On borrowed time? The increase of Bislama loanwords in Bierebo
- Peter Budd
Abstract
This paper examines the use of loanwords in Bierebo, an Oceanic language of Vanuatu, and asks to what extent this borrowing represents a threat to the language’s survival. Bierebo has a total of around 900 speakers, a number which might lead one to presume that it is highly endangered. However it continues to be transmitted to children in the home, and it is not unusual for local vernaculars in island Melanesia to survive comfortably with similar numbers (see Crowley 1995; Lynch et al 2002). Nonetheless, many older Bierebo speakers bemoan the influx of borrowings from Bislama, the country’s national language. They perceive this tendency to be increasing rapidly, and therefore posing a real threat to the ongoing use of Bierebo. This paper aims to scrutinise such views through both quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Keywords: Bierebo, Vanuatu, Bislama, loanwords, language shift, endangered languages, Melanesia
How to Cite:
Budd, P., (2011) “On borrowed time? The increase of Bislama loanwords in Bierebo”, Language Documentation and Description 9, 169-198. doi: https://doi.org/10.25894/ldd208
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