# Yele language

The Yele language, or Yélî Dnye (IPA:), is the language of Rossel Island, the easternmost island in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. There were an estimated 5,000 speakers in 2015, comprising the entire ethnic population. It is known for its many doubly articulated consonants. The language remains unclassified by linguists.

## Classification

For now, the language is best considered unclassified. It has been classified as a tentative language isolate that may turn out to be related to the Anêm and Ata language isolates of New Britain (in a tentative Yele – West New Britain family), or alternatively closest to Sudest in the Papuan Tip languages of the Oceanic family. Typologically it is more similar to the Oceanic languages of southern New Guinea than to the isolates of New Britain. Word order tends to be subject–object–verb (SOV; verb-final).
Stebbins et al. (2018) classifies Yélî Dnye as an isolate. They explain similarities with Austronesian as being due to contact and diffusion. Usher classifies it as an Oceanic language, with regular sound correspondences obscured by the development of the doubly articulated consonants.

## Phonology

Yele has a uniquely rich set of doubly articulated consonants. In nearly all the languages of the world which have them, these are labial–velar consonants—that is, they are pronounced simultaneously with the lips and the back of the tongue, such as a simultaneous p and k. However, Yele is known to contrast other doubly articulated positions: besides labial–velar, it has two distinct labial–coronal articulations, all as both stops and nasals as illustrated below. There are also doubly articulated approximants: [l͡βʲ] as in lvamê (a type of cane) and [j͡β̞]. The Yele /w̪/ is more precisely a labial–dental [β̞͡ð̞], and may also have an allophone of [β]. These doubly articulated consonants do not contrast with labialization except in the case of the labial–velars.
The two coronal articulations are
* laminal denti-alveolar, sometimes transcribed ⟨tʸ, nʸ⟩ etc. or simply ⟨t, n⟩ etc.,
* sub-apical retroflex, possibly varying as apical post-alveolar, variously transcribed ⟨ṭ, ṇ⟩ etc., ⟨ʈ, ɳ⟩ etc., or simply ⟨t, n⟩ etc.
Palatalization occurs at all places of articulation. Stops may be either pre-nasalized or post-nasalized.
Altogether, there are 58 attested consonants (56 demonstrated with solid minimal pairs) and one more that is somewhat dubious. The attested inventory is as follows:
The oral stops apart from the dentialveolars are lightly voiced between vowels when the following vowel is short, but not when it is long. /ʈ/ is further reduced to a flap [ɽ]. All prenasalized stops are fully voiced. The palatalized denti-alveolar stops /t̪ʲ/ and /n̪d̪ʲ/ are pronounced as affricates [t͡ɕ] and [nd͡ʑ].
/ʈɳ/ (orthographic dn) is only attested from the inflectional clitic -dniye, and it is not clear that it is distinct from well-attested palatalized /ʈɳʲ/ (for *-dnyiye) (Levinson 2022:45). Some palatalized and labialized consonants are only attested from a handful of words. A gap in the chart above, *ɳ͡mɖ͡bʲ (orthographic mdy), is plausible but unattested (Levinson 2022:45). Other gaps, namely *n̪ʲ and *n̪͡mʲ (orthographic ńy and nmy) seem to not exist (Levinson 2022:46).
Yele also has 34 vowels: ten oral qualities and seven nasal, all long and short:
Vowels may occur long or short. SIL (1992/2004) interprets vowel sequences as being separated by /j/ or /w/ rather than being in hiatus. (Possibly redundant y or w are found in the sequences iy and uw followed by most short vowels.) Given that vowels may be long or short, Yele syllables may only be of the form V or CV, with V only being short /æ/ or /u/ at the beginning of a word (assuming lack of hiatus within a word).

