It is an Eastern Polynesian language in the Austronesian family of languages. It is related to Lea Fakatonga (Tongan,, a Western Polynesian language), reo Maohi (Tahitian), `olelo Hawai`i (Hawai`ian), Cook Islands Maori and NZ Maori.
The Rapa Nui language uses 14 letters, 5 vowels (which can be lengthened or shortened) and 9 consonants.
The Rapa Nui come from Hiva. It's exact locations are not generally well known. Is it in the Marquesas archipelago? Or is it in the equator? Or is it even an island next to South America? Settlement of Rapa Nui began in 500 A.D. and Hotu Matu'a is the first ariki (supreme chief, king) of the island, establishing a dynasty that lasted until the 19th century. Their ancestors fled their homeland as their home, Hiva, sank in to the ocean. This same situation occurs, 1500 years later, for islands like Tuvalu and Tokelau.
The Rapa Nui language is a language based on being euphonic (as Maori is). That is, it is based on sounding pleasant to the ear of the listener and speaker. Every consonant has a vowel following it (with the exception of 'ng') meaning that there are no consonant clusters.
Those who are interested in studying te vananga Rapa Nui need only to leave a message. Do join us, and let's learn the Rapa Nui language together!
Kia maitaki to korua ra'a
(may your day be pleasant).
Otoroka korua ta'atoa!
How to make the macrons 'appear'
1/ To make the macrons appear, make sure you change the board style to "redIce", click here http://forum.unilang.org/phpBB2/profile ... ditprofile.
2/ The following codes will add the line above the vowel -
A = &# 256; (with no spaces between the # and the first digit)
a = &# 257;
E = &# 274;
e = &# 275;
I = &# 298;
i = &# 299;
O = &# 332;
o = &# 333;
U = &# 362;
u = &# 363;
Macrons are important as they mark vowel length. A vowel with a macron is pronounced twice as long as a vowel with no macron. Apologies for the vowel length in this lesson, it's not all accurately marked yet. I'm still learning Rapa Nui myself.
I just want to say for those of you who are reading you've just taken the first big step to learning another language. I want you to know what you are doing is notable and honourable and the Rapa Nui people will love you for it.
I want this group to be a Pupa Vananga, a language nest. That is, a place where we can all learn and value what each of us has to share.
Te Vananga Rapa Nui is a language that I have learnt a lot about, but I am in no way an expert at the language. Therefore, by having us meet regularly to vananga and to work on the lessons I submit, my fluency and certainly your fluency will increase in the language.
I will be acting as the mäori (instructor, teacher) for these lessons.
The letters are
A, E, I, O, U (the vowels, which can be lengthened)
H, K, M, N, NG (OR G), P, R, T, V (the consonants)
' <--- the aspirate
NOTE ON THE 'NG' AND 'G'
Both are pronounced the same. They are pronounced as the ng in singer (without the si or the er part). It has become custom on the island to write the 'ng' as 'g' now. So ma'uga and ma'unga are the same word. Both will be accepted as being correct.
Pronunciation Guide
All consonants are how you would pronounce them in English, however, the 'r' is pronounced as an 'r/d' sound and not a 'r/l' (rolled Japanese r). P is more of a p/b sound and the t can be pronounced as a 'ts' depending on which vowels follow it. However, an English pronunciation of p and t is ok, but not as good as the real 'Rapa Nui' one :).
The vowels are pronounced as you would pronounce them in Spanish, Japanese, Hawai`ian, Tahitian, Tongan etc.
A = Ah
E = Eh
I = EE
O = AW
U = OO
You can remember the pronounciation by this silly sentence -
Ah they eat walls too?
Each lesson will consist of a dialogue, with a Rapa Nui and an English version, as well as explainations of what each part of it means. Following the dialogue there will be a vocabulary list, and some homework exercises.
Dialogue
Vaka : Aroha, ko ai to'ou ingoa?
Riu : Aroha, ko riu töku ingoa, ko ai to'ou?
Vaka : Ko Vaka töku, o he mai koe?
Riu : O Rarotonga mai au, o he koe?
Vaka : O Rapa Nui au, maruaki koe?
Riu : Ina, matevai au
Vaka : Ka oho mai ki roto,
Riu : Ina, maururu, ka oho atu au ki te umu I te oneone, e oho mai koe?
Vaka : Ee, e oho atu au ki te umu
Riu : E kite atu hakaou au ki a koe I reira, 'iorana
Vaka : Ee, e kite atu hakaou au ki a koe I reira I te ahiahi nei, 'iorana.
(English)
Vaka : Hey, what's your name?
Riu : Hey, my name is Riu, what's yours?
Vaka : My name is Vaka, where are you from?
