Rapanui

The Rapanui language, also known as Pascuan, is a Polynesian language spoken on Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. It is one of only two surviving members of the Easter Island subgroup of Polynesian languages, the other being Tahitian. The Rapanui language is endangered, with only about 3,000 speakers, most of whom are monolingual. The Rapanui language is an oral language with no written tradition. It is a VOS language, meaning that the basic word order is verb–object–subject. However, due to the influence of Tahitian, Rapanui has adopted a SVO word order in many cases. The Rapanui language has a simple phonology, with only eight consonants and five vowels. The consonants are /p/, /t/, /k/, /ʔ/, /m/, /n/, /ʃ/, and /h/. The vowel inventory consists of /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. There are no diphthongs. The Rapanui language has a rich vocabulary, with many words having multiple meanings. For example, the word “toki” can mean “stone”, “language”, or “axe”, depending on the context. The Rapanui language is currently endangered, with only about 3,000 speakers. The vast majority of Rapanui speakers are monolingual, meaning they only speak Rapanui. However, due to the influence of Tahitian, many Rapanui speakers are also bilingual, speaking both Rapanui and Tahitian. The Rapanui language is facing extinction, due to the fact that the vast majority of Rapanui speakers are monolingual. In order to save the language, it is important to encourage Rapanui speakers to learn Tahitian, as well as to teach Tahitian speakers to learn Rapanui.