| Also Known As: Central Raga
Description:
Abma (also known as Apma) is the language of central Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Abma belongs to the East Vanuatu languages, a branch of the Austronesian languages family.
With approximately 8,000 native speakers (about half the island's population), Abma is the most widely-spoken of Pentecost's five native languages, and one of the most widely-spoken of all Vanuatu's many indigenous languages.
Abma language is spoken in both western and eastern areas of Pentecost, in an area extending roughly from Namaram in the north to Ranmawot in the south. Abma is bordered by Raga language in the north, and by Seke and Sa languages in the south.
There are also pockets of Abma speakers in other parts of Vanuatu, such as around Unmet on Malekula island, as a result of emigration from Pentecost.
There are two major dialects of Abma: Suru Mwerani, spoken to the south of Bwatnapne, and Suru Rabwanga (also called Suru Bo), spoken to the north of Bwatnapne. A third dialect, Suru Kavian, which is spoken in a few villages in the far north of Abma's range, differs markedly from the other two dialects and is regarded by some as a separate language.
In recent times Abma has spread at the expense of..... full article at Wikipedia |
