Gela language

Gela
Nggela
Native toCentral Solomon Islands
RegionBig Nggela, Small Nggela, Sandfly and Buenavista Islands
Native speakers
(12,000 cited 1999)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3nlg
Glottologgela1263
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Gela (Eng. pron. /ɡeɪlɑː/ GAY-lah), also known as Nggela [ᵑgela][2] and formerly as Florida,[3] is an Oceanic language spoken in the Nggela Islands, in the middle of the Solomon Islands. It belongs to the Southeast Solomonic group of the Oceanic family.

Towards the end of the 19th century, Gela was used by the Melanesian Mission of the Anglican Church of Melanesia, as a language of Christianisation[4] ‒ along with Mota, a language of the Banks islands of northern Vanuatu. The first translation of the scriptures in Gela was published in 1882.[3]

  1. ^ Gela at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Fox, Charles E. (1950). "Some notes on Nggela grammar". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 59 (2): 135–168.
  3. ^ a b Na Lei Kokoeliulivuti: Prayers in the Florida Language. Anglican Church of Melanesia.
  4. ^ Tryon, Darrell T. (1996-12-31). "Mission and church languages in Island Melanesia". In Stephen A. Wurm; Peter Mühlhäusler; Darrell T. Tryon (eds.). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 619–624. ISBN 978-3-11-013417-9. Retrieved 2023-06-18.