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Language: Sishëë

Source/Author:  LERCARI Claude, 1994 
Identifiers:  ISO-639-3:sih  Glottocode: zire1240 
Notes:  The data entered here have been collected from the book of Claude LERCARI, Textes Sichëë (Nouvelle-Caldonie) : Esquisse phonologique, lexique (1994, Paris: INALCO).
This book provides a phonological and lexical sketch of the Sichëë language, spoken by the tribes on the see side between the Moindou and Bourail villages located on the Main Land ('Grande Terre') of New Caledonia.
The lexicon this book presents is not a dictionnary. It presents Sichëë words translated and define in French, althought the lexicon is not as fine-grained as other scientific lexicons mainly because of the language vitality (this languages, if not extinct already, is severely in danger).
Methodology used here to enter the lexical data :
- The synonymy has been reduced by going through both lexicons.
- When both simple words and compound words are possible in Sichëë to translate a word in the list, we have opted for the simple words (i.e made by only one lexical unit).
- When a word in the list can not be translated by a single general item in Sichëë, some semantic specifications for each one of them have been provided in the 'author annotation' column. 
Problems:  The phonological description Claude Lercari provides is quite clear regarding the consonants and oral vowels systems. However, the nasal vowels system presents an ambiguity : it is not clear which degree of aperture vowel is nasalised. For instance the two oral vowels [e] and [ɛ] with two different degrees of aperture are clearly distinguished, but only one nasal vowel - noted [ê] in the source document - that could be the nasal equivalent of either [e] or [ɛ] is presented. As we do not know clearly which degree of aperture is more likely to have the nasal vowel - the aperture of [e] or [ɛ] -, the words with a [ê] vowel in the source document will transcribed the [e] nasalised and the [ɛ] nasalised. The two possible transcriptions will be then signaled with a slash.
Note that the problem is the same with the two oral vowels [o] and [ɔ] ending up in a single naslasiled vowel we could transcribe either [õ] or [ɔ̃]. The two possible transcriptions will be then signaled with a slash between the two possible transcription for the words with those vowels. 
Data Entry:  Typed By: David PIEKUT  Checked By:  
Statistics:   
Classification:  Austronesian:Malayo-Polynesian:Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian:Eastern Malayo-Polynesian:Oceanic:Central-Eastern Oceanic:Remote Oceanic:New Caledonian:Southern:South:Zire-Tiri  
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Showing all of 32 entries

Entries:

