked to the people of Yap in the Legend of Yap. The Legend of Yap states the discovery of the island of Pikelap, now known worldwide as the island of Pingelap, by two Yapese brothers who sailed from Yap in search of a new life beyond the shores of Yap as opposed to many island folklores of mystical island creation by mythological creatures or a demi-god being who, after being delivered out of his mother's womb, stood up strong and ran, skipped infancy and childhood, and instantly became a man. Other versions of oral history taken in account by locals who have no traditional historical background as opposed to those with traditional historical background make it difficult to decipher approximately when the one known Kosraean term found in the Pingelapese language, which is Doahkaesa, was introduced to the Pingelapese vocabulary. According to the Pingelapese traditional oral history, ‘Aewa is the Pikelapese term for King while Doahkaesa is the Kosraean term for King.

In the Pingelapese traditional oral history, formerly held by the Nahno of Pingelap - a traditional title given by the first Ouwa whose one purpose is to keep the Pingelapese oral history and pass on the traditional oral history to the Ouwa and his descendants as decreed by Pingelapese traditional law, it describes the origins of Pingelap lineage to the people of Yap and the discovery of Pikelap by these two Yapese siblings. The older brother was said to have returned to Kosrae to marry a Kosraean woman whom he had met and fell in love with before their voyage and discovery of the island of Pikelap. It also describes a time when descendants of Kosrae became local residents of Pingelap which ultimately linked their influence and reign over the people of Pingelap which resulted in the integration of language similarities between the two islands. It describes a history between Pingelap and Pohnpei through the conquest of Nan Madol and the integration and language similarities between the two islands. It also describes that while voyaging to Pohnpei for the conquest of Nan Madol, the prominent legendary warrior known as Isoah Kaelaekael, or known by Pohnpeians as Isokelekel, met with their rivaling neighbors, the people of Mwoakilloa, to recruit warriors to fight in the conquest of Nan Madol resulting in the recruitment of one such Mwokillese warrior named "Nahparadak" which is now a Pohnpeian traditional title called "Nahnparadak" given only to a Mwokillese man greatly respected by Pohnpeiani in Madolenihmw's traditional ranks. Historically, Pingelapese named their children based on a special feature or foreseen ability or destiny upon birth. For example, Doahkaesa Iengiringir was named Iengiringir for having large feet that made the grounds tremble whenever he walked. Iengiringir is loosely translated in the English language as "rumble or tremble" relating to the low rumble of the ocean waves crashing in the horizon.

Although many Pohnpeian and Kosraean islanders may disagree with the Pingelap traditional oral history, one way of finding one's origins where there is very little to no evidence that may support any theory of origin is to look into the language of the group(s) of people in question. Many people believe that the current Pohnpeian language is the main language of the main island and its outer atolls. To what extent is arguably unknown because many still argue today despite the many attempts conducted by foreign researchers who were researching the origin of language in the less-likely of areas and with people who had no rich historical, cultural, and traditional background and the language of the islands in question to begin with. For example, the Pohnpeian word maing is taken from the German word mein during the German occupation of Pohnpei. Loosely translated, Maing in the English dictionary is Sir/Madam. Pohnpeians integrated the German word mein into their language and used it, specifically, for a person of high traditional or political rank or of great respect. During this era, the Germans took the traditional Pohnpeian rite of having one paramount chief or king of the island and divided the island into 5 municipalities and erected 5 rulers to each border area, which is similar to the Kingdom of Belgium's Markies/Marquis in Belgium, Germany. Pohnpeian's integrated the German word and made it their own and today calls each village chief Nahnmwarki. During the Japanese era, the Japanese introduced electricity to the island and called it using the Japanese word denki. The Japanese tried to teach the locals of what electricity is while using the Japanese language, and the locals mistook the meaning of the Japanese word denki as light bulb. As a result, the Pohnpeian word for "light bulb" is "denki". Before the era of the 5 Nahnmwarkis of the main island of Pohnpei, there was only one Paramount King of the newly conquered Pohnpei, and before that the Saudeleur Dynasty.

