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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 (or ''Aya'') and Vanua Lava, as well as migrant groups in the two main cities of the country, Santo and Port Vila. Mwotlap was first described in any detail in 2001, by the linguist Alexandre François. Volow, which used to be spoken on the same island, may be considered a dialect or a separate language. The language Name The language is named after the island. Geographic distribution Mwotlap is spoken by about 2,100 people in the Banks Islands, in the North of Vanuatu. Among them, 1,640 live on the island of Mota Lava and its neighbor island, Ra. It is also spoken by a few hundred people living elsewhere in Vanuatu: * Vanua Lava, particularly in the northeast * Several other northern Vanuatu islands including Ureparapara, G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volow Language
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 corresponds to the area known as Aplow, but in the local language Volow rather than in Mwotlap. This form, pronounced , is derived from Proto-Torres-Banks *''βaluwa''. In neighboring Mwotlap, the same area is called ''Aplow'' (with locative prefix ''a-''), and in Mota, it is called ''Valuwa'' . Both of these are nowadays used as alternative names for the area. Sociolinguistics Volow has receded historically in favour of the now dominant language Mwotlap. It is now only remembered by a single passive speaker, who lives in the village of Aplow — the new name of what was previously known as Volow. The similarity of Volow with Mwotlap is such that the two communalects may be considered dialects of a single language. Phonology Volow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 corresponds to the area known as Aplow, but in the local language Volow rather than in Mwotlap. This form, pronounced , is derived from Proto-Torres-Banks *''βaluwa''. In neighboring Mwotlap, the same area is called ''Aplow'' (with locative prefix ''a-''), and in Mota, it is called ''Valuwa'' . Both of these are nowadays used as alternative names for the area. Sociolinguistics Volow has receded historically in favour of the now dominant language Mwotlap. It is now only remembered by a single passive speaker, who lives in the village of Aplow — the new name of what was previously known as Volow. The similarity of Volow with Mwotlap is such that the two communalects may be considered dialects of a single language. Phonology Volo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motalava
Mota Lava or Motalava is an island of the Banks group, in the north of Vanuatu. It forms a single coral system with the small island of Ra. The 2009 census figures give a population of 1640 inhabitants (Mota Lava + Ra), which amounts to a population density of 67 people per km². Geography Geography and geology With an area of 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi), Mota Lava is the fourth largest island in the Banks Islands, after Gaua, Vanua Lava and Ureparapara. It is the highest () of the eastern chain of islands, as well as the largest. Ra, a small island of , is located off the southern coast of Mota Lava. It is attached to it by high corals that one can wade through at low tide. The climate on Mota Lava is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall exceeds 4000 mm. The island is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones. The island is served by Mota Lava Airport. Geology Mota Lava is composed of at least five basaltic stratovolcanoes. Two of the cones, Vet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mota Lava
Mota Lava or Motalava is an island of the Banks group, in the north of Vanuatu. It forms a single coral system with the small island of Ra. The 2009 census figures give a population of 1640 inhabitants (Mota Lava + Ra), which amounts to a population density of 67 people per km². Geography Geography and geology With an area of 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi), Mota Lava is the fourth largest island in the Banks Islands, after Gaua, Vanua Lava and Ureparapara. It is the highest () of the eastern chain of islands, as well as the largest. Ra, a small island of , is located off the southern coast of Mota Lava. It is attached to it by high corals that one can wade through at low tide. The climate on Mota Lava is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall exceeds 4000 mm. The island is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones. The island is served by Mota Lava Airport. Geology Mota Lava is composed of at least five basaltic stratovolcanoes. Two of the cones, Vet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandre François
Alexandre François is a French linguist specialising in the description and study of the indigenous languages of Melanesia. He belongs t''Lattice'' a research centre of the CNRS and École Normale Supérieure dedicated to linguistics. Research Language description and documentation François has done linguistic fieldwork in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. In 2002, he published a grammatical description of Araki, a language spoken by a handful of speakers on an islet south of Espiritu Santo (Vanuatu). Most of his research focuses on the northern islands of Vanuatu, known as the Torres and Banks Islands, an area where sixteen out of seventeen languages are still spoken: Hiw, Lo-Toga, Lehali, Löyöp, Mwotlap, Volow (extinct), Lemerig, Vera'a, Vurës, Mwesen, Mota, Nume, Dorig, Koro, Olrat, Lakon, Mwerlap - all descended from the Proto-Torres–Banks language, which was also reconstructed by him. After describing Mwotlap, the language with most speakers in that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaua
