Lakon is an Oceanic language , spoken on the west coast of Gaua island in Vanuatu .
15-655: The language name Lakon [laˈkɔn] refers originally to the area where it is spoken ‒ namely Lakona Bay , corresponding to the west coast of Gaua. The alternative name Lakona [lakona] is from the Mota language . These names are derived from a Proto-Torres-Banks form * laᵑgona , of unknown meaning. Lakon had four dialects, named Qatareu ( Qätärew [k͡pʷætæˈrɛw] ), Vure ( Vurē [βuˈrɪ] ), Toglatareu, and Togla. Lakon has 16 phonemic consonants. The glottal stop [ʔ] only occurs before vowels in syllable-initial position. While non-phonemic, it
30-553: A flowering shrub which belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae , the subfamily Acalyphinae , and the genus Acalypha . Acalypha is the fourth largest genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, and contains many plants native to Oceania . Acalypha hispida is also known as Philippine medusa and red hot cat tail in English. It is cultivated as a house plant because of its attractiveness and brilliantly colored, furry flowers. The Latin specific epithet hispida means “bristly”, referring to
45-460: A loose potting soil, rich in organic matter and sand, and must be kept well-watered during the spring and summer. Watering should be reduced somewhat in fall and winter. It is typically propagated from cuttings. The clear latex is poisonous and can irritate the skin and mucous membranes (signs of intoxication do not appear until massive amounts of plants have been absorbed). Roots, leaves and flowers are used for medical purposes. The plant itself
60-640: A spread of 3–6 feet (0.91–1.83 m), with potted plants being the smallest in growth. The plant has become somewhat domesticated, due to the nature and color of its flowers. It can be grown from seeds as well as from cuttings. It can be kept either as an outdoor plant or as a houseplant . The plant is dioecious , and therefore there are distinct male and female members of the species. The female plant bears pistillate flowers which are 0.7 millimeters long and range in color from purple to bright red, and grow in clusters along catkins that can grow up to fifty centimeters (19.5 inches) or more in length. This feature
75-472: Is based on a system of geocentric ( absolute ) directionals, which is typical of Oceanic languages . Mota language Mota is an Oceanic language spoken by about 750 people on Mota island , in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu . It is the most conservative Torres–Banks language , and the only one to keep its inherited five-vowel system intact while also preserving most final vowels. The language
90-539: Is named after the island . During the period 1840–1940, Mota was used as a missionary lingua franca throughout areas of Oceania included in the Melanesian Mission , an Anglican missionary agency. Mota was used on Norfolk Island , in religious education; on other islands with different vernacular languages, it served as the language of liturgical prayers, hymns, and some other religious purposes. Elizabeth Fairburn Colenso translated religious material into
105-679: Is no stress in Mota. As a result, penultimate high vowels tend to be deleted, creating new consonant clusters (see below). Proto-Torres–Banks , the ancestor of all Torres–Banks languages including Mota, is reconstructed as a language with open syllables of type {CV}, and no closed syllable {CVC}. That phonotactic profile has been preserved in many words of modern Mota (e.g. salagoro [salaɣoro] “secret enclosure for initiation rituals”, ran̄oran̄o [raŋoraŋo] “ Acalypha hispida ”), unlike surrounding languages which massively created closed syllables . That said, modern Mota also reflects
120-426: Is sometimes noted in the orthography, using a ⟨’⟩ mark. Lakon has 16 phonemic vowels. These include 8 short /i ɪ ɛ æ a ɔ ʊ u/ and 8 long vowels /iː ɪː ɛː æː aː ɔː ʊː uː/. Historically, the phonemicisation of vowel length originates in the compensatory lengthening of short vowels when the alveolar trill /r/ was lost syllable-finally. This is considered to be a very recent change, perhaps within
135-400: Is the primary reason the plant bears the nickname “red-hot cat tail”. The pistillates will grow all year long as long as the temperatures are favorable. The leaves are large, oval and bright green to reddish copper. When grown as a house plant, it needs bright light but not direct sunlight, and requires high humidity and a temperature of at least 61 °F (16 °C). It should be grown in
150-580: The Melanesian Mission. The Bible was published in 1912 and then revised in 1928. The New Testament ( O Vatavata we Garaqa ) was further revised by W.G. Ivens of the Anglican Melanesian Mission and published in 1931 by the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS). The Anglican Prayer Book was produced in Mota in 1947. Acalypha hispida Acalypha hispida , the chenille plant , is
165-485: The irregular loss of Veverao g in the transitive marker -ag / -ai (< *-agi ). As a result, many modern Mota words now feature final consonants and/or consonant clusters : e.g. pa l [pal] (< palu ) "to steal"; sn aga [snaɣa] (< sinaga ) "vegetable food"; pt e pt e [ptepte] (< putepute ) "to sit". The New Testament was translated by Robert Henry Codrington, John Palmer, John Coleridge Patteson and L. Pritt all of
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#1732855865391180-530: The language. Robert Henry Codrington compiled the first dictionary of Mota (1896), and worked with George Sarawia and others to produce a large number of early publications in this language. Mota phonemically contrasts 14 consonants and 5 vowels, /i e a o u/. These 19 phonemes form the smallest phonemic inventory among the Torres-Banks languages , because it did not undergo vowel hybridization, and also merged two ancient consonants *ⁿd and *n . There
195-459: The last century, as Codrington still indicates the trill syllable-finally. However, the 1897 Book of Common Prayer in Lakon shows loss of the trill, as evidenced by tataa [taˈtaː] "prayer" (spelled as tata ) for Mota tataro . The system of personal pronouns in Lakon contrasts clusivity , and distinguishes four numbers (singular, dual , trial , plural). Spatial reference in Lakon
210-643: The pendent flowers which vaguely resemble brushes. The plant originated in tropical Asia, specifically Malesia and Papuasia , but has become naturalized to multiple countries in North America, including the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua and Belize. In cultivation it is widespread, particularly as a houseplant, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit . It can grow to be 5–12 feet (1.5–3.7 m) tall, and have
225-439: The regular loss of unstressed high vowels *i and *u ‒ a process already incipient in the earliest attestations of the language (circa 1860) and completed in modern Mota. However, this is thought to be a relatively recent process compared to other Torres-Banks languages, because when Maligo and Veverao dialects are compared, such as Maligo rusag and Veverao rusai (< *rusagi ), shows that high vowel loss must have occurred after
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