## Orthography

| Orthography | a | â | b | ch | d | e | é | ê | gh | i | î | j | k | l | m | n | ń | o | ó | p | t | u | v | w | y | ꞉ |
| IPA | æ | ɑ | p | t̪ʲ | ʈ | ɛ | e | ə | ɣ | i | ɯ | t̪ʲ | k | l | m | ɳ | n̪ | ɔ | o | p | t̪ | u | β | w̪ | j | ◌̃ |
The multigraphs for complex consonants are not always transparent. The labial-velar and labial-coronal consonants are written with the labial second: kp /k͡p/, dp /ʈ͡p/, tp /t̪͡p/, ngm /ŋ͡m/, nm /ɳ͡m/, ńm /n̪͡m/, lv /l͡βʲ/. Prenasalized /mp/ is written mb, but /nd̪/ and /ŋɡ/ are written nt and nk to distinguish them from nd /nɖ/ and ng /ŋ/. Prenasalized stops are written with an m when labial, including the doubly articulated stops md /ɳ͡mɖ͡b/, mg /ŋ͡mɡ͡b/ and mt /n̪͡md̪͡b/, and with n otherwise. Nasal release is likewise written n or m, as in dny /ʈɳʲ/, kn /kŋ/, dm /ʈ͡pɳ͡m/, km /k͡pŋ͡m/. Labialization is written w, and palatalization y, apart from ch for /t̪ʲ/ and nj for /nd̪ʲ/.
Of the vowels, only a and u occur initially. Long vowels are written double, and nasal vowels with a preceding colon (꞉a for /æ̃/), except for short vowels after an orthographic nasal consonant, where vowel nasality is not contrastive.

## Grammar

Yele has been studied extensively by cognitive linguists. It has an extensive set of spatial postpositions. Yele has eleven postpositions equivalent to English on; using different ones depending factors such as whether the object is on a table (horizontal), a wall (vertical), or atop a peak; whether or not it is attached to the surface; and whether it is solid or granular (distributed).

### Pronouns

Yele has a set of free pronouns and a set of bound possessive pronouns.
    Singular Dual Plural English Yele English Yele English Yele 1st person free Iɳəwe twon̪oweɳ͡mo bound a n̪i ɳ͡mɯ 2nd person free thoun̪iyou twoʈ͡pũyoun̪͡mo bound N- ʈ͡pɯ n̪͡me 3rd person free he/she–they two –they– bound u ji

## Taboos and special registers

There are three different types of taboos present in Yélî Dnye: vocabulary avoided by women, vocabulary avoided when in the presence of in-laws, and vocabulary related to sacred places. However, since the language has fallen into disuse, many of this special vocabulary is no longer used.
Additionally, special registers and terms are used when discussing shell money (kêndapî), at a mortuary feast (kpaakpaa) and during songs.

### Women's language

As a form of women's speech, women avoid certain words, especially those related to the sea. Instead, other words are substituted.
Sample women's language terms :
| Men's term | Women's term | Gloss |
| ntii | tpili | sea |
| nt꞉ee | tpyele | sea (locative) |
| nee | dyudu | canoe |
| kwede | kódu yââ/mtene pyu | bailer shell |
| lyé | pele yââ | coconut mat |
| mbwaa | tolo | fresh water |
| Lów꞉a | mwada tpli pee | Lów꞉a isle |

### In-laws

Since great respect is shown to in-laws on Rossel Island, speakers of Yélî Dnye will not say their in-laws' names, will only speak of each in-law using the polite third-person plural pronoun yi, and will replace certain words when speaking near them. While the alternative vocabulary is mostly no longer used, the name and pronoun taboos are still observed.
Most of the taboo words are body parts, clothing or carried possessions. Not all body words are replaced, however: for example, 'neck', 'Adam's apple' and 'stomach' retain their everyday forms.
Sample in-law terms :
| Everyday term | In-law term | Gloss |
| ngwolo | yi wuché / yi chéé dê | eye |
| kópu | yi kp꞉aa têdê | words |
| kêê | yi kéépi | hand |
| yodo | yi mbwene | belly |
| péé | yi mgéé | basket |
| kada | ghââ | in front of |
| tpe/tpoo | yi tapa | vagina |

