Bislama Language Week: Ni-Vanuatu mark milestone

Halo! It's Bislama Language Week and close to 1000 ni-Vanuatu people in Aotearoa are celebrating their language and culture across the motu.

Bislama, a Melanesian mixture of French and English, is the most widely used day-to-day language for the ni-Vanuatu people or Ni-Van.

Melanesian countries include Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji, Torres Straits Island, and West Papua.

Vanuatu community's national coordinator Joseph Toara says in its second year, Bislama Week is also a chance to recognise the many dialects of te reo in Melanesia.

Toara told Pacific Days' Ma'a Brian Sagala that they are working towards getting Bislama on the New Zealand Language Week Series.

Watch the interview of Joseph Toara and other members of the Ni-Vanuatu community on Pacific Days.

The Bislama pilot programme requires two years of self-funded celebrations to qualify for government recognition and funding from the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP).

Toara said part of the advocacy work being done in New Zealand was around gaining recognition for Melanesian languages to highlight these cultures.

MPP announced in August last year that the PNG and Solomons' languages would be officially celebrated in Aotearoa this year.

Both the PNG Tok Pisin and Solomons Pidgin, have joined nine other Pacific languages already celebrated in Aotearoa.

For years, the Melanesian community had asked for the inclusion of their languages, saying that PNG, Solomons, and Vanuatu were overlooked since the series started in 2010.

Everyone involved in Vanuatu's tourism sector speaks English with 40 per cent fluent in French.

There are more than 115 local Bislama dialects and many ni-Vanuatu speak four or more languages.

Ni-Vanuatu in the Bay of Plenty celebrate their language and culture. Photo/supplied

Toara said Bislama was a common, unifying language. "Without Bislama, we wouldn’t have our independence."

Bislama Week is also celebrated by the Wantok communities in Aotearoa. Wantok means "one talk" or "one people" in Papua New Guinea’s Tok Pisin language.

Melanesia is the largest ethnicity in the Pacific, with a population of more than 10 million spread across many islands. However, its rich array of languages and cultures is relatively unknown in Aotearoa.

Vanuatu marks its 44th independence on Tuesday. The Pacific island nation gained independence from the United Kingdom and France on July 30, 1980.

Many of the celebrations were held on Sunday. In Alexandra, Central Otago, about 130 people packed into Earnscleugh Hall to celebrate with music, food, and speeches including a rousing rendition of the national anthem - Yumi, Yumi Yumi (We, We, We).

Community leader Ron Moses said there were about 80 islands and more than 100 indigenous languages in Vanuatu.

He said he hoped the New Zealand government would continue to support the language through measures like te reo week.

Many Ni-Vanuatu have made Aotearoa home, working in the Recognised Seasonal Employers Scheme (RSE).

Vanuatu has provided 44 per cent of the total number of RSE workers - 16,250 with most of them in Central Otago.

Moses said he hoped to see more RSE operators embrace Bislama, adding this would build a strong connection between the industry and Ni-Van workers.

Last year's Bislama celebrations were hampered by Cyclone Lola which struck Vanuatu on 25 October causing widespread damage to buildings, infrastructure, and the agriculture sector.

The category-five storm left four people dead and impacted some of the preparations for Bislama by the Ni-Vanuatu community in Aotearoa.

A few cultural items that were planned to be used during the week were stranded in Vanuatu, stored in buildings closed down and secured due to Lola’s impact.

Cook Islands Māori Language Week is next up on the NZ Series from 4-10 August.

Watch Bislama Week celebrations in Central Otago.