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Vanuatu:
Land of Contradictions
Colonial
powers France and Britain left their mark on Vanuatu. Both claimed
sovereignty over the land, but neither was willing to give citizenship
to the indigenous Ni-Vanuatu people. They were officially stateless!
France and Britain jointly administered the New Hebrides, as Vanuatu
was previously known, as a “condominium.” Two reigning
governments produced two sets of laws, two police forces, two prisons,
and two sets of administrators. Visitors could choose which set
of laws they desired to follow. In Tanna, one village spoke predominantly
English while the nearby village, less than a mile away spoke French.
In 1980, after a long struggle, the New Hebrides achieved independence
as The Republic of Vanuatu.
The Languages
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Some
signs are in 3 languages, some just one language.
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Literally: LOOK
OUT Suppose you steal, the police I know will prosecute you
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The people
who live in the 83 islands that comprise Vanuatu speak 105 different
languages, an average of a different language for every 1200 people.
One writer refers to Vanuatu as “the world’s most complex
linguistic jumble.” Some Ni-Vanuatu people speak English and
others speak French, as well as their village tongue. The national
language of Vanuatu since independence, a form of Pidgin English
known as Bislama, is understood by 90% of the people. Pidgin English
developed as a traders’ language in the 19th century.
Even in Parliament Bislama is spoken and simultaneously translated
into English and French. Some examples of this wonderful language
follow:
See you later, Good Bye :
Lukim yu afta. Tata
Thank you for your help:
Tankyu tumas long help
How much?: Hamas?
To pay: pem
How much is one lemon?: Mi
pem hamas wan lamen? (Literally, Me pay how much (for) one lemon?)
Someone
you don't agree with: wan krangke man
(Susan
Corbin at the Bowman and Brooke law office in Phoenix sometimes
referred to Jeff as “cranky”!)
Mentally ill: hed blong em
i no strait Literally: Head belongs to him is not straight
Child: pikinini (An expression
used by a governor in Arizona that contributed to his downfall)
Womb: basket blong pikinini
Piano: Bigfala bokis blong
waetman, tut blong em sam I blak, sam I waet; taem yu kilim emi
singalot
(Literally, Big box that
belongs to whiteman or European, with some white teeth and some
black teeth; when you hit it, it sings out.)
Prince Charles: Nambawan
pikinini blog Kwin (Literally, Number one pikinini belong Queen.)
What time does the plane
land? Plen I foldaon long wanem taem? (Literally, Plane it falls
down at what time?)
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