Yapese

Yapese is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian sub-group of Austronesian languages. It is spoken by about 6,600 people in the State of Yap, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, an archipelago of islands in the Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Papua New Guinea.

Yapese first appeared in writing in a work on Yapese grammar, Primer Ensayo de Gramatica de la lengua de Yap, by Fr. Ambrosio de Valencina, a Spanish missionary, which was published in Manila in 1888. The Spanish-based spelling system for Yapese used by Fr. de Valencina remained in use until 1972, when the Yapese Orthography Committee came up with a new spelling system. Not all the changes, such as the use of the letter q for glottal stops, have been universally excepted.

The Yapese language has influences from Spanish, German, Japanese and English, largely as a result of colonial occupation. There are three other languages, Ulithian, Woleaian, and Satawalese, which, along with English, have official status in Yap. Japanese is spoken by many older Yapese.

The Yapese alphabet and pronunciation

The Yapese Alphabet

Sample phrases in Yapese

Gubine gidii mani gargeleg nga faileng nibapuf matt'awen nge rogon. Bay laniyan nipii e nam, ere ngauda ted matt'aawen e chaa niba chugur ngoded nimod walag dad.

Link

Information about Yapese language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yapese_language
http://ppo.prel.org/cs/ppo/run/zzz?x-r=ppobrowse&title_id=3733&search_type=title
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ballanty/dissertation/dissch2.pdf (PDF) http://faroutliers.blogspot.com/2004/08/yapese-spelling-reform-that-damn-q.html

Information about Yap and Micronesia
http://www.prel.org/pacserv/yap.asp
http://www.visit-fsm.org
http://www.visityap.com

Related languages

Balinese, Batak, Bikol, Bugis, Buhid, Cebuano, Cham, Chamorro, Drehu, Fijian, Hanuno'o, Hawaiian, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Javanese, Kapampangan, Makasar, Malagasy, Malay, Mandar, Maori, Marshallese, Niuean, Rarotongan, Redjang, Rotuman, , Tagalog, Tagbanwa, Tahitian, Tongan, Tuvaluan, Waray-Waray, Yapese

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet