West Uvean language
| Western Uvean (Fagauvea) | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
New Caledonia | |
| speaker | 1.110 | |
| Linguistic classification |
Austronesian
|
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-3 |
uve |
|
West Uvean (also Uvean or vernacular Fagauvea , French Faga Ouvéa ) is an endangered Polynesian outliner language spoken on the island of Uvea , in the Loyalty Archipelago of New Caledonia .
It has long been in contact with the Iaai language and the other oceanic languages spoken on the island.
West Uvean has only 1,110 speakers, and the tendency is declining, as it is threatened with extinction due to the strict French language policy - which only allows the French language and discriminates against native languages. In New Caledonia, for example, only French is permitted as the official and teaching language; West Uvean has no official status as a national , regional or minority language . It cannot be taught in schools and has no use in the media landscape of the area controlled by France .
etymology
The West Uvean speakers themselves designate their language with the name Fagauvea , which is also the name used by the Francophone New Caledonians. The name West Uvean , which is used in German, distinguishes the language from the closely related Ost Uvean - also called Wallisian , which is spoken on the island of Wallis ( Uvea ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ethnologue : uve