Northeast Malakula language

Northeast Malakula, or Uripiv-Wala-Rano-Atchin, is a dialect chain spoken on the islands of Uripiv, Wala, Rano, and Atchin and on the mainland opposite to these islands. Uripiv-Wala-Rano-Atchin is spoken today by about 9,000 people. Literacy rate of its speakers in their own language is 10–30%.

NativetoVanuatu

RegionMalakula

Native speakers

(9,000 cited 2001)^[1]

Language family

Austronesian

• Malayo-Polynesian
  • Oceanic
    • Southern Oceanic
      • North-Central Vanuatu
        • Central Vanuatu
          • Malakula
            • Malakula Coastal
              • Northeast Malakula

Quick facts Native to, Region ...

Northeast Malakula
Uripiv-Wala-Rano-Atchin
Native to	Vanuatu
Region	Malakula
Native speakers	(9,000 cited 2001)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Southern Oceanic North-Central Vanuatu Central Vanuatu Malakula Malakula Coastal Northeast Malakula
Language codes
ISO 639-3	upv
Glottolog	urip1239
Northeast Malakula is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Close

Uripiv-Wala-Rano-Atchin forms a dialect chain. The Uripiv dialect is the most southerly of these and has 85% of its words in common with Atchin, the most northerly dialect. Uripiv is spoken on the north-east coast of Malakula.

The Uripiv dialect is one of the few documented languages that use the rare bilabial trill, a feature that is not found in the Atchin dialect.