The Nanumea dialect, also known as te 'Gana Faka Nanumea or Nanumean, is a dialect of Tuvaluan, also considered by some to be a separate language, spoken on the island of Nanumea in northern Tuvalu. It is part of the Northern dialect group of Tuvaluan, and is closely related to other Polynesian languages, especially the languages of the Polynesian outliers, such as Tuvaluan, Nukuoro, Kapingamarani, Samoan and Tokelauan, and less so related to more well-known Polynesian languages such as Māori and 'Ōlelo Hawai'i. There is one Nanumean lexicon.https://nanumea.net/Dictionaries.html
Phonology Nanumea's phonemes are the same as to the phonemes of other northern dialects of the Tuvaluan language, as can be observed:
Vowels +ShortLongFrontBackFrontBackCloseiuiːuːMideoeːoːOpenaaː
Consonants +LabialAlveolarVelarGlottalNasalmnŋPlosiveptkFricativefvhLaterall Consonants can also be germinated, just like Tuvaluan.
Challenges Nanumea may eventually sink completely below sea level by the near future, which is a threat to te 'Gana Faka Nanumea, because if the atoll was no longer there, there would be no use for Nanumean.
Similarities and differences with standard Tuvaluan +EnglishNanumeaTuvaluanAdditional informationCatPuuhiPūsi/s/ turns into /h/ in northern dialects and, to an extent, the Nukulaelae dialectSpouseAavagaĀvagaIdeaAofagaManatuGoldAuloAuloLatin loanwordTo foldFefetu/TaketakeSaiBat (Instrument)PatePateTableLaulauTaipolaTo helpFakamaamaaFesoasoaniFly (Insect)LagoLagoNominalizer suffix -a -ga'-a' is also used in Tokelauan.TenAgafuluSefulu/Hefulu'Agafulu' seems to also have been used in older Tuvaluan, as is described by Donald G. K., though more modernhttps://tuvalu.aa-ken.jp/en/ dictionaries cite 'sefulu' as the used word for ten, though in compound words 'agafulu' seems to have maintained, e.g. agafulumaikao ten coconuts.
See also
Tuvaluan Language Nanumea atoll Fatele, Fakanau, Fakaseasesa Polynesian outliers
References