This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(April 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Ske
Seke
Native to
Vanuatu
Region
Pentecost Island
Native speakers
300 (2011)[1]
Language family
Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Oceanic
Southern Oceanic
North-Central Vanuatu
Central Vanuatu
Ske
Language codes
ISO 639-3
ske
Glottolog
seke1241
ELP
Seke (Vanuatu)
Ske is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Ske (or Seke) is an endangered language of south-western Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Ske is an Oceanic language (a branch of the Austronesian language family).
The Ske area comprises fourteen small villages centred on Baravet in south-central Pentecost, from Liavzendam (Levizendam) in the north to Hotwata in the south and extending inland to Vanliamit. Historically the language's area extended to parallel areas of the east coast, but this part of the island is now depopulated.
Due to intermarriage between language areas, an increasing number of people in Ske-speaking villages now speak Bislama as a first language, and Ske is no longer being actively transmitted to children. A closely related neighbouring language, Sowa, has already been totally displaced by Apma.
The number of Ske speakers is estimated at 300. The widely reported figure of 600 is probably an overestimate, since not everybody in the Ske area is fluent in the language.
There is no significant dialectal variation within modern Ske, although there are noticeable differences between the Ske of older and younger speakers. Doltes, the extinct dialect of Hotwata village, is sometimes regarded as a Ske dialect, but appears to have been closer to Sa.
There is no local tradition of writing in Ske, and until recently the language was virtually undocumented. However, linguist Kay Johnson has written a PhD thesis on the language, including a sketch grammar. Prior to her arrival, the only records of Ske were short vocabulary lists collected by David Walsh in the 1960s, Catriona Hyslop in 2001 and Andrew Gray in 2007.
^Ske at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Ske (or Seke) is an endangered language of south-western Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Ske is an Oceanic language (a branch of the Austronesian language...
addition, SKE Global will look to mine the SKE and Ivanhoe Pictures' libraries, a combined 70 English language films, for potential local language remake...
Seke might be: The Seki language of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon The Thakali language of Nepal The Skelanguage of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu This disambiguation...
Apma, a neighbouring language. Sowa was closely related to Ske, another south Pentecost language. Sowa was originally spoken on both western and eastern...
diminutive suffixes -ke (from which -tje has derived by palatalisation), -eke, -ske, -ie (only for words ending -ch, -k, -p, or -s), -kie (instead of -kje),...
vår, du som är i himmelen / helgat vare ditt namn. Tillkomme ditt rike/ ske din vilja såsom i himmelen så ock på jorden. Vårt dagliga bröd giv oss idag...
Malay: Bahasa Melayu, Jawi: بهاس ملايو) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that...
may refer to: Seke language (Nepal), a Sino-Tibetan language related to Thakali Seke language (Vanuatu) or Ske, an Oceanic language of Pentecost Island...
Static spatial expression in Ske: an Oceanic language of Vanuatu. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London Gray (2013), The Languages of Pentecost Island...
Caledonian languages also known as Kanak languages form a branch of the Southern Oceanic languages. Their speakers are known as Kanaks. One language is extinct...
indoˈnesija]) is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca...
The Austronesian languages (/ˌɔːstrəˈniːʒən/) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia...
(Fatsare) and by some at Ran'gusuksu. It has close links with neighbouring Skelanguage and with Doltes, the extinct dialect of Hotwata village. A southern dialect...
is a list of endangered languages of Oceania, based on the definitions used by UNESCO. An endangered language is a language that it is at risk of falling...
tə-GAH-log; [tɐˈɡaːloɡ]; Baybayin: ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the...
Nengone is a language of the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. The phonological inventory of consonants is atypically large for an Oceanic language. Many sounds...
Bisaya/Binisaya nga Aklanon/Inaklanon or simply Aklan, is an Austronesian language of the Bisayan subgroup spoken by the Aklanon people in the province of...
later Standard Dutch form -tje has derived by palatalization), -eke(n), -ske(n), -ie, -kie, and -pie are (still) regularly used in different dialects...
Portuguese: Tétum [ˈtɛtũ]) is an Austronesian language spoken on the island of Timor. It is one of the official languages of Timor-Leste and it is also spoken...
is an Austronesian language, spoken natively in the island country of Nauru. Its relationship to the other Micronesian languages is not well understood...
pronounced [ʔoːˈlɛlo həˈvɐjʔi]) is a Polynesian language and critically endangered language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaiʻi...
Philippine languages (40 languages, including Tagalog, Bikol languages and Visayan languages) Palawan languages (3 languages) Subanen languages (6 languages; sometimes...
Binisayâ/Bisayâ nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, predominantly in...
Chamorro: Finuʼ Chamorro (CNMI), Finoʼ CHamoru (Guam)) is an Austronesian language spoken by about 58,000 people, numbering about 25,800 on Guam and about...
بهسا اچيه) is an Austronesian language natively spoken by the Acehnese people in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. This language is also spoken by Acehnese descendants...
(Wallisian: Fakaʻuvea), is the Polynesian language spoken on Wallis Island (also known as ʻUvea). The language is also known as East Uvean to distinguish...
Formosan language of the Amis (or Ami), an indigenous people living along the east coast of Taiwan. Currently the largest of the Formosan languages, it is...
Simalungun, or Batak Simalungun, is an Austronesian language of Sumatra. It is spoken mainly in Simalungun Regency and Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra...
Global Information
