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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 (Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale – EGIDS – level 5) 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.

Zabana
Kia
The extent of the Zabana language on the West Isabel Islands
Native to	Central Solomon Islands
Region	Santa Isabel Island
Native speakers	3,400 (2003)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Northwest Solomonic New Georgia – Ysabel Ysabel West Isabel Zabana
Official status
Official language in	Solomon Islands
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kji
Glottolog	zaba1237
Zabana is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

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 (also known as Maringe.) 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 (the final syllable of a word that ends in a vowel) are stressed. When compared to the neighboring languages, Zabana has fewer phonemes than its neighbors, in particular Kokota.

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.

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.

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.

Reduplication is used in Zabana to derive intransitive verbs from transitive terms and to derive nouns from verbs.

Sentence structure

Zabana is a mainly a verb–subject–object (VSO) language.

Declarative

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.

Ghe

predicate

manevaka

subject

ianimu

direct object

neke

oblique object

Ghe manevaka ianimu neke

predicate subject {direct object} {oblique object}

'but whiteman there stay'

Interrogative

There are four basic types of question sentences in Zabana: polar questions (yes/no), content questions, alternative questions, and dubitative questions (rhetorical).

• Polar question: denoted by a rise in intonation at the end of a sentence
• Content question: denoted by the use of one of the four interrogative words and by a fall in intonation at the end of the question
• Alternative question: 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.

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 to 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 sentences

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.'

External links

• Paradisec has multiple collection that include Zabana language materials.

References

1. ^ "Zabana". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
2. Zabana at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
3. ^ Fitzsimons, Matthew (1989). Zabana : a grammar of a Solomon Islands language.

• Languages of the Solomon Islands
• Ysabel languages