Pohnpeians are well known for using a name of a place to identify a food or object completely foreign to the island, or an area referring to the person's native land before settling themselves in Pohnpei. For the example of a foreign object: a very large and thick steel pot is called kwatilain in Pohnpeian. According to Pohnpeian oral history, these larger-than-normal pots were introduced to Pohnpeian from a military personnel who came from the military post in Kwajalein during the US occupation of Micronesia after the 2nd World War and since then has been incorporated into the Pohnpeian language to describe the largest steel pot found in almost many Pohnpeian family kitchen or local cook houses. For the example of a foreign food: Pohnpeian named many fruits and other foods from where they came from - Uht en Ruhk, Karer en Kusai, Sakau en Kusai, Uht en Pihsih, Mei en Sahmwoa, Uht en Iap, Mengat en Seipahn, oh Uht en Menihle is loosely translated in English to Banana from Chuuk, Lime from Kosrae, Sakau (Kava) from Kosrae, Banana from Fiji, Breadfruit from Samoa, Banana from Yap, Banana from Saipan, and Banana from Manila. For the example of renaming an area for which the settler originally came from: In Pohnpei, there is only one community within a municipality that is also, surprisingly, called Saekaraekapw. Saekaraekapw is one of four villages in Pingelap. In the Pingelapese oral traditional history, Saelaepas, who is a prominent legendary warrior in the conquest of Nan Madol, is a native of Saekaraekapw. This community is found in Madolenihmw, the once presumed-capital of the once ruthless ruler of Pohnpei living in Nan Madol, Saudeleur. Today, this community's traditional leader is given the Pohnpeian traditional title called "Selepat."

Since the introduction of democracy into the Micronesian regions, the Pingelapese people were grouped together with the remaining outer islands of Pohnpei to create the political State of Pohnpei. Other cultural influences are evident in Pingelapese history. The Spanish era is portrayed in the Pingelapese dance called "Din Dihn" which is loosely translated in English to "Tin Tin". The dance reflects the introduction of the durable foreign material called tin by the Spaniards. After the Spaniards were the Japanese, and the bilateral relationship created between both groups is still evident at World War II sites in the southern part of Pingelap.

Foreign influence has altered the stability of the Pingelapese community, encouraging natives to leave their homeland and move to other more populated areas or to the U.S. (incentivizing emigration under contract in the Federated States of Micronesia to work and study elsewhere, or enlist in the United States military for a better living standard). More promising financial opportunities for the Pingelapese people, meant prioritizing the education of foreign languages over their native language.

Typhoons have frequently devastated the Pingelapese population. As a consequence of the Pingelapese population decreasing to a handful of typhoon survivors, inbreeding occurred among multiple Pingelapese generations, and genetic disorders such as achromatopsia (color blindness) now affect almost 1 in every 20 Pingelapese descendant.

With the introduction of Christianity and the Church, the Pingelapese community has accepted the role of the church, which has a strong presence and has become an integral part of the Pingelapese lifestyle since being established in the 19th century. Christmas is considered the biggest annual event.

The Pingelapese language has a 12-month calendar system corresponding to the lunar calendar, with the month names as follows:^[4]

In the Pingelapese culture, Monday is the first day of the week. The names for the days of the week come from the Pingelapese non-specific object numeral set. This number follows the prefix niy- to become the word designated for the day of the week, as follows:^[5]

Each date of the month has a specific name, constituting as part of their lunar calendar:^[4]

Pingelapese exhibits several distinctive features within Micronesian languages, including an expanded vowel inventory and unique phonological processes. Like other Pohnpeic languages, it maintains contrasts between plain and velarized consonants, but is notable for having an eight-vowel system, which is the largest reported among Pohnpeic languages.^[6]

Pingelapese has ten consonants and two glides. The consonant inventory includes plain and velarized/labialized stops, nasals, a fricative, and liquids.^[7][6]

