Appendix:Tuvaluan Swadesh list

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This is a Swadesh list of words in Tuvaluan, compared with definitions in English.

Presentation[edit]

For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list.

American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.

List[edit]

No. English Tuvaluan
te ggana tuvalu
IPA
pronunciation
1 I au, aku; kita (affective, i.e. poor me)
2 you (singular) koe; kita (affective, i.e. poor me)
3 he ia
4 we tāua (dual inclusive), tātou (plural inclusive)
māua (dual exclusive), mātou (plural exclusive)
5 you (plural) koulua (dual), koutou (plural)
6 they lāua (dual), lātou (plural)
7 this tēnei (close to the speaker)
8 that tēnā (close to the person spoken to), tēlā (away from both)
9 here (i) konei (close to the speaker)
10 there (i) konā (close to the person spoken to), (i) kolā (away from both)
11 who ko oi (interrogative)
12 what ā (interrogative)
13 where tēfea (interrogative, singular), kofea (non-singular)
14 when anafea (interrogative, in the past), māfea (interrogative, in the future)
15 how pēfea (interrogative)
16 not
17 all katoa
18 many uke
19 some nīsi (i.e. some other)
20 few nāi, , , sē uke
21 other suā (singular), nīsi (plural)
22 one tasi
23 two lua
24 three tolu
25 four
26 five lima (also: hand, arm)
27 big lasi
28 long loa
29 wide laufea
30 thick mātolu; 'poto (of texture), ūsi (of hair)
31 heavy 'mafa
32 small fōliki
33 short toetoe
34 narrow lauliki
35 thin pakā (of animates)
36 woman fafine
37 man (male) tagata
38 man (human) tino (i.e. person)
39 child tamaliki
40 wife āvaga (i.e. spouse)
41 husband āvaga (i.e. spouse)
42 mother mātua (also: parent), mātua fafine (Nanumea dialect)
43 father tamana, mātua tagata (Nanumea dialect)
44 animal manu
45 fish ika
46 bird manulele, manueva
47 dog kulī
48 louse kutu
49 snake gata
50 worm kalemutu, kalamuta; ilo (i.e. maggot), anufe (i.e. caterpillar)
51 tree lākau
52 forest togālākau; vao (i.e. bush)
53 stick lākau (also: tree)
54 fruit fua, fuaga
55 seed tega; fuaga
56 leaf lau
57 root aka
58 bark (of a tree) pa'kili
59 flower pua, pula, pulalākau, tiale
60 grass mouku
61 rope maea; kolokolo (i.e. string); lōpu (English loan: rope)
62 skin pa'kili (also: bark), kili, laukili
63 meat 'kano, meafasi
64 blood toto
65 bone ivi
66 fat (noun) gako
67 egg fua (also: fruit, seed, testicle)
68 horn sau, suki
69 tail felo; velo (Niutao dialect)
70 feather fulu; fulufulu
71 hair lauulu (head), fulufulu (body)
72 head ulu; piho (Nanumea and Manumaga dialects)
73 ear taliga
74 eye mata (also: face)
75 nose isu
76 mouth gutu
77 tooth nifo
78 tongue alelo, laulaufava
79 fingernail ma'nia (also: toenail)
80 foot vae
81 leg vae
82 knee tulivae
83 hand lima (also: five)
84 wing kapakau, pakau
85 belly tinae, manava, also
86 guts tinae, kākay
87 neck ua
88 back tua
89 breast ū, fatafata (also: chest)
90 heart fatu (physical), loto (symbolic)
91 liver ate
92 to drink inu
93 to eat kai
94 to bite ū
95 to suck mitimiti, 'miti
96 to spit puaki, pōki
97 to vomit lua
98 to blow 'pusi (i.e. to exhale, also: to smoke), agi (of wind)
99 to breathe mānava
100 to laugh kata
101 to see lavea, matea
102 to hear logo, fakalogo, fakalogologo, lagona
103 to know iloa
104 to think mafaufau
105 to smell 'sogi (also: to kiss), manogi (i.e. to smell bad)
106 to fear mataku
107 to sleep moe
108 to live ola
109 to die mate (also: dead)
110 to kill tāmate
111 to fight tau, taua, faitaua
112 to hunt tulimanu, pukemanu
113 to hit 'pā, , 'kini; fusu (i.e. to punch)
114 to cut 'tipi, tipitipi, 'sele, selesele; 'kati (English loan: to cut)
115 to split īsi, isiisi
116 to stab 'suki
117 to scratch lati, 'kali (i.e. to scratch off)
118 to dig keli, sua
119 to swim 'kau
120 to fly lele, eva
121 to walk sāsāle
122 to come vau; sau (Niutao dialect), hau (Nanumea and Nanumaga dialect), au'mai, o'mai, 'mai (plural)
123 to lie (as in a bed) takato
124 to sit nofo, sagasaga (state); nofo ki lalo, sagasaga ki lalo (action)
125 to stand
126 to turn (intransitive) aga, 'fuli, fakapiko
127 to fall , siga
128 to give tuku; ave (to a third person)
129 to hold puke (i.e. to take hold of), taofi (i.e. to keep hold of)
130 to squeeze 'kumi, 'kaku
131 to rub 'mili, milimili, 'solo, solosolo
132 to wash fulu, 'mulu, fakakoukou
133 to wipe 'solo, solosolo (also: to rub)
134 to pull futi, toso
135 to push tule, usu
136 to throw pei, lafo
137 to tie fusi, 'sai
138 to sew 'sui, suisui, 'tui, tuitui
139 to count lau
140 to say fai, muna
141 to sing usu
142 to play tāfao
143 to float lagalaga, lāga
144 to flow tafe
145 to freeze faka'moko
146 to swell 'fete (also: to inflate); kiatolo (also: filariasis)
147 sun
148 moon māsina (also: month)
149 star fetū
150 water vai (fresh water), tai (salt water)
151 rain ua, vaiua, uāga
152 river vaitafe
153 lake vai, vaitūloto; namo (also: lagoon)
154 sea tai, moana; vasa (ocean)
155 salt māsima
156 stone fatu (also: heart)
157 sand one
158 dust 'pefu
159 earth laukele, kele (soil), lalolagi (world)
160 cloud kaumana
161 fog asu, asuasu
162 sky lagi (also: heaven)
163 wind matagi
164 snow kiona
165 ice aisa, poloka (English loans: ice, [ice] block)
166 smoke au, ausaga
167 fire afi
168 ash lefu
169 to burn 'kā
170 road auala, ala
171 mountain mauga
172 red 'kula
173 green usi (dark green), lanulauniu; kulīni (English loan: green)
174 yellow 'sega
175 white 'kena
176 black uli (also: dark)
177 night
178 day aso (i.e. calendar day, 24 hours), ao (i.e. from sunrise to sunset only)
179 year tausaga
180 warm 'vela (i.e. hot), māfanafana
181 cold 'moko, makalili
182 full 'fonu (of a room, container etc.), mākona (of the belly)
183 new fou, fōu (Niutao dialect)
184 old matua (of people)
185 good 'lei
186 bad māsei
187 rotten 'pala, 'pala māsei
188 dirty lailai
189 straight 'tonu, 'tonu kisi
190 round pukupuku
191 sharp (as a knife) 'kai
192 dull (as a knife) 'tuka
193 smooth molemole
194 wet 'siu
195 dry malō
196 correct sao, tonu, fakatonu, tonu kisikisi
197 near pili
198 far 'mao
199 right fakaatamai
200 left fakamaui
201 at i
202 in i, i loto (i)
203 with fakatasi mo
204 and mo (with noun phrases); ma (with certain numerals)
kae (with verb phrases);
205 if kāfai, māfai, manafai (also: when)
206 because i te mea, ona ko, auā
207 name igoa
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
(edit this template)
  • Orthography :

