About Me and My Language

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POLLAPESE

ABOUT ME AND MY LANGUAGE
I am a graduate student in Linguistics with special focus on Language Documentation and Conservation. My interest in the field stemmed from a need to understand how language is perceived, learned, and understood by different people and cultures. Understanding this will help in designing a teaching model that will meet the needs of Chuukese children not only in the classroom but also in other domains of life.

Despite the difficulty and challenges of the program, it's been very exciting to learn about language documentation and its wider impact in perpetuating a language and culture.

Pollapese is the language of the people of Pollap and is spoken by everyone on the atoll. Aside from being spoken on Pollap Island, there are three other areas where there is a large concentration of Pollapese speakers, namely Weno, Guam, and Hawaii. The current trend in out-migration of many Pollapese to such places as Hawaii and Guam is of major concern to me as a native speaker because of the impact it's going to have on the language.

Your first name Paulina

Your last name Yourupi

E-mail: yourupi@hawaii.edu

Preferred name(s) of your language Pollapese

Alternative names Pulapese

Language classification Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Micronesian, Micronesian Proper, Ponapeic-Trukic

Geographical areas where spoken Pollap (Pulap),Weno in Chuuk, Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, and other parts of the world where there are Pollapese

Approximate number of native speakers 905 (FSM 2000 Census)

Approximate number of fluent speakers 905

Other languages spoken in area/country Chuukese, Puluwatese, Mortlockese, Pááfang, Namonuito, Satawalese, Carolinian

Official language(s) in your country English plus all the different languages native to Micronesia

Language(s) used at school as a child Pollapese

Language(s) used by teachers today Pollapese & English

Do the representatives of neighboring ethnic groups learn to speak your language No

If the answer to the above question is yes, please specify

Does your language have a widely accepted writing system? Yes but one that is under revision

If you answered yes, what materials are written? There is an unpublished mini dictionary in my possession that was created in the 80s by a group of Pollapese teachers with the help of an anthropologist Julianna Flinn. There are also a couple of unpublished stories by me and people's letters to each other.

NUMBERS

one eew

two ruwow

three yelu / yeluw

four
rúwaanú / rúwaanúw

five limow

six wonow

seven fisu / fisuw

eight walu / waluw

nine tiwow

ten engool

Your first name	Paulina
Your last name	Yourupi
E-mail:	yourupi@hawaii.edu
Preferred name(s) of your language	Pollapese
Alternative names	Pulapese
Language classification	Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Micronesian, Micronesian Proper, Ponapeic-Trukic
Geographical areas where spoken	Pollap (Pulap),Weno in Chuuk, Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, and other parts of the world where there are Pollapese
Approximate number of native speakers	905 (FSM 2000 Census)
Approximate number of fluent speakers	905
Other languages spoken in area/country	Chuukese, Puluwatese, Mortlockese, Pááfang, Namonuito, Satawalese, Carolinian
Official language(s) in your country	English plus all the different languages native to Micronesia
Language(s) used at school as a child	Pollapese
Language(s) used by teachers today	Pollapese & English
Do the representatives of neighboring ethnic groups learn to speak your language	No
If the answer to the above question is yes, please specify
Does your language have a widely accepted writing system?	Yes but one that is under revision
If you answered yes, what materials are written?	There is an unpublished mini dictionary in my possession that was created in the 80s by a group of Pollapese teachers with the help of an anthropologist Julianna Flinn. There are also a couple of unpublished stories by me and people's letters to each other.

NUMBERS
one	eew
two	ruwow
three	yelu / yeluw
four	rúwaanú / rúwaanúw
five	limow
six	wonow
seven	fisu / fisuw
eight	walu / waluw
nine	tiwow
ten	engool