The thirty New Caledonian languages form a branch of the

Southern Oceanic languages The Southern Oceanic languages are a linkage of Oceanic languages spoken in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It was proposed by Lynch, Ross, and Crowley in 2002 and supported by later studies. They consider it to be a linkage rather than a language gr ...

. Their speakers are known as

Kanaks The Kanak ( French spelling until 1984: Canaque) are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific. According to the 2019 census, the Kanak make up 41.2% of New Caledonia's ...

. One language is extinct, one is critically endangered, 4 are severely endangered, 5 are endangered, and another 5 are vulnerable to extinction.

Typology

The Cèmuhî, Paicî, Drubea, Numèè, and Kwenyii languages are tonal.Rivierre, Jean-Claude. 1993
Tonogenesis in New Caledonia
In Edmondson and Gregerson: ''Tonality in Austronesian languages'', 155–173.

Oceanic Linguistics ''Oceanic Linguistics'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the indigenous languages of the Oceanic area and parts of Southeast Asia, including the indigenous Australian languages, the Papuan languages of New Guinea, ...

Special Publication 24. Other than phonemically contrastive tone, typological features in New Caledonian languages that are typically unusual for Oceanic languages include

nasalized vowel A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the soft palate (or velum) so that the air flow escapes through the nose and the mouth simultaneously, as in the French vowel or Amoy []. By contrast, oral vowels are produced with ...

s, very large vowel inventories, retroflex consonants, and voiceless nasals.

Languages

*Loyalty Islands **

Drehu Drehu (; also known as Dehu, Lifou, Lifu, qene drehu) is an Austronesian language mostly spoken on Lifou Island, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. It has about twelve-thousand fluent speakers and the status of a French regional language. This sta ...

(

Lifou Island Lifou Island, historically spelt Lifu or Lefu in English, and known as Drehu in the local language, is the largest, most populous and most important island of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an French overseas territor ...

) ** Iaai (

Ouvéa Island Ouvéa Island or Uvea Island is one of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island is part of the commune (municipality) of Ouvéa, in the Loyalty Islands Province o ...

) ** Nengone (

Maré Island Maré Island or Nengone (french: Île de Maré) is the second-largest of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island is part of the commune (municipality) of Maré, ...

) *Mainland New Caledonian **Southern New Caledonian ***Extreme Southern **** Ndrumbea (vulnerable) **** Numèè ***Mid-Southern ****Xârâcùù–Xârâgurè: *****

Xârâcùù Xârâcùù (), or Kanala, is an Oceanic language spoken in New Caledonia. It has about 5,000 speakers. Xârâcùù is most commonly spoken in the south Central area of New Caledonia in and around the city of Canala and the municipalities of Cana ...

***** Xârâgurè (endangered) ****Zire–Tîrî: ***** Tîrî (endangered) ***** Zire † ****Wailic ***** Ajië ***** Arhâ (severely endangered) ***** Arhö (critically endangered) ***** Neku (severely endangered) ***** Orowe (endangered) **Northern New Caledonian ***'' Haeke''* *** Haveke* ***'' Vamale''* ***Central Northern **** Cèmuhî **** Paicî ***North Northern **** Pwaamei (endangered) **** Pwapwa (severely endangered) ***** Bwatoo ***** Hmwaveke ***** Waamwang ***** Fwâi ***** Jawe (vulnerable) *****

Nemi Nemi is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is northwest of Velletri and about southeast of Rome. The town's name derives from the Latin ...

(vulnerable) ***** Pije (severely endangered) ***Extreme Northern ****

Caac The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible fo ...

(vulnerable) ****

Kumak Komoq ( fa, كمق, also Romanized as Kamaq; also known as Kūmak) is a village in Sanjabad-e Jonubi Rural District, Firuz District, Kowsar County, Ardabil Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

(vulnerable) **** Nyâlayu **** Yuanga The languages of the northern

Voh Voh is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It has become famous for the aerial photography of what is known as ''The Heart of Voh'', a large formation of vegetation that resem ...

– Koné area (*) are often discussed as a unit.

List of New Caledonian languages

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Caledonian Languages Southern Oceanic languages