- Santa Cruz language
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Santa Cruz Natügu Spoken in Solomon Islands Region Santa Cruz Islands, Eastern Solomons. Coordinates 10°40′S 165°50′E / 10.667°S 165.833°E Native speakers 5,900: 4,280 Londai and 1,620 Nea (1999) Language family Language codes ISO 639-3 stc – Macrolanguage
individual codes:
ntu – Natügu
nlz – NalögoThe Santa Cruz language (locally known as Natügu) is the main language spoken on the island of Nendö or 'Santa Cruz', in the Solomon Islands.
Contents
Genetic affiliation
It was widely believed until recently that Santa Cruz was a Papuan language. Like the rest of the Reefs – Santa Cruz languages, however, it has been shown to be a member of the Austronesian language family.[1]
Dialects
Santa Cruz further divides into the following dialects[2]: Ndeni (Deni), Te Motu, Londai, Nea, Nooli, Lvova (Lwowa), Mbanua. Speakers of most dialects understand Lwowa and Mbanua well. The Nea and Nooli dialects are the most divergent.
References
- ^ Næss, Åshild and Brenda H. Boerger (2008). "Reefs – Santa Cruz as Oceanic: Evidence from the Verb Complex". Oceanic Linguistics 47: 185–212. doi:10.1353/ol.0.0000.
- ^ See the Ethnologue page for Santa Cruz.
Links
- Buk Ngr Nzangiongr Anglican Book of Worship in the Natqgu Language
Categories:- Languages of the Solomon Islands
- Austronesian language stubs
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