tēlge

Mwotlap

Etymology

From Proto-Torres-Banks *(i) tolu ɣai, from Proto-Oceanic *i (“3rd person pronoun”) + *tolu (“three”) + *kai (“native, person”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɪlɣɛ/

Article

tēlge (trial)

1. the (trial article for human nouns)

   tēlge lōqōvēn ― (the) three women

Usage notes

• General determiner; does not encode definiteness.
• Contrasts with singular na- (prefix), dual yoge, plural ige.

Pronoun

tēlge

1. (the) three people (generic trial for human nouns)

Usage notes

• Contrasts with 3rd trial personal pronoun kēytēl.

References

• p.124 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.