Rotuman Complete/Long and Incomplete/Short

One of the truly unique features of the Rotuman language is what has been called “complete and incomplete” or “long and short” by different linguists.  We will use the terms “long and short” here because the terms are simpler and more descriptive.  While this might seem difficult to learn, with practice it will become a language habit.  Keep in mind that there is no other language in the world that has anything quite like this!  Be proud of that, and let that fact inspire you to learn this feature.

The Forms.  All lexical words (basically, those that are nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, but not shorter words that are conjunctions or prepositions) have two forms.  The short is formed from the long by a number of processes, or rules.  Here are some common examples, with both forms given:

          Long                     Short                    Meaning
          ho’a                      hoa’                      ‘to take’
          ‘epa                      ‘eap                      ‘mat’
          la’o                       la’                         ‘to go’
          mamasa                mamas                  ‘drying ceremony’
          ma’piga                ma’piag                ‘grandparent’
          rako                      rak                        ‘to study, education, school’
          tạku                      tạk                        ‘doctor’
          vạhi                       vȧh                       ‘to finish’
          Fiti                        Fit                         ‘Fiji’

Basically, one of three things happens to the long form to make the short.  The first rule is: When the last two vowels of the long form are the same (as in mamasa, Fiti), or the last vowel is o or u (as in laʽo, rako, or tạku), then the last vowel is dropped in the short form (mamas, Fit, laʽ, rak,  tạk). 

The second rule is: When the final vowel is i (as in vạhi, hoʽi, or futi), the i-vowel drops and the second last vowel changes its pronunciation.  In linguistic terms, that vowel is fronted.  The Rotuman writing system adds a diacritic (small mark) to the vowel to indicate this new pronunciation.  The a becomes ȧ (vȧh) which is pronounced much like the English e-vowel in the word ‘vet’.  The o becomes ö (höʽ) and the ubecomes ü (füt).  These last two sounds are not found in English, but do occur in some European languages such as French and German.  Go to the Sounds (http://www.neiu.edu/~Rotuman/Sounds.html) link to hear what these sound like.

The third and final rule is: When the last vowel is a (as in hoʽa, ʽepa, or maʽpiga) then the last vowel and consonant switch places (hoaʽ, ʽeap,
maʽpiag).

When the final two vowels are together, with no consonant between them, then the sounds of the two vowels are run together, forming a single syllable; there is no change in the way the short form is written, but there is a change in how it is pronounced.

What all of the short forms share, in relation to the long forms, is that they end in a consonant (except when the word ends in vowel-vowel) and they are shorter by one syllable.  That is, if the long form has two syllables, the short form has just one; if the long form has three syllables, the short form has two.

If this is new to you, it would be a good idea to memorize the long and short of one example for each vowel combination, since the same thing will happen with other words with the same vowel combinations.

When to Use the Long and Short Forms.  As a rule of thumb, the short forms are used much more frequently than the long forms.  For a noun that is not followed by an adjective or article, the long form is used to show that it is plural and definite.  That is, ʽepa means ‘the mats’; for ‘some mats’ use the short ʽeap; for ‘the mat’ use the short ‘eap plus the definite singular article ta (‘eap ta); ‘a mat’ is formed by the indefinite singular suffix –t plus the long form (epat). 

For a verb that does not have a suffix (an ending), the short form is almost always used. The suffix –-ʽạki, which occurs on a lot of verbs, has a short form    – ʽȧk.

In the Learner Dictionary on this website, you will find each word listed under its long form, with a / and the short form listed immediately after it.   In the Churchward dictionary words are listed according to their long forms, and are then followed by something like ‘1a’, which indicates which rule, according to his description of the rules in the Grammar portion of the Dictionary, is used to form the short form.  You should find the Learner Dictionary more helpful.

You can practice the long and short with the exercises below.

Exercises on Long and Short
The answers are supplied at the end.  Try to figure the answers out yourself first!

1. Based on the explanations in the Grammar section, give the corresponding short form of the following long forms. Try to write them and pronounce them.
          a. hạsu        ‘gall bladder’
          b. leʽe          ‘child’
          c. maho        ‘to become cold’
          d. foʽa          ‘to land, step on’
          e. rạhi          ‘fire’
          f.  fere         ‘to fly’
          g. pija          ‘rat’
          h. para         ‘to decay’
          i.  hanisi       ‘to love’

2. Translate the following nouns in their long and short forms into English.
          a.  tạk ta
          b. mamas ta
          c.  mamasat
          d. mamasa
          e. maʽpiga
          f.  maʽpiag ta
          g. maʽpigat
          h. gagaja
          i.  gagaj ta
          j.  gagajat
          k. rako
          l.  rak ta

Answers to Exercise 1    

Answers to Exercise 2