Riu : I'm from Rarotonga, where are you from?
Vaka : I'm from Rapa Nui, are you hungry?
Riu : No, but I'm dying for water
Vaka : Come inside,
Riu : No thanks, I have to go to the umu at the beach, are you going?
Vaka : Yes, I'll be going to the umu
Riu : I'll see you again there, see you
Vaka : Yes, I'll see you again there this afternoon, bye.
Iorana/otoroka/aroha - greetings
What is your name?
Ko ai to'ou /tuu ingoa?
Ko Tane Te Ariki toku ingoa.
Ko ai to'ou ingoa hakaponoko Tane Te Ariki?
Ko Riki to'oku ingoa hakaponoko.
Where are you from?
O he mai koe?
I'm from Aotearoa
O Aotearoa mai au.
Pehe/Pahe - How
To say how are you in Rapa Nui you say -
Pehe;/Pahe koe? How are you?
You might reply -
Riva au - I'm good
Kino au - I'm bad
Rakerake au - I'm really bad
Maruaki au - I'm hungry
If you want to ask a group of people how they are, you say -
Pehe/pahe koua ta'atoa? How are all of you?
What if you wanted to say 'this morning/afternoon/tonight/today'?
You would say -
Pehe koe i te ...(time).... nei
E.g.
Pehe koe i te 'otea nei?
How are you this midday (no English equivalent).
Etahi Kupu Ho'ou - New Words
'Iorana - Hi, bye (from Tahitian 'Ia Orana)
Aroha - Hey, greetings
Koe - you (singular)
Korua - you (plural)
Au - I/me
Ta'atoa - All
Aue - Interjection of sadness
Maori - Teacher, intelligent, clear, lucid
Ma`ohi - Polynesian
Maruaki - Hungry
Matevai - Thirsty (for water)
Koa - Joy, happy, love
veri/nehe - beautiful
matenga - death, sickness
ata - morning
'otea - midday
ahiahi - afternoon
po - night
Noho mai - sit
Tomo mai - enter
Ka oho mai - welcome
tano'a - correct
me'e - thing
i te hora nei - now
anira/arina - soon, now
Ee - yes
Ina - no
Ingoa - name
Ingoa hakaponoko - nickname
Riva - good
Kino - bad
Rakerake - really bad
Pahe/Pehe - how
Homework -
To maintain what you learn, it's important for you to do this part, as it allows you to put in to practice what you have learnt from the lesson. Please present these to the class.
1/Pretend you live in Hangaroa, and you have met a stranger on the other side of town, attending to their garden and you want to say hello. Start up a conversation with this stranger, ask how they are and where they are from.
2/Play the part of the stranger. Invite the person you played before in to your house and show them Polynesian hospitality. It's not what you have to offer, it's how you offer it.
Last edited by riki on Tue 2005-12-13, 21:04, edited 1 time in total.
Lesson 2
Ko Te Umu - The Umu
Riu : 'Iorana koe ngaruhoa,
Vaka : 'Iorana
Riu: ngaruhoa, noho mai
Vaka : I he nga kai?
Riu : he tunu no
Vaka : he tunu raua he aha?
Riu : he tunu raua he kumara, he hoi, he poke, he puaka vi'e hoki!
Vaka : E reka!
Riu : He 'ite koe i te taime e hoa?
Vaka : Ina, kai 'ite au i te taime
Riu : Ku haere no koe ki te hare ho'o?
Vaka : Ina, he aha ai?
Riu : A, mate inu ai au
Vaka : Ku haere atu no ana a Vi'e ki te hare ho'o, he ho'o mai ia he inu
Riu : Riva! Ka hoki iho ia
Vaka : Ara! E tu'u iho ia
Riu : He vi'e nehenehe ia
Vaka : Ee, e toru ana poki
Riu : Aue
Vi'e : Aroha korua, anei nga kai me nga inu.
Vaka : Maururu
Vi'e (ki a Riu): O he mai koe?
Riu : O au, o he mai koe?
Vi'e : He tangata ma'ohi au o Rapa Nui nei. Ko ai tou ingoa?
Riu : Ko Riu toku ingoa, ko ai tou ingoa?
Vi'e : Ko Vi'e toku ingoa.
Riu : Hey friend!
Vaka : Hey!
Riu : Friend, sit by me
Vaka : Where is the food?
Riu : It's still being cooked
Vaka : What are they cooking?
Riu : They are cooking k?mara, horse, poke and cow too!
Vaka : Nice!
Riu : Do you have the time?
Vaka : Nah, I don't have the time
Riu : Have you already gone to the shop?
Vaka : Nah, why is that?
