French is spoken on Maré, as on the other Loyalty Islands. In
addition, residents of Maré speak a language called Nengone. A dialect
of Nengone known as Iwateno or Iwatenu (now seldom spoken) is used to
indicate respect.
"The common language is French but each island has got its own
languages... Mare speaks Nengone, the Iwateno is a respectful form of
language."
Loyalty Islands: Maré, Lifou, Ouvéa
http://www.iles-loyaute.com/indexg.htm
"There are in New Caledonia, several dozens different languages, among
which the French (official language), 28 vernacular languages and
numerous languages, spoken by ethnic minorities... Nengone (6,377
speakers, spoken language on Maré)"
World of Islands: The Various Languages of New Caledonia
http://www.world-of-islands.com/Infos/Civilisation/Langues_NC_en.htm
Here is an interesting example. This is the Catholic "Hail Mary"
prayer in the Nengone language:
"Ave Maria,
me ha cece hnem o re cengegrasia,
ha ile sese ne bua kei Retoke,
ha hnahneone ke bua ripon o re nodei mohmenewe,
ne hnahneonekei Jesu, wawen o re knore ni bua.
Sankta Maria,
hmaieni Makaze,
hne lu so xehnije me aca-pekato,
onome ka ri eziene o re co tango ehnije.
Amen."
Christus Rex: MARÉ (NENGONE, Iwatenu)
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-mare.html
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: maré island language
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mar%C3%A9+island+language
Google Web Search: nengone iwateno OR iwatenu
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nengone+iwateno+OR+iwatenu
I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before
you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
