| Merei | |
|---|---|
| Malmariv | |
| Region | Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu |
Native speakers | (800 cited 1997–2001)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:mnl – Tialelmb – Merei |
| Glottolog | tial1239 Tialemere1242 Merei |
| ELP | Merei |
 Malmariv is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Merei or Malmariv is an Oceanic language spoken in north central Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu.
There are two varieties, Tiale, or Malmariv, and Merei, or Lametin. They are mutually intelligible according to a comparison of 234 words, which showed 94.87% cognate similarity.[2] There are an estimated 800 speakers of Malmariv-Merei or Tiale-Lametin.[3] Merei, as well as Tiale, are both spoken by roughly 60% of the children in the villages. The members of the population have a positive attitude towards the threatened language, with Merei being spoken by approximately 400 people as a mother tongue.[4] There are at least four villages where Merei is spoken, Angoru, Navele, Tombet and Vusvogo. These villages are located between the Ora and Lape rivers in the central area of Espiritu Santo Island.[4]
Merei is an SVO language, aligning itself with many of the typical Oceanic features. Subject pronouns, modality, and aspect markers occur preverbally, object pronouns and aspect adverbs follow the verb, and possessives are divided into direct and indirect (or inalienable and alienable respectively).[4]
- ^ Tiale at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Merei at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required) - ^ Tryon, Darrell T. (1973). "Linguistic subgrouping in the new Hebrides: a preliminary approach". Oceanic Linguistics. 12 (1/2): 303–352. doi:10.2307/3622859. JSTOR 3622859.
- ^ Lynch, John; Crowley, Terry (2001). Languages of Vanuatu: a new survey and bibliography. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. p. 54.
- ^ a b c Chung (2005).