Riu : Ah, I'm thirsty
Vaka : Vi'e has already gone off to the shop, she's buying some drinks
Riu : Good! She must return soon
Vaka : There! She will arrive soon
Riu : She's a beautiful looking lady
Vaka : Yeah, she's got three children
Riu : Aue
Vi'e : Greetings you two, here's the food and the drink (Vaka)
Vaka : Thanks
Vi'e (to Riu): Where are you from?
Riu : I'm from where are you from?
Vi'e : I'm a native from Rapa Nui. What is your name?
Riu : My name is Riu, what is your name?
Vi'e : My name is Vi'e
Verb Phrases
Rapa Nuiis a VSO language - Verb - Subject - Object. For example = He oho(verb) atu ahau(subject) ki te kainga (town) = I'm(subject) going(verb) to town(object)
Very rarely do you hear sentences in SVO. VSO is the preffered order in Maori and Rapa Nui.
Tense Markers
I (simple past)
E (simple future, imperative)
e.g. I hopu ia i te otea nei = He/she swam this midday
I kai = ate, i noho = sat
E hoki mai ia apo = He/she will return tomorrow
E kai = will eat, e noho = will sit
He (present tense, when not expressing will or wish) e.g. he oho atu au ki reira = I'm going to that (previously mentioned) place
Ku..ana (present tense, past tense = has, had, have been) e.g. ku aroha ana au ki a koe = I love you, ku vananga atu au ki a ia = I have spoken to him/her
Imperatives
Kia (command) = kia vave! be quick!
Ka (weak imperative) = ka kai koe - you should eat
E noho! = Sit !
Articles
The articles in Rapa Nui are fairly simple and easy to learn. We will start with the basics (te, nga, a and he)
Te (definitive, number, non-person, class) = the (singular) = te mamari (the egg)
Nga (definitive, number, non-person) = the (plural) e.g. nga mamari = the eggs
A (definitive, non-number, person) = no English equivalent, used before first names e.g. he nui a Aroha = Aroha is big
He (infinitive, non-number, non-person) = a, some e.g. he mamari = an egg, some eggs
Homework (you may need to visit here http://www.rongorongo.org/vanaga/a.html)
1/ Translate the following
A)I haere matou ki te hare o te matato'a ko Manu Koa. I inu matou he vai kava.
B)Apo, e tangi mai nga manu i te ata
C) E Pua! Hakarongo mai ki tou nua!
2/ Write up a short passage asking where (he) things are (present tense = i). You may need to refer to the dialogue in this lesson to get ideas.
He Kupu Ho'ou
no = already
raua = they (plural)
ika = fish
kumara = sweet potato
hoi = horse
maika = banana
puaka vi'e = cow (puaka/poaka in cognate Polynesian languages means pig)
reka = sweet, delicious, nice (of taste)
'Ite = to know (Tahitian gain word)
Taime = Time
Kai = not, food
hare ho'o = shop
ho'o = to buy, to sell, to trade, to barter (Tahitian gain word)
iho = soon
vi'e = female
tane = male
koro = father
nua = mother
henua = land, placenta
poki = child
maitaki = nice, lovely, good
himene = hymn
hanga = bay, harbour
maururu = thankyou (Tahitian gain word)
apo = tomorrow
mamari = egg
kiko = meat
oneone = beach
rama = torch (possible Tahitian gain)
noho = to sit, stay, live
kai = to eat
Ko Riu I Te Vaka
Ahoi e! Kaihini, e tomo atu matou i a Anakena. Ku maitaki a anganira. I marino te pari. He rivariva te puka a Vaka. He nui rava. Ka ho`o au he kai mana. He ngaruhoa rivariva ia ki a au.
Translate the above passages.
Some more tenses (i.e. TAM)
Ku.....ana/a =
1/ perfective past e.g. ku maitaki a te huenga
2/ present tense (of wishing, desires) e.g. ku hangarahi ana au ki a koe!
He = present tense e.g. he tiaki au ki a ia
Ka = imperative, must e.g. ka rere atu te manu i te kuri
Kia = desiderative (used mostly with statives) e.g. kia riva! be good!
He Kupu Ho`ou
puka - book
mango = shark
kaihini = soon (without delay)
apo = tomorrow
veri, nehe = beautiful
aha = what
ahiahi = afternoon
ana = cave, den
ara = road, path
aka = root
ote`a = midday
hahau = wind, breeze
vaai = to give, to lend
hoi = horse
honu = turtle
pakia = seal (zoological)
horou = to be swift
ihu = nose
mata = eye
aringa = face
ivi = bone
kainga = home, homeland, land
iti = small
ita = to be strong
moe = to lie down
hauru = to sleep
karanga = to call
kata = to laugh
kimi = to search, to investigate
makona = to be satisfied, of eating food
me`e = thing