The vowel system in Pingelapese shows a symmetrical arrangement with four heights of [-round] [-back] vowels and [+round] [+back] vowels. Each vowel has both short and long versions:

Pingelapese exhibits several notable phonological processes:^[11]

• Vowel shortening, a common feature across Micronesian languages.
• Low vowel dissimilation, where the first of two low vowels in successive syllables is raised to /ɛ/. While Pingelapese is the only Pohnpeic language to show this process, it is also present in various Micronesian languages, as well as Ere, Southern Paamese, and in the Southern Vanuatu subgroup.
• Historical changes from Proto-Pohnpeic /o/ to either /ɔ/ or /ɒ/ in various contexts.

¹ In the Pohnpeic languages, geminate obstruents are realized as homorganic nasal-obstruent clusters.
² Often before /i/.
³ Before /a/.
⁴ The reflex is *∅ sporadically before PMc *e.

The Pingelapese language exhibits four primary sentence types: transitive, intransitive, existential, and equational sentences.

Transitive sentences employ verbs characterized by two essential features. First, the verb must be an action verb denoting a physically performable activity (e.g., drink, sit, drive). Second, the verb requires a direct object as the recipient of the action. These sentences maintain a fixed Subject–verb–object word order (SVO). In active transitive sentences, the subject assumes the semantic role of agent, while the object functions as the patient.^[13] For example:

Intransitive sentences feature verbs that operate without objects and must be either stative or active. Stative verbs describe states affecting the subject, while active verbs denote actions performed by the subject. The basic word order is Subject–Verb (SV), as demonstrated below:

While Subject–Verb represents the default order, Verb–Subject (VS) order is permitted in specific contexts, particularly with unaccusative verbs or when governed by discourse pragmatics. Notably, intransitive constructions with post-verbal subjects often function as existential sentences, particularly when introducing new information. This overlap between intransitive and existential constructions is a distinctive feature of Pingelapese syntax.^[14]

Existential sentences primarily function to establish the presence or absence of entities. These constructions characteristically display post-verbal subject ordering, particularly in narrative contexts where new characters or objects are introduced. When referring to previously established entities, the subject typically assumes a pre-verbal position instead.

The Pingelapese language contains a limited set of existential verbs:

• minae "to exist"
• soh "to not exist"
• dir "to exist in large numbers"
• daeri "to be finished"

These verbs consistently employ post-verbal subject positioning and are instrumental in narrative discourse, particularly for introducing new characters or elements to a story.^[15]

While many Micronesian languages permit verbless equational constructions, Pingelapese employs verbal elements in such sentences. The language utilizes evidential markers e/ae to equate noun phrases or form interrogatives. The choice between e and ae reflects the speaker's certainty:^[16]

• e is a "high evidential marker" (HEV), indicating speaker certainty
• ae is a "low evidential marker" (LEV), indicating speaker uncertainty

Examples:

Question formation in Pingelapese primarily employs interrogative words (ish "who", dah "what", ngahd "when"). In the absence of question words, interrogatives are marked by non-falling terminal intonation. The intonational contour either remains level or exhibits a slight upward movement at the sentence terminus.^[17]

Similar to other Micronesian languages, Pingelapese employs morphological processes to modify word meanings. The language predominantly uses verbal suffixes, with fewer verbal prefixes.^[18]

The suffix -kin "with"/"at" exemplifies a common verbal suffix:

The prefix sa- "not" demonstrates one of the few verbal prefixes:

Directional suffixes append to verbs to indicate spatial orientation. The base verb alu "to walk" illustrates this system:

Stand-alone auxiliary verbs derive from the pronoun auxiliary complex by omitting person/number morphemes from ae, aen, e, and en.^[19]

Directional suffixes extend beyond motion verbs to convey figurative meanings when attached to non-motion verbs:^[20]

Pingelapese employs both reduplication and triplication as grammatical processes. Reduplication indicates continuous verbal action, while triplication denotes ongoing action. Triplication is rather rare in the world's languages, with the only others being only other languages that use it are Tibetan, Chintang, Bantawa, and Thao.^[21] For example:

