West Uvean is a Polynesian language spoken by about 2,200 people on the island of Ouvéa/Uvea in Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, and also in Nouméa on Grande Terre Island, the capital of New Caledonia. On Ouvéa Island, West Uvean is spoken mainly in Heo, Takedji, Weneki, Teuta, Gossanah, Önyhât in the north, and Lekiny, Fayava and Mouli in the south.
West Uvean is also known as Uvean, Fagauvea or Faga Ouvéa. Native speakers call it Fagauvéa. It is related to Wallisian / East Uvean, and is the only Polynesian language spoken in New Caledonia. The ancestors of the West Uvean speakers were Wallisians who migrated to New Caledonia at the end of the 17th century.
West Uvean can be written with the Latin alphabet. It is considered endangered as it has no official status, and due to French being the only language permitted for official and educational uses in New Caledonia. West Uvean has been influenced by Iaai, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Ouvéa Island, and French.
Download an alphabet chart for West Uvean (Excel)
Details of the West Uvean alphabet provided by Wolfram Siegel
Long vowels are doubled (aa) or indicated with a macron (ā).
Itahoo ituai odi de aliki Drumai odi na ia seke i de manaha nei. Odi go ia hnoo ifo i dinei i Muli. Dai faifaasia odi e isi e avana dona ingoa go Nyoneishi. Go ia hnoo ifo ma de avana odi goa faitama de avana. Ifo go ia tokaa de avana i uta i Hwineni i dona mahale la i uta i tua. Go ia hano ma dona sinelapa ma ona tehina o hano faangota i malaa motu.
Chief Drumai arrived in this country long ago. He settled in Muli. There he married a woman named Nyoneishi. After a while, she was expecting a child. He therefore left her in the bush at Hwineni, in his residence in the interior, and went fishing towards the islets with his servant and his subjects.
Source: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagauvea
Information about West Uvean | Numbers
Information about West Uvean
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Uvean_language
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagauvea
https://www.alk.nc/langues/fagauvea
https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/west2516you
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/uve/
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 26.07.23
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