The orthography used in this list is the one recommended by the Tuvalu Language Board (TLB):

Geminated vowels are indicated by a macron, e.g. <auā>, or by double letters when they occur across morpheme boundaries, e.g. <fakaatamai>.
Geminated consonants are indicated by a preceding apostrophy, e.g. <'mao>.
The velar nasal /ŋ/ is written as <g>, e.g. <igoa>.
  • Pronunciation:

Tuvaluan vowels roughly have Spanish values and geminated vowels are pronounced longer but less than twice as long as ungeminated ones.

Tuvaluan consonants: Plosives are unaspirated and /l/ is never velarized but always “clear”; other consonants are roughly pronounced as in English. Geminated consonants are pronounced longer but less than twice as long as ungeminated ones, and geminated stops are also aspirated.

Stress in Tuvaluan always falls on the penultimate mora.

  • Bibliography:

Besnier, Niko. Tuvaluan. Routledge, London and New York, 2000.

Besnier, Niko. Tuvaluan lexicon. United States Peace Corps, Funafuti, 1981.

Jackson, Geoffrey. Tuvaluan dictionary. Oceania Printers, Suva, 2010.

Noricks, Jay S. A Tuvalu dictionary. Human Relations Area Files, New Haven, Connecticut, 1981.

Ranby, Peter. Nanumea lexicon. Pacific Linguistics C-65, Canberra, 1980.

Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
(edit this template)