The language employs two distinct strategies for handling consonant clusters that arise from these processes:^[22]

1. For homorganic consonants:

• The first consonant is eliminated
• The preceding vowel undergoes lengthening

Example:

2. For non-homorganic consonants:^[23]

• A vowel is inserted between the consonants

Example:

The most frequent pattern involves three-phoneme reduplication, followed by four-phoneme reduplication. Examples of four-phoneme reduplication include:^[24]

In Pingelapese, subject pronouns (personal pronouns that function as the subject of a verb) evolved from either Proto-Micronesian subject agreement markers or an independent pronoun set. Unlike English, Pingelapese distinguishes between singular, dual, and plural forms in its pronominal system, with additional distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person forms. The following table shows examples of subject pronouns in all three (four for the first person) forms.^[3]

A unique feature of Pingelapese is its pronoun-auxiliary complex, where pronouns combine with auxiliary verbs. This linguistic phenomenon is exclusive to Pingelapese and not found in other Micronesian languages.

The Pingelapese language incorporates at least five sets of numeral classifiers, used when combining numbers with nouns. These classifiers correspond to the physical or functional properties of the counted objects.^[3] Each set designates a different set of words to represent the numerals 1 through 9, with a unique form for 10 in the non-specific/counting set:^[25]

For numbers above 9, Pingelapese uses a single form regardless of the counted object:^[26]

When reading a number in Pingelapse, the biggest number is read out first, then the smaller numbers in succession.^[25] For example, the number 1,769 is read out as kid isipwiki woneisaek duoau.

Pingelapese usage varies by context and location. On Pingelap atoll and in other communities, Pingelapese is the primary language of home communication, while church services employ a mix of Pingelapese, Pohnpeian, and English. However, education, administration, and business are conducted primarily in English and Pohnpeian. The language remains predominantly oral than being written. While Pingelapese speakers typically develop strong literacy skills in English and Pohnpeian, they have few opportunities to read or write in their native language.^[27]

At the Pingelap atoll elementary school, children face significant challenges learning to write in both Pingelapese and Pohnpeian. First-grade students must begin their literacy education with non-native language materials, as educational resources are only available in Pohnpeian and English.^[27]

Specific learning difficulties arise, such as when Pingelapese children were presented with Pohnpeian educational materials of a poster showing a coconut tree labeled with the Pohnpeian word uhpw "drinking coconut", they attempted to correlate these letters with their native word pen, with the letters ⟨u⟩, ⟨h⟩, and ⟨pw⟩ being correlated with ⟨p⟩, ⟨e⟩, and ⟨n⟩ respectively, leading to confusion between grapheme-phoneme relationships.^[28]

While many Micronesian language communities established orthography committees in the 1970s, Pingelapese never reached this stage, resulting in the lack of a standardized writing system.^[29][30] This has led to inconsistent spellings in official documents, including the atoll name itself (Pingilap/Pingelap).

A distinct Pingelapese orthography was taught at the Pingelap atoll elementary school around the same period. Presently, this system is primarily known only on the atoll itself, with elderly community members remembering it the most. Several teachers have attempted to revive this early orthography, but personnel changes have prevented its continuous implementation.^[31]

Pingelapese speakers in Mwalok, Deke Sokehs, typically use Pohnpeian orthography for everyday writing, such as song lyrics. However, on Pingelap atoll, people maintain that traditional histories and legends should be written in the early orthography, while administrative documents may use Pohnpeian conventions.^[31]

As mentioned above, Pingelapese lacks a standardized orthography, due to the lack of establishing any official orthography committee.^[31] However, a Pohnpeian-based orthography has been adapted and is increasingly used for administrative and educational purposes, as shown in the table below:^[32][33]

• Good, Elaine; Welley, Weldis (1989), Papers in Kosraean and Ponapeic, Pacific Linguistics, ISBN 978-0858833906
• Hattori, Ryoko (2012), Preverbal Particles in Pingelapese, Ann Arbor, ISBN 9781267817211