Torba (or ''TorBa'') is the northernmost and least populous
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
. It consists of the
Banks Islands
The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and include ...
and the
Torres Islands
The Torres Islands are in the Torba Province of the country of Vanuatu, and is that country’s the northernmost island group. The chain of islands that make up this micro-archipelago straddles the broader cultural boundary between Island Melane ...
.
The province's name is derived from the initial letters of "''TORres''" and "''BAnks''".
Population
The province has a population of 9,359
and an area of . Its capital is
Sola
Sola is a municipality and a Seaside resort in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Solakrossen. Other villages include Tananger, Hålandsm ...
on Vanua Lava.
Islands
These are the main islands of Torba Province, excluding smaller and uninhabited islets.
;Banks Islands
;Torres Islands
Languages
The Torba province has
seventeen languages, all
Oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
— from north to south:
Hiw,
Lo-Toga
Lo-Toga is an Oceanic language spoken by about 580 people on the islands of Lo and Toga, in the Torres group of northern Vanuatu. The language has sometimes been called ''Loh'' ('' sic'') or ''Toga'', after either of its two dialects.
Name
T ...
,
Lehali,
Löyöp,
Volow
Volow (formerly known as ''Valuwa'' or ''Valuga'') is an Oceanic language variety which used to be spoken in the area of Aplow, in the eastern part of the island of Motalava, in Vanuatu.
Name
The name ''Volow'' is originally a placename: it c ...
,
Mwotlap
Mwotlap (pronounced ; formerly known as ''Motlav'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of Ra ...
,
Lemerig
Lemerig is an Oceanic language spoken on Vanua Lava, in Vanuatu.
Lemerig is no longer actively spoken. The 2 remaining speakers live on the northern coast of the island. The language has receded in favour of its neighbours Mwotlap and Vera' ...
,
Vera'a,
Vurës,
Mwesen,
Mota Mota, MOTA or variations thereof may refer to:
Geography
* Mota (island), Vanuatu
* Mota, Ethiopia, a town
* Mota, Gujarat, India, a town
* Mota, Ljutomer, Slovenia, a village
Music
* ''M.O.T.A.'' (album), a 2005 album by Cultura Profética
* "M ...
,
Nume,
Dorig,
Koro Koro may refer to:
Geography
*Koro Island, a Fijian island
* Koro Sea, in the Pacific Ocean
* Koro, Ivory Coast
*Koro, Mali
* Koro, Wisconsin, United States, an unincorporated community
Languages
*Koro language (India), an endangered language spo ...
,
Olrat,
Lakon,
Mwerlap.
[ François ''et al.'' (2015).]
With 550 speakers per language on average (17 for 9,300 people), Torba is one of the linguistically densest areas of Vanuatu – itself the country with the highest density of languages per capita in the world.
References
Bibliography
*
* .
Provinces of Vanuatu
States and territories established in 1994
{{Vanuatu-geo-stub