DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17628402
title: A database of Vanuatu language names

description: A database of Vanuatu language names 

Tihomir Rangelov & Eleanor Ridge(version 1.2, 17 November 2025)

This database consists of three files:Vanuatu_language_names-1_2.tsvVanuatu_language_names-1_2.xlsxVanuatu_language_names-unclear_classification-1_2.tsv

 

The database in Vanuatu_language_names-1_2.tsv and Vanuatu_language_names-1_2.xlsx provides a list of linguonyms (language names) that have been used for language varieties (of the Oceanic branch of Austronesian) of Vanuatu. The database contains over 850 individual linguonyms or spelling variants thereof that have appeared in various works. The listing of Vanuatu languages here includes the 118 variants with language glottocodes in Glottolog (Hammarström et al. 2024); see Rangelov, Ridge & Takau (2025) for an elaboration on alternative lists of Vanuatu languages.

The information in the two files is identical. The .xlsx file was included to avoid conversion issues for users who prefer to view the database in Microsoft Excel. Empty cells are left empty in the .xlsx file for better readability. Empty cells are tagged with 'NA' in the .tsv file. 

The languages are ordered roughly from north to south using an index in the "island" column, where each number corresponds to a province, except for Malampa province which is split between Malekula and Ambrym/Paama. Thus 1=Torba, 2=Sanma, 3=Penama, 4=Malekula, 5=Ambrym/Paama, 6=Shefa, 7=Tafea. The region name is also listed in the column 'region' for convenience.

It should be kept in mind that any pair of linguonyms that appear on the same row in this database may refer to the same linguistic variety (language, dialect, doculect, idiolect etc.) or to different varieties that have been grouped under the same Glottolog language heading.

Some of the column headings require some elaboration:



language_name is a reconciliation between the linguonyms in the glottolog_language_name and preferred_language_name columns (see below), i.e. when there is a preferred language name, this trumps the Glottolog language name.

glottolog_language_name contains the default language name listed in Glottolog.

preferred_language_name contains a linguonym which is different from the default linguonym in Glottolog and which may be deemed preferred based on recent research and/or community preferences

Glottolog_dialects - the names of dialects which have dedicated glottocodes listed in Glottolog for this language

alt_names_Bryant_2023_SIL_Santo_report - linguonyms listed in Bryant (2023)

alt_names_Marists - linguonyms used in the The Marist Order (Society of Mary) manuscripts in the Oceania Marist Province Archives (Zamponi, Walworth & Rangelov, in prep)

alt_names_Francoisetal2015 - linguonyms listed in François et al. (2015)

alt_names_Tryon_2010_endangered_lgs - linguonyms listed in Tryon (2010)

alt_names_LynchCrowley_2001 - linguonyms listed in Lynch & Crowley (2001)

alt_names_Ethnologue - linguonyms listed in Eberhard et al. (2025)

Glottolog_alt_names_and_other_sources - "alternative names" listed in Glottolog and linguonyms listed in sources other than the sources in the other columns, includes names from Tryon (1976)

Linguonyms that appear in more than one of these sources have generally been listed in only one of the columns without prioritising any sources.


These two files were generated from an underlying collaborative spreadsheet using this R code.

Vanuatu_language_names-unclear_classification-1_2.tsv provides a list of linguonyms which appear in the literature but whose classification is unclear. They may be alternative names for varieties listed in Vanuatu_language_names-1_2.tsv, or may refer to varieties, which are not yet reflected in Vanuatu_language_names-1_2.tsv.

It is our hope that this database contributes to adding some clarity to the "extremely complex [issue]" (Lynch & Crowley 2001:13) of linguonyms in Vanuatu. 

Any error reports or suggestions can be made directly in the collaborative online spreadsheet, where continuous updates are made between versions of this record.

Alternatively,  you can email the aurhors.

===References===Bryant, Mike. 2023. Global Voice Event report “Harem voes blong Vanuatu”, Luganville, Santo, Vanuatu. SIL Vanuatu. Unpublished manuscript.

Caillon, Sophie & Ol filwoka blong Kultural Senta. 2004. Kokonas mo taros blong Vanuatu : nem mo storian. 

Eberhard, David M. & Simons, Gary F. & Fennig, Charles D. (eds.). 2025. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-eighth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version:https://www.ethnologue.com/about/

François, Alexandre & Lacrampe, Sébastien & Franjieh, Michael & Schnell, Stefan (eds.). 2015. The languages of Vanuatu: Unity and diversity. Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics.

Hammarström, Harald & Forkel, Robert & Haspelmath, Martin & Bank, Sebastian. 2024. Glottolog 5.1. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14006617(Available online at http://glottolog.org, Accessed on 2025-05-09.)

Lynch, John & Crowley, Terry. 2001. Languages of Vanuatu: A new survey and bibliography. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. 

Prince, Kilu von. 2015. A grammar of Daakaka. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 

Rangelov, Tihomir & Ridge, Eleanor & Takau, Lana. 2025. Linguistics in Vanuatu 45 years after Independence. Te Reo 68(2) (Vanuatu languages in context [Special Issue])

Takau, Lana & Mary Walworth & Aviva Shimelman & Sandrine Bessis & Tom Ennever & Iveth Rodriguez & Hans-Jörg Bibiko & Daria Dërmaku & Murray Garde & Marie-France Duhamel & Giovanni Abete & Laura Wägerle & Kaitip W. Kami & Russell Gray. 2024. Vanuatu Voices (Version v1.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10821732

Taman, Allan & Taman, Sabrina & Rangelov, Tihomir. 2025. Language ecosystems in Western Santo. Te Reo 68(2) (Vanuatu languages in context [Special Issue])

Tryon, Darrell. 1976. New Hebrides languages: An internal classification. Canberra: Australian National University. 

Tryon, Darrell. 2010. The endangered languages of Vanuatu. In Gunter Senft (ed.), Endangered Austronesian and Australian Aboriginal languages: essays on language documentation, archiving, and revitalization, 17-33. Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University.

Zamponi, Raoul & Walworth, Mary & Rangelov, Tihomir. in prep. Marist missionaries’ Vanuatu language descriptions.