Zabana is an Oceanic language spoken almost exclusively in the Kia district on the northern part of Santa Isabel Island in the Solomon Islands. Zabana is considered a developing language which means that the language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable. It is one of the most spoken languages on Santa Isabel Island, competing with Cheke Holo. There is a 30% to 60% literacy rate in Zabana as a first language and a 25% to 50% literacy rate in Zabana as a second language.
Location
Zabana is almost exclusively spoken on Santa Isabel Island which is the largest island in the Isabel provenience and the third largest island in the Solomon Island chain. Zabana is one of the eight different languages spoken on Santa Isabel island. Out of the other seven different languages spoken on the island, Zabana shares major similarities with Kokota and Cheke Holo A combination dialect of Zabana and Cheke Holo is also developed and widely spoken within the area.
Phonology
Zabana only contains open syllables, since there are no consonant clusters and geminate vowels in the language. Vocal stress on a single phoneme does not exist in Zabana, instead certain syllables called penultimate syllables are stressed. When compared to the neighboring languages, Zabana has fewer phonemes than its neighbors, in particular Kokota.
Initial
Medial
k 17%
l 13%
p 12%
r 13%
t 10%
k 11%
s 10%
t 9%
m 8%
n 7%
b 7%
p 6%
l 6%
s 6%
r 5%
h 6%
n 4%
m 5%
h 4%
b 4%
d 3%
g 4%
v 3%
gh 4%
f 3%
d 3%
g 2%
v 3%
gh 2%
ng 3%
ng 2%
f 2%
z 1%
z 1%
Morphology
There are two types of verbs in Zabana, transitive and intransitive verbs.
Transitive Verb: Can be attached with a suffix which indexes the direct or indirect object.
Intransitive Verb: Verbs which convey motion of some sort.
English
Zabana
Mother
Uke
Father
mama
House
suga
Tooth
hiŋa-
Blood
busaka-
Eye
hiba-
Egg
tediri
Dog
meusu
Rat
pururudu
Fruit
fua-
Fish
namari
In Zabana, possession is denoted syntactically by a possessive suffix attached to the noun such as no or ka. Words such as "father", "mother", and "uncle" can never take on a possessive suffix.
English
Zabana
Rotten
bɔe
Cold
kapɔ
Warm
daŋava
Red
busaka
Yellow
hekɔ
Green
dɔdɔli
Black
sisibe
Good
veha|na
Bad/Evil
mukɔ
Heavy
tahu
Wet
bɔese
Dry
ka|raŋɔ
Larger numbers are made by compounding "Cardinal Numbers" such as one through ten and the exponential factors of ten such as one hundred and one thousand.
Base
Reduplicate
nohe "sit"
nonohe "seat form"
goto "to boil"
gotogoto "to sweat"
baolo "to name"
babaolo "name"
Reduplication is used in Zabana to derive intransitive verbs from transitive terms and to derive nouns from verbs.
Declarative sentences are denoted by a drop in intonation at the end of the sentence and the basic sentence structure or word ordering of a declarative sentence is shown below.
Example: Ghe manevaka ianimu neke "but whiteman there stay" Predicate, subject, direct object, oblique object
Interrogative
There are four basic types of question sentences in Zabana: polar questions, content questions, alternative questions, dubitative questions.
Polar Question: Denoted by a rise in intonation at the end of a sentence
Content Questions: Denoted by the use of one of the four interrogative words and by a fall in intonation at the end of the question
Alternative Questions: In Zabana they are usually request or open ended questions
Honorific Language
There is a chiefly language form of Zabana which is used when addressing clan chiefs.
English
Common Form
Chiefly Form
Child
rekaha
suli gitau
Eye
hiba
nahali
Sleep
epu
megho
Fall
riufu
neukete
Complex Sentences
Complex sentences in Zabana are formed when a conjoined clause is used in a sentence, by using one of the three different connectors: nia, ga, and ba which are "and", "or", and "but" respectively. The exception of this rule is the connecting particle ghe which is used to denote a conditional sentence or question and nia must be used to connect the pronoun and the proper noun together. ghe can also be used in a complex sentence to link together two different proper nouns.
Conditional Sentence
In Zabana there are two different types of conditional sentences: simple and counterfactual sentences. Both sentences use the particle la to denote that they are conditional sentences.
Simple Conditional: Denoted by the use of the particle to along with the particle la, simple conditional sentences state a hypothetical situation in Zabana.
Example: To nanarela ghatu e kotoro hofi ini "If it rains today, the roof will leak."
Counterfactual: States a situation where the condition is no fulfilled.
Example: Geke meha la ia vaka norao gela to lao ara kia "If the boat had come yesterday, I would have gone to Kia."