ID: Word: Item: Annotation: Cognacy: Loan:
1 hand mãrã   14  
2 left xɔ̃rɔ̃mi   21  
2 left xõrõmi   21  
3 right xaru   87  
4 leg/foot      
5 to walk      
6 road/path xõrõvɛ      
6 road/path xɔ̃rɔ̃vɛ      
7 to come      
8 to turn word info mɛ:ri      
9 to swim      
10 dirty      
11 dust      
12 skin ŋõrõ      
12 skin ŋɔ̃rɔ̃      
13 back word info tiõ      
13 back word info tiɔ̃      
14 belly niaҫõ      
14 belly niaҫɔ̃      
15 bone ɲõ      
15 bone ɲɔ̃      
16 intestines ũrũ      
17 liver arɛ      
18 breast ɟi   1  
19 shoulder      
20 to know, be knowledgeable nuxwai      
21 to think nonimi      
21 to think nunimi      
22 to fear bara      
23 blood ɔfẽ      
23 blood ɔfɛ̃      
24 head õr̃õ      
24 head ɔ̃rɔ̃      
25 neck      
26 hair word info pwãrã      
27 nose      
28 to breathe      
29 to sniff, smell      
30 mouth niaxõ      
30 mouth niaxɔ̃      
30 mouth ɲãxõ      
30 mouth ɲaxɔ̃      
31 tooth virixõ      
31 tooth virixɔ̃      
32 tongue      
33 to laugh      
34 to cry      
35 to vomit      
36 to spit cuxwãri      
36 to spit xãri      
37 to eat ãrra      
37 to eat xãrra      
38 to chew word info      
39 to cook word info ɲɯ a.    
40 to drink      
41 to bite ɛɣɛrɛ      
42 to suck ɟui      
43 ear bwanẽrẽ      
43 ear bwanɛ̃rɛ̃      
44 to hear numwãrã      
44 to hear nuwãrã      
45 eye      
46 to see va      
47 to yawn ɤa      
48 to sleep ma:wi      
49 to lie down word info nuwũrũ Means 'to be lying down, in order to rest'    
50 to dream      
51 to sit ʝɔ: 'to be sitting'    
51 to sit nuʝɔ: 'to be sitting'    
52 to stand naɣa      
52 to stand na:      
53 person/human being nɯa      
54 man/male afã      
55 woman/female asĩ      
56 child xɤwari      
56 child xɔwari      
57 husband      
58 wife      
59 mother cime      
60 father pɤa:      
60 father pɤva:      
61 house mwã      
62 thatch/roof ŋũ      
63 name fãrĩ      
64 to say vãrã      
65 rope wi   25  
66 to tie up, fasten mãɤ This lexical item seems to be the most typical one that conveys the meaning of 'to tie up, fasten'    
66 to tie up, fasten sɔi This lexical item conveys two meaning 'to tie up' and 'to be agonizing'    
67 to sew word info      
68 needle      
69 to hunt word info      
70 to shoot word info      
71 to stab, pierce      
72 to hit word info mãri Means 'to hit with a cane' ('trique', in french)    
73 to steal vɛ̃ru      
73 to steal vẽru      
74 to kill      
75 to die, be dead ma      
76 to live, be alive      
77 to scratch word info kɛwɔ:      
78 to cut, hack word info sha Means 'to cut, to notch wood'    
79 stick/wood bwɛrɛ Means 'piece of wood, like a branch of a tree'    
80 to split word info      
81 sharp      
82 dull, blunt      
83 to work word info xũ      
84 to plant numu      
85 to choose pãmĩrĩ      
86 to grow word info      
87 to swell word info vu      
88 to squeeze word info      
89 to hold word info      
90 to dig kɛrɛ The distinction between those two lexical items is not clear in the source lexicon    
90 to dig pwãkɛrɛ      
91 to buy toaҫi      
92 to open, uncover umiã      
93 to pound, beat word info      
94 to throw word info siҫẽ      
94 to throw word info siҫɛ̃      
95 to fall word info ɲãxɛ      
96 dog      
97 bird ɲãri      
98 egg      
99 feather vɛ̃rũ      
99 feather vẽrũ      
100 wing mɛba:      
101 to fly      
102 rat si:pɯ      
103 meat/flesh      
104 fat/grease      
105 tail mwĩ:      
106 snake      
107 worm (earthworm)      
108 louse word info      
109 mosquito naõ      
109 mosquito naɔ̃      
110 spider      
111 fish      
112 rotten word info bu seems to be more general and possibly used for a more extended scope of contexts than ҫɤxu:    
112 rotten word info ҫɤxu:      
113 branch word info      
114 leaf niɔ̃      
114 leaf niõ      
115 root kwɛ:      
116 flower pwãrɤ      
117 fruit      
118 grass      
119 earth/soil ɟaraxɔ      
120 stone      
121 sand      
122 water word info ҫʌ:      
123 to flow ɟɔ      
124 sea      
125 salt sɔ:rɔ      
126 lake      
127 woods/forest sĩnɔ:      
128 sky ŋũrũ-ara      
129 moon mwaҫẽ      
129 moon mwaҫɛ̃      
130 star      
131 cloud word info      
132 fog sɔu:      
133 rain      
134 thunder kɔ̃      
134 thunder nɔrɔ      
135 lightning      
136 wind wɛʝɯ      
137 to blow word info wisa b.    
137 to blow word info tɛ      
138 warm word info      
139 cold word info mɔna      
139 cold word info mɯi      
140 dry word info mɛru a. 'dry (as dry coconut for instance)'    
141 wet mi:      
142 heavy u      
142 heavy mɛʝɯ      
143 fire nɛ   46  
144 to burn word info cuvuru      
144 to burn word info kɛri:      
144 to burn word info ŋɛ̃      
145 smoke word info kũ      
145 smoke word info ku      
146 ash      
147 black      
148 white xɔva      
149 red mea   1  
150 yellow      
151 green      
152 small      
153 big ɟɯ:      
154 short word info ҫãva b.    
155 long word info      
156 thin word info      
157 thick word info      
158 narrow      
159 wide dara:      
160 painful, sick      
161 shy, ashamed xɯ̃rɯ̃ Means 'to be ashamed'    
162 old word info ɲɔ̃rɔ̃      
162 old word info ɲõrõ      
163 new xãvane      
164 good xaru   55  
165 bad, evil sa: Used in, for instance, 'bad, prohibited food'    
166 correct, true dɔ   94  
167 night ŋɔ̃rõ      
167 night ŋɔ̃rɔ̃      
168 day mwara      
169 year xɔ̃da      
169 year xõda      
170 when? word info ãni      
171 to hide word info nuɔ      
172 to climb word info vɯrɯ      
173 at      
174 in, inside rɯ      
175 above xõ      
175 above xɔ̃      
176 below      
177 this      
178 that      
179 near sĩxũwɔ      
180 far      
181 where? word info ɛrɛ      
182 I gu   1  
183 thou gɛ   1  
184 he/she      
185 we word info gara incl.    
185 we word info gɔva excl.    
186 you gɔrɔ      
187 they      
188 what? word info ɟe      
189 who? word info ɟa      
190 other dɛmwã 'another one/others'    
190 other dexa 'another one among some people'    
191 all ҫau Used for human beings    
191 all sĩ Used for objects    
192 and      
193 if      
194 how? word info      
195 no, not ãɛ 'no'    
195 no, not na This word marks the negative polarity of a sentence (i.e means 'not')    
196 to count      
197 One word info ҫãe      
198 Two word info du   1  
199 Three word info ҫiri      
200 Four word info      
201 Five word info      
202 Six word info      
203 Seven word info      
204 Eight word info      
205 Nine word info      
206 Ten word info si xuru xɔ      
207 Twenty word info      
208 Fifty word info      
209 One Hundred word info      
210 One Thousand word info      

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