the Gulf of Papua. Dialects Hiri Motu has two dialects: "Austronesian" and "Papuan". Both dialects are Austronesian in both grammar and vocabulary due to their derivation from Motu; the dialect names refer to the first languages spoken by users of this lingua franca. The "Papuan" dialect (also called "non-central") was more widely spoken and was, at least from about 1964, used as the standard for official publications. The "Austronesian" (or "central") dialect is closer to Motu in grammar and phonology, and its vocabulary is both more extensive and closer to the original language. It was the prestige dialect, which was regarded by speakers as being more "correct". The distinction between Motu and its "pidgin" dialects has been described as blurred. They form a continuum from the original "pure" language, through the established creoles, to what some writers have suggested constitutes a form of "Hiri Motu–based pidgin" used as a contact language with people who had not fully acquired Hiri Motu, such as the Eleman and Koriki. Phonology Syntax Personal pronouns In the Hiri Motu language, the distinction between "inclusive" and "exclusive" forms of 'we' is very important. In the former case, 'we' applies to the speaker and listener while in the latter case 'we' does not include the listener. Possessives 'my' 'your (singular)' 'your (plural)' 'his, her, its' 'their' For example, in the table above, is placed before the noun, such as ('my pig'). The first half of the word (, ) may be taken out of the word. For example, can be shortened to . Postpositions Hiri Motu uses postpositions. A standard postposition is , which can mean 'in', 'on', or 'at'. For example, means 'in the box', means 'on the table', and means 'at Konedobu (a location in Papua)'. Because Hiri Motu does not allow double vowels, will often fuse with the word. Some examples: → – 'in, inside' → – 'on, on top of' Word order There are two word orders in Hiri Motu: subject–object–verb (SOV) and object-subject-verb (OSV), both of which can be used interchangeably (OSV is more common in Hiri Motu). These sentence structures either start with a subject which is followed by an object, or vice versa start with an object which is followed by a subject, and both end with a verb. The sentence always ends with a verb regardless of the word order. As word order can be arbitrarily chosen, ambiguity may