North Efate language

North Efate, also known as Nakanamanga or Nguna, is an Oceanic language spoken on the northern area of Efate in Vanuatu, as well as on a number of islands off the northern coast – including Nguna, and parts of Tongoa, Emae and Epi.

North Efate
Nakanamanga
Nguna
Region	Efate, Vanuatu
Native speakers	9,500 (2001)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic North-Central Vanuatu Central Vanuatu Epi-Efate Efate North Efate
Language codes
ISO 639-3	llp
Glottolog	nort2836
North Efate is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

A Nakanamanga, or North Efate, speaker.

The population of speakers is recorded to be 9,500.^[2] This makes Nakanamanga one of the largest languages of Vanuatu, an archipelago known for having the world's highest linguistic density.^[3]

Phonology

The consonant and vowels sounds of North Efate (Nguna).^[4]

Consonant sounds

		Labial	Dental	Velar
Plosive	plain	p	t̪	k
	implosive	ɓʷ
Fricative		v	s
Nasal	plain	m	n	ŋ
	prenasal	ᵑm
Liquid			l r
Semivowel		w

Vowel sounds

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

Subdialects of North Efate include:^[5]

• Buninga
• Emau
• Livara
• Nguna
• Paunangis
• Sesake

References

• Ray, Sidney H. (1887). "Sketch of Nguna Grammar". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 16. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 409–418. doi:10.2307/2841882. JSTOR 2841882.
• Schütz, Albert J. (1969). "Nguna Grammar". Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications.