Tobian is the language of Tobi, one of the Southwest Islands of Palau, and the main island of Hatohobei state. Tobian is a Micronesian language spoken by approximately 150 people. The speakers are located in either the island of Tobi or in Echang, a hamlet of Koror, the former capital of Palau. Tobian and Sonsorolese are very close, and appear to be gradually merging towards a new dialect called "Echangese". Earlier in the 20th century, about 1000 people lived on the island. Shortly before and during the First World War, those numbers dropped severely due to a widespread of diseases.
Classification
Tobian and the dialects of Sonsorol, Merir, and Pulo Ana, the other inhabited Southwest Islands, are closely related to the languages spoken in the Federated States of Micronesia outer islands of Yap and Truk Lagoon. These include Ulithi and the Central Carolines. Altogether, these languages form a sub-group within the Micronesian languages. The names of these dialects are the terms that are commonly used in European terms. Below are the native names as compared to the common names:
This is only base counting. There are different numerals for a lot of different objects.
Phonology
Vowels
"œ" is used rarely and sounds similar to the French "eu" but the lips do not round out at the end of the sound and has critical meaning in words. There is a central low vowel that sounds like the "u" in "but", but it does not have semantic value and it has very rare occurrence.
Diphthongs
There are a lot of diphthongs in Tobian and according to Capell, "several of them are difficult for Europeans". äe as in mäe: breadfruit äi fäivi: woman aḛ wa′ŋaḛt: then ai maik: swordfish a:i ms:il, forehead decoration ao̯ wao̯: top au jau: needle, sauruai: my friend a:u sa:u: piece ei lei: agent of action oʉ woʉ: rather of house øi røi: coconut oil øʉ Pannøʉ: Palau
Homonyms and Near Homonyms
Like most other languages, Tobian has examples of homonyms but they are not as abundant. Meanings can vary solely on vowel length. Also small differences in sounds can produce major differences in meanings. For example, the difference between voiceless and voiced consonants are important but there are many exceptions where it does not affect the meaning. ŋøŋa 1. to chew betelnut 2. a stick used in weaving ʉl 1. a lobster 2. to pull, drag taitai 1. to excel, precede 2. to shave
Differences In Sounds
mäk: tatooing as compared with ma: kind of garnish ′pannʉ: coconut leaf Pannøʉ: Palau i′te: my name i′tøʉ?: who? teiføʉ: thirsty taivøʉ: new ŋøs: tired ŋo̯s: glans penis
Accents Of Words And Sentences
Tobian utilizes both stress and pitch accents or tones. Compared to the other dialects, it uses less musical tone. It is not a tonal language because the tone does not change the meaning of the word. Although it is not tonal, the speech has a wide variety of tone variations that appear to be emotional rather than linguistic and either show emphasis or other semantic components. Stress accents are used but not as much as English or Russian. In the past, the stress marks would normally be placed on the last syllable of the words. In the present, the stress marks can be placed either on the last syllable or the second to last syllable.
