South Efate language
Encyclopedia
The South Efate language is a Nuclear Southern Oceanic language
of the Malayo-Polynesian
language family
, spoken on the island of Efate
in central Vanuatu. , there are approximately 6,000 speakers who live in coastal villages from Pango to Eton. The language's grammar has been described by Nick Thieberger
, who is working on a book of stories and dictionary of the language. The field recordings have been archived with Paradisec
.
South Efate is closely related to Nguna
and to Lelepa. A 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database (based purely on a small set of vocabulary items) places it in an Efate group that also includes North Efate. Based on certain shared features with southern Vanuatu languages (including echo-subject marking and a free form and preposed 1st singular possessive form), Lynch (2001) suggests it could form part of a southern Vanuatu subgroup which includes New Caledonia.
Southern Oceanic languages
The Southern Oceanic languages are a branch of Oceanic proposed by Lynch, Ross, and Crowley in 2002 and supported by later analysis.-Composition:A 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database supports the following classification...
of the Malayo-Polynesian
Malayo-Polynesian languages
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia...
language family
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
, spoken on the island of Efate
Éfaté
Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...
in central Vanuatu. , there are approximately 6,000 speakers who live in coastal villages from Pango to Eton. The language's grammar has been described by Nick Thieberger
Nicholas Thieberger
Nicholas Thieberger is an Australian linguist working at the University of Melbourne. He is best known for his research on Indigenous Australian languages, on the South Efate language of Vanuatu, and for his work in Language documentation...
, who is working on a book of stories and dictionary of the language. The field recordings have been archived with Paradisec
Paradisec
The Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures is a cross-institutional project that supports work on endangered languages and cultures of the Pacific and the region around Australia. They digitise reel-to-reel field tapes, have a mass data store and use international...
.
South Efate is closely related to Nguna
North Efate language
North Efate, or Nguna, is an Oceanic language spoken on several islands of Vanuatu.-External links:*...
and to Lelepa. A 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database (based purely on a small set of vocabulary items) places it in an Efate group that also includes North Efate. Based on certain shared features with southern Vanuatu languages (including echo-subject marking and a free form and preposed 1st singular possessive form), Lynch (2001) suggests it could form part of a southern Vanuatu subgroup which includes New Caledonia.
External links
- Topics in the grammar and documentation of South Efate, an Oceanic language of Central Vanuatu by Nicholas Thieberger
- Dictionary of South Efate by Nicholas Thieberger
- A collection of texts in the language with media, by Nicholas Thieberger
- South Efate at EthnologueEthnologueEthnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...