kēytēl

Mwotlap

Etymology

From Proto-Torres-Banks *ᵑgiratolu, from Proto-Oceanic *kiratolu, from *kira (“they”) + *tolu (“three”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɪjtɪl/

Pronoun

kēytēl (trial)

1. they, them (trial pronoun, for human referents)

Usage notes

• Contrasts with 3rd singular kē, 3rd dual kōyō, 3rd plural kēy.

References

• p.119 of: François, Alexandre. 2005. A typological overview of Mwotlap, an Oceanic language of Vanuatu. Linguistic typology 9 (1): 115–146. DOI:10.1515/lity.2005.9.1.115.
• François, Alexandre. 2016. The historical morphology of personal pronouns in northern Vanuatu. Faits de Langues. Bern: Peter Lang. 25–60.
• François, Alexandre. 2024. Online Mwotlap–English–French cultural dictionary. Electronic files. Paris: CNRS. (Pdf version) – entry kēytēl.