Central Vanuatu languages

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Central Vanuatu
Geographic
distribution		 Vanuatu
Linguistic classification Austronesian
Glottolog cent2269

The Central Vanuatu languages form a linkage of Southern Oceanic languages spoken in central Vanuatu.

Contents

Languages

Clark (2009)

Clark (2009) provides the following classification of the Central Vanuatu languages, divided into geographic areas. [1] Outlier (aberrant) languages identified by Clark (2009) are in italics. Clark's Central Vanuatu branch is wider in scope,[ clarification needed ] including not only the Shepherd–Efate languages, but also the Malakula and Ambrym–Paama–Epi languages.

François et al. (2015)

The following list of 19 Central Vanuatu languages (excluding the Malakula languages) is from François et al. (2015:18–21).

No.LanguageOther namesSpeakers ISO 639-3 Region
107 North Ambrym 5250 mmg Ambrym
108 Orkon Fanbak 30 fnb Ambrym
109 Southeast Ambrym 3700 tvk Ambrym
110 Daakie Port Vato 1300 ptv Ambrym
111 Daakaka South Ambrym, Baiap 1200 bpa Ambrym
112 Dalkalaen 1000 Ambrym
113 Raljago West Ambrym, Lonwolwol <10 crc Ambrym
114 Paama Paamese 6000 paa Paama
115 Lamen Lamenu, Varmali 850 lmu Epi, Lamen
116 Lewo Varsu 2200 lww Epi
117 Bierebo Bonkovia-Yevali 900 bnk Epi
118 Baki Burumba, Paki 350 bki Epi
119 Mkir Maii 180 mmm Epi
120 Bieria Bieri, Vovo, Wowo 25 brj Epi
121 Namakura Makura, Namakir 3750 nmk Efate, Shepherd Islands (Tongoa, Tongariki)
123 Nakanamanga 9500 llp Efate, Shepherd Islands (Nguna, Tongoa)
124 Lelepa Havannah Harbour 400 lpa Efate, Lelepa
125 Eton 500 etn Efate
126 South Efate Erakor 6000 erk Efate

Additionally, the extinct Sowa language was formerly spoken in central Vanuatu.

Related Research Articles

The nine South Vanuatu languages form a family of the Southern Oceanic languages, spoken in Tafea Province of Vanuatu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Oceanic languages</span> Subgroup of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian language family

The Southern Oceanic languages are a linkage of Oceanic languages spoken in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It was proposed by John Lynch in 1995 and supported by later studies. It appears to be a linkage rather than a language family with a clearly defined internal nested structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Efate language</span> Austronesian language spoken in Vanuatu

North Efate, also known as Nakanamanga or Nguna, is an Oceanic language spoken on the northern area of Efate in Vanuatu, as well as on a number of islands off the northern coast – including Nguna, and parts of Tongoa, Emae and Epi.

The North Vanuatu languages form a linkage of Southern Oceanic languages spoken in northern Vanuatu.

Kiai is an Oceanic language spoken by about 450 people in the central highlands of Espiritu Santo island, in Vanuatu.

Ande or Morouas (Moruas) is an Oceanic language spoken in central Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.

Narango is an Oceanic language spoken on the south coast of Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.

Nokuku (Nogugu) is an Oceanic language spoken in the north of Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.

Piamatsina is an Oceanic language spoken in the north of Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.

Wailapa, or Ale, is an Oceanic language spoken on Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu. It is in a dialect chain between Akei and Penantsiro, but these are not mutually intelligible.

The Malakula languages are a group of Central Vanuatu languages spoken on Malakula Island in central Vanuatu. Unlike some earlier classifications, linguist and Oceanic languages specialist John Lynch (2016) considered the Malakula languages to form a coherent group.

The Espiritu Santo languages are a group of North Vanuatu languages spoken on Espiritu Santo Island in northern Vanuatu. Tryon (2010) considers the Espiritu Santo languages to be a coherent group.

Dalkalaen is a Central Vanuatu language spoken by about 1,000 people on the southwestern tip of Ambrym Island, Vanuatu.

Moiso is an Espiritu Santo language of Vanuatu. It is spoken in Moriuli village in central Santo Island by about 100 people.

Fanafo is an Espiritu Santo language of Vanuatu. It is spoken by 20 people in Vanafo and Butmas villages of eastern Santo Island.

Rutan is a Malakula language of Vanuatu.

Alovas is a Malakula language of Vanuatu.

Najit is a Malakula language of Vanuatu, spoken by less than 5 speakers.

Njav is a Malakula language of Vanuatu. There are about 10 speakers.

Bura is an Espiritu Santo language of Vanuatu with 300 speakers.

References

  1. ↑ Clark, Ross (2009). Leo Tuai: A comparative lexical study of North and Central Vanuatu languages. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
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