Gaua (formerly known as ''Santa Maria Island'') is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km². History Gaua was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós, from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island’s name was then charted as ''Santa María''. Geography Gaua is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones. The climate is humid tropical; the average annual rainfall exceeds 3500 mm. It has rugged terrain, reaching up to Mount Gharat (797 m), the peak of the active stratovolcano which lies at the center of the island. Its most recent eruption was in 2013. The volcano has a 6 × 9 km caldera, within which lies a crater lake, known as Lake Letas, which is the largest lake in Vanuatu. To the east of the lake is Siri Waterfall (120 m drop). Natural history The upper slopes of the island have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Bir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torres–Banks Languages
The Torres–Banks languages form a linkage of Southern Oceanic languages spoken in the Torres Islands and Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu. Languages François (2011) recognizes 17 languages spoken by 9,400 people in 50 villages, including 16 living (3 of which are moribund) and one extinct language. François (2011). The 17 languages, ranked from northwest to southeast, are: : Comparative studies A. François has published several studies comparing various features of the Torres–Banks languages: * François (2005): Inventories of vowel systems, and their historical development; * François (2007): Systems of noun articles, and their historical development; * François (2009): How several languages grammaticalized a set of light personal pronouns into markers for “aorist” aspect; * François (2011): How Torres–Banks languages tend to show structural isomorphism, yet lexical diversity; * François (2013): Etymological reconstruction of spiritual terms in Torres� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aplow
Aplow, or ''Valuwa'', is a village located on the eastern part of Motalava island, in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu. Located close to it is the island's airport, ''Valua airport''. Aplow also designates the whole district around this village, corresponding to the eastern side of the island; in this sense, Aplow contrasts with ''Mwotlap'', which strictly speaking designates the western half of Motalava island. The area of Aplow used to be home of a communalect (language or dialect) known as Volow. Volow become extinct in the 1980s, as its speakers adopted the dominant language Mwotlap from the western side. Name The name ''Aplow'' is the name of the village in Mwotlap, which is the dominant language spoken today on the island. The same village was originally known as ''Volow'' in the now extinct language of the same name. Finally, the village, as well as the district around it, are sometimes designated as ''Valuwa'' (or wrongly as ''Valua''). this reflects the form of the wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ra (island)
Rah or Ra is a small coral islet of , located in the Banks group of northern Vanuatu. The same name also refers to the single village which is situated within this islet. There are massive rocks on the island. The islet of Rah is situated off the larger island of Mota Lava. Access to Rah is done in two ways: at low tide, by wading across the narrow strait from the mainland; at high tide, by outrigger canoe. Name The islet is known in English, and Bislama, as ''Rah'' (where the letter ''h'' does not represent anything in the actual name). ''Rah'' reflects a shortened version of the form ''Rao'' , which is the way the islet is called in the neighbouring language Mota. The island has also been calle''Ara'' In the islanders' own language 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 isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ra Island
Rah or Ra is a small coral islet of , located in the Banks group of northern Vanuatu. The same name also refers to the single village which is situated within this islet. There are massive rocks on the island. The islet of Rah is situated off the larger island of Mota Lava. Access to Rah is done in two ways: at low tide, by wading across the narrow strait from the mainland; at high tide, by outrigger canoe. Name The islet is known in English, and Bislama, as ''Rah'' (where the letter ''h'' does not represent anything in the actual name). ''Rah'' reflects a shortened version of the form ''Rao'' , which is the way the islet is called in the neighbouring language Mota. The island has also been calle''Ara'' In the islanders' own language 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 isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanua Lava
Vanua Lava is the second largest of the Banks Islands in Torba Province, Vanuatu, after slightly larger Gaua. It is located about 120 km north-northeast of Espiritu Santo and north of Gaua. Name The name ''Vanua Lava'' comes from the Mota language, which was used as the primary language of the Melanesian Mission. Locally, the island is called ''Vōnōlav'' / in Vurës and Mwesen, ''Vunulava'' in Vera'a, and ''Vunulāv'' in Lemerig. In the immigrant language Mwotlap, it is referred to as ''Apnōlap'' (with the locative prefix ''a-''). All of these terms come from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *'' βanua laβa'' "Large Land". History Vanua Lava was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island’s name was then charted as ''Portal de Belén'' (“Nativity scene” in Spanish). Vanua Lava was first explored by a New Zealand bishop, George Augustus Selwyn, in 1859. The sulfur deposits o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 includes Gaua and Vanua Lava, two of the 13 largest islands in Vanuatu. In 2009, the islands had a population of 8,533. The island group's combined land area is 780 km2. Geography The largest island is Gaua (formerly called Santa Maria), which has a rugged terrain, rising to Mount Gharat, an active volcano at the centre of the island, at . Gaua's freshwater Lake Letas, in its volcanic crater, is the largest lake in Vanuatu. A slightly smaller island in the group, Vanua Lava, is higher, at ; it too has an active volcano: Mount Suretamate (also spelled Süretimiat or Sere'ama, ). To the east of Vanua Lava are two islets in the groupo, Ravenga and Kwakea (also spelled Qakea). Sola, the provincial capital, is on Vanua Lava. The third ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
