Editing Rapa language (section)

== Varieties==
There are three varieties of the Rapa language currently being spoken: Old Rapa, Reo Rapa and New Rapa.{{sfn|Walworth|2015}} Old Rapa is the indigenous form of Rapa. Reo Rapa as a language was created, not simply by incorporating lexical terms from Tahitian to Old Rapa, but from bilingualism and language shift due to the dominance of Tahitian. While Reo Rapa is a mix of [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]] and Old Rapa, speakers can generally tell if the words they are speaking are sourced from Tahitian or Old Rapa due to phonemes absent in one language and present in the other.{{sfn|Walworth|2017|page=120}} Based on the phonological form, speakers of Reo Rapa are aware that certain words they speak belong to Old Rapa or Tahitian.{{sfn|Walworth|2017|page=120}} For instance, velar nasal sounds such as {{IPA|/ŋ/}} and velar stop sounds like {{IPA|/k/}} are not present in Tahitian but are in Old Rapa.{{sfn|Walworth|2017|page=105}}

The most common variety on the island of Rapa Iti is Reo Rapa. It was formed from Tahitian and Old Rapa and developed due to language shift. However, this shift halted at some point in the language's development. Walworth{{sfn|Walworth|2017}} defines this as a shift-break language. Reo Rapa is not a [[Koiné language|koine]] language, where a language is created due to interaction between two groups speaking mutually intelligible languages.{{sfn|Walworth|2017|pages=121, 122}} Contact between Old Rapa and Tahitian speakers was indirect and never prolonged, violating a requirement to be called a [[koiné language]]. Reo Rapa was the result of a monolingual community that began to shift to the more dominant Tahitian Language, thus creating a bilingual community, which eventually led to Reo Rapa.{{sfn|Walworth|2017|pages=121, 122}}

Although they are sister languages, it is important to note that neither Reo Rapa nor Old Rapa should be confused with the [[Rapa Nui language]].{{sfn|Walworth|2015}} Additionally, the language is sufficiently different from the rest of the Austral Islands languages to be considered a separate language.{{sfn|Charpentier|François|2015}}

New Rapa is a form or variety of Reo Rapa starting to be used by people under 50 as an attempt by the younger generation to reverse the language shift to the Tahitian Language. In New Rapa, the Tahitian elements are phonologically modified as an attempt to create words that sound more similar to Old Rapa instead of Tahitian. As a means of being identified as a "true local" Rapa speaker, the newer generation is modifying the Reo Rapa language so that it sounds less like Tahitian and more like Old Rapa.{{sfn|Walworth|2017|page=124}}