[2] The neighbouring languages of Vanikoro are also heavily relexified Austronesian languages.[3]. The language belongs to the Southeast Solomonic family group. Despite English being the official language, it is only spoken by about 2% of the population. Four other languages which are headed for near-extinction are Ririo, Tanibili, Vano and Tanema, which are now rarely spoken in Choiseul Island and Temotu province. They are mainly found in the southern part of Rennell and Bellona, and the Stewart Islands (Sikaiana), Tikopia, and Anuta. Solomon Islands is a sovereign state consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi).

An indigenous sign language, Rennellese Sign Language, has gone extinct. The language belongs to the Western Oceanic language group. Most of the languages in the Solomon Islands are Austronesian languages.

The speakers are mainly found in Santa Isabel Island, Kia District, and Hograno coastal villages. English is the official language of Solomon Islands: it is used in official government transactions, business and some of the printed media. It is spoken by about 12,119 people.

These include: The Rennellese Sign Language, Oroha, Tanema, Tanibili, Riirio, Vano and Lovono. lexibank/tryonsolomon: Solomon Islands Languages (Version v3.0) [Data set]. (2019). Surprisingly however, the language is spoken by only 1% to 2% of the population across the country, and it is not used as a medium of instruction in schools where the medium is prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development. It is only among the 70 living languages that are spoken in the different islands and provinces. Most of the languages in the Solomon Islands are Austronesian languages.The Central Solomon languages such as Lavukaleve constitute an independent family.. Two other language families are represented on Bougainville, which is geographically part of the Solomon Islands, if not within the national boundaries.. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com, Biggest Islands In The Solomon Islands Archipelago, How Many Languages Are Spoken In The New York Area. The Melanesian language is spoken by about 85% of the population majority of whom are in the Central Islands, while the Polynesian language finds its speakers among the 4% of the population in the southern part of Rennell and Bellona Islands, and the northeast of Sikaiana Island. The Solomons Pidgin, an English-based creole, has remained as the country’s lingua franca or common language, by which more people understand each other in many regions of the country. The Solomon Islands is a country located in the southwestern region of the Pacific Ocean.

English is the official language and one of the obvious cultural influences that remains in the Solomons, left behind from the period when Britain was historically associated with the islands. Italics indicate that a language is extinct. Sixteen of these languages are either in trouble or slowly diminishing. Towns With The Lowest Violent Crime Rates In The US, Countries With The Biggest Population Decline, Countries With the Highest Population Growth. This is a much bigger region as compared to the Solomon Island itself. The speakers of the Papuan language attribute for 9% of the population. Polynesian speakers form a small minority of the population at about 4%. The Solomon Islands have also adopted a constitutional monarchy. 4 List of Figures Fig 1. This English Creole is the lingua franca meaning that most of the population uses the language as a way of communication.

There are other languages spoken in the country, a few with a notable number of speakers will be highlighted.

Its lack of popularity also means it has not been embraced as the language of instruction in schools. harvcoltxt error: no target: CITEREFRoss_&_Næss2007 (, harvcoltxt error: no target: CITEREFFrançois2009 (, Japanese occupation of the Solomon Islands, Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_the_Solomon_Islands_archipelago&oldid=960728262, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. By Maureen Shisia on November 6 2017 in Society. There are between sixty and seventy languages spoken in the Solomon Islands archipelago as opposed to the nation state of Solomon Islands, which covers a smaller area. The other individual languages spoken in the country include: Cheke Holo, with 10,800 speakers in central Santa Isabel Island, Kia district and Hograno coastal villages; Are’are, 17,900 in south Malaita Island; Gelu, 11,900 in Florida Island; Ghari, 12,100 in Guadalcanal’s northwest and north central coast; Kivalo, 13,200 in central Malaita Island; Lau, 16,900 in northeast Malaita Island; Lengo, 13,800 in Guadalcanal Island; and Toabaita, 12,600 in north Malaita Island. The country was colonized by the British and later gained its autonomy in the year 1978. Zenodo. The Islanders have developed a Pidgin that is specific to the Solomon Island, a language that was derived from English. Its Vaturanga dialect was used extensively in missionary translations. The northern group had originally been claimed by the Spanish in the 16th century, was then annexed by the Germans and finally ceded to the British in exchange for part of the Samoan island group. The Gela language is spoken by about 11,876 people in the region of Florida Island.

The Micronesian language of Papua is common among immigrants of Gilbertese and Turaluans. Language families. It is located on the coast of Guadalcanal. Solomon Islands translation in English-Tok Pisin dictionary. This is a much bigger region as compared to the Solomon Island itself. Simon J Greenhill, & Robert Forkel.

The status of the Reefs – Santa Cruz languages were once thought to be non-Austronesian, but further research found them to be divergent Austronesian languages. The British already controlled the southern Solomon group and administer… Ghari is a language of the oceanic family that is widely spoken on the Guadalcanal Island. The modern nation of the Solomon Islands is an amalgamation of two archipelagos, instigated by the British in the last years of the 19th century and marking the high point of imperial rivalry in the Pacific between the major European powers. There are 76 individual languages recorded in the Solomon Islands, of which 73 of these languages are still in use, and 3 are extinct. The official language is English while the common language (lingua franca) is Pid… The country is made up of two sequences of volcanic islands and coral atolls. Unlock this profile with an Essentials plan.. See the details on every language spoken in Solomon Islands, plus: Profiles for every other country in the world; 7,464 profiles covering every language in use today The language is spoken in three dialects which are very similar that only differ on very few phonological facts. SOLMAS Solomon Islands Media Assistance Scheme UOG University of Goroka UTS University of Technology Sydney Ce Australian Centre for Public Communication .

The Central Solomon languages such as Lavukaleve constitute an independent family. English is the official language of Solomon Islands: it is used in official government transactions, business and some of the printed media. There are 76 individual languages recorded in the Solomon Islands, of which 73 of these languages are still in use, and 3 are extinct.

Are’are is spoken by 17,800 people who are found in the Malaita Region.