## Vocabulary

Selected basic vocabulary items in Yélî Dnye:
    glossYélî Dnye birdńmê; ńmo bloodwêê bonedînê breastngmo earngweńe eatma eggw꞉uu eyengwolo firendê; ndyuw꞉e giveyeede golê; lili; nî groundmbwóó; têpê hairgh꞉aa headmbodo legyi lousey꞉emê wee manpi moond꞉ââ namepi onengmidi road, pathmaa seem꞉uu skymbóó; vyââ stonechêêpî sunkââdî tonguedêê toothnyóó treeyi twomiyó watermbwaa; tolo womankumbwada; pyââ

## Sample text

Yélî Dnye:
    Kiye w꞉ââ u pi Peetuuki, ka kwo, Doongê. Nê kuu. Daa a w꞉ââ. Nkal u w꞉ââ. Nkal ngê yinê kaa ngê. W꞉ââ dono. Pi yilî u te. U nuu u pi da tóó. Pi u lama daa tóó. M꞉iituwo Yidika, Mépé tp꞉oo mî kiye ngê. Daanté. Mépé dono ngê pyodo. Apê, W꞉ââ mbwamê nînê châpwo. Nkal ngê kwo, "Up꞉o" . W꞉ââ mî mbêpê wo, chii mênê. Mépé ngê w꞉ââ mbwamê mêdîpê châpwo. Awêde ka kwo, Doongê. Pi maa daa t꞉a. A danêmbum u dî.
Yélî Dnye in the International Phonetic Alphabet:
    ˈki.ɛ w̪ɑ̃ː u pi ˈpɛːt̪uːɡi | kæ kʷɔ | ˈʈɔːŋə̃ || ɳə̃ kuː || ʈæː æ w̪ɑ̃ː || ŋɡæl u w̪ɑ̃ː || ŋɡæl ŋə̃ ˈjiɳə̃ kæː ŋə̃ || w̪ɑ̃ː ˈʈɔɳɔ̃ || pi ˈjilɯ u t̪ɛ || u ɳuː u pi ʈæ t̪oː || pi u ˈlæmæ̃ ʈæː t̪oː || ˈmĩːt̪u.ɔ ˈjiɽiˈɡæ | ˈmebe t̪͡pɔ̃ː mɯ̃ ˈki.ɛ ŋə̃ || ˈʈæːn̪d̪e || ˈmebe ʈɔˈɳɔ̃ ŋə̃ ˈpʲɔɽɔ || ˈæbə | w̪ɑ̃ː ˈmbʷæmə̃ ˈɳɯ̃ɳə̃ ˈt͡ɕɑbʷɔ || ŋɡæl ŋə̃ kʷɔ | ˈubɔ̃ || w̪ɑ̃ː mɯ̃ ˈmbəbə w̪ɔ | t͡ɕiː ˈmə̃ɳə̃ || meˈbe ŋə̃ w̪ɑ̃ː ˈmbʷæmə̃ ˈməɽɯbə ˈt͡ɕɑbʷɔ || æˈw̪əɽɛ kæ kʷɔ | ˈʈɔːŋə̃ || pi mæː ʈæː t̪æ̃ || æ ˈʈæɳə̃mbum u ʈɯ ||
Translation:
    The savage dog is called "Peetuuki", and he lives at Doongê. It's nothing to do with me. It's not my dog. It's Nkal's dog. He raised it. It's a bad dog. It bites everyone. It doesn't like anyone. Recently it bit Mépé's son, Yidika. It really bit him hard. Mépé became very angry, and said, 'I'm going to kill that dog'. The dog ran away into the bush, so Mépé could not kill it. So now it's still there at Doongê, so there's not a safe road through there. That's the end of my story.
(SIL 1992/2004)