#bislama

[best-non-english-word-torunament]

Round three: Rub'eyna'oj vs Aftarem

(poll at the end)

Rub'eyna'oj (Kaqchikel)

[ɾuɓejnaʔox]

Translation: cognition (lit. "your internal wisdom")

Kaqchikel or Caqchikel Maya is a Mayan language spoken by 411 000 people in Guatemala. It is a threatened language and one reason is that some parents choose to speak Spanish in the home so that their children can start school with Spanish as a first language, which means that the language doesn’t get passed down to the next generation in all families. This is a common reason languages become endangered. Kaqchikel uses many glottalised sounds, which means that some sounds are partly articulated with the vocal folds. This sounds a bit like a pop of air. English only has the glottal stop [ʔ], which is the sound of the little pause in the middle of uh-oh, when the vocal folds close entirely and cuts off air. Kaqchikel on the other hand, also has sounds like glottalised k or glottalised ts.

Motivation: This word did not exist in historical Kaqchikel but was created as an intentional neologism (among many others) in order to prevent the necessity of Spanish in Maya communities. "Your internal wisdom" is a beautiful way to think about cognition and thoughts in general.

Aftarem (Bislama)

Unable to find IPA

Translation: Pursue, seek

Bislama is an English-based creole with around 14 200 speakers. It is spoken in Vanuatu, where it’s the national language and used as a lingua franca to facilitate communication between speakers of the 110 living languages. Bislama emerged in the late 1800s due to the practice of “blackbirding”, aka deceiving or kidnapping Pacific Islanders and taking them to work as indentured labourers on plantations, mainly in Australia and Fiji. Due to everyone speaking different languages, a pidgin emerged that later became a creole. This language was taken to Vanuatu when labourers returned and spread because it could be used as a lingua franca. Most of the vocabulary is English-based with some French, but the grammar is typical of local languages.

Motivation: Literally “after him”. Plus it’s fun to say

[countriesgame]

Please reblog for a bigger sample size!

If you have any fun fact about Vanuatu, please tell us and I'll reblog it!

Be respectful in your comments. You can criticize a government without offending its people.

[fatehbaz]

The archipelago of uplifted coral that is my mother’s homeland surfaced during the earth’s ancient cycles of glaciation. The early people came in sakmans, carried by wind and seas, guided by stars and clouds and bioluminescence, the fragrance of flowers, the flight paths of birds. Settlers lived and fished and farmed in this part of Oceania for thousands of years, but the naming history issues forth at the moment of subjugation. Islas de los Ladrones -- the Islands of Thieves -- they were called by the first Europeans who came. Then Islas de las Velas, the Islands of the Lateen Sails. Then the Mariana Islands, in honor of Spain’s queen regent. Before it was Guam, Guåhan was known, under Japanese rule, as Omiya Jima, the Great Shrine Island. [...] Elsewhere, settlements recall the body of the creation god Puntan: Tiyan, his flat stomach. Hagåtña, his blood. Toto, his resting back. Mongmong, his beating heart. [...]

These small islands have grown crowded with denotations, I try to tell a friend, except it comes out as detonations. [...]

---

I am reading from a passage on CHamoru history and culture. Kåntan Chamorita is an ancestral form of call-and-response, a spontaneous sung dialogue. [...] Thumbing the texts, I brandish our histories: the brutality of Japanese rule; the architectural colonization that drove the CHamoru from los antiguos, their dwelling places in latte houses; the violation of natural resources brought about by American occupation.

She [mother] tsks, waves impatiently. Hekkua’. An expression that means at once “I don’t know” and “Forget it.”  [...]

In 1917, the U.S. Navy banned the CHamoru language in the Mariana Islands. A few years later, by order of U.S. naval captain Adelbert Althouse, all CHamoru dictionaries were burned. The language was said to represent a cognitive deficiency. The adoption of English would ensure, among other things, mental well-being.

The ban has since been lifted, but my mother hid her language for so long, it’s become hard to find.

What is the word for sky? I ask her.

She shakes her head. Nothing word for sky. Only heaven: långet. [...]

---

And so did we sail out. For more than ten years [...]. We moved into other countries where other languages had been suppressed and where other people had been made invisible. There were signs [...]. In New Zealand, where I went to kindergarten, Ma¯ori children were beaten for speaking te reo in schools. Bislama was prohibited in Vanuatu, but I only remember the quietness of the bay, the great banyan trees, the malaria pills. In New Caledonia, where I went to elementary school, the Kanak languages were banned from the education system from 1863 until 1984. Gendarmes in Nouméa stood on street corners with machine guns slung across their chests. [...]

My mother is telling us something exciting. She trips happily over the words, her face laughing. [...] My mother did not want me speaking like her. She wanted me to be better than that, which is to say better than her. [...]

Kao piniten hao? -- Have you been hurt?

Hunggan. Mayulang, yu’ -- Yes. I’m breaking.

My mother corrects me: mayulang only applies to a thing that’s broken, not a person. You can be hurt, she tells me, but not broken. [...]

---

The etymology of translation refers to the removal of a saint’s body to a new location, to bearing bones and words, both sacred, across. As if anything can be moved whole [...].

We never heard the end of my mother’s stories. [...] These days, she is happy to let most of her sentences go unfinished. [...]

She raises her eyebrows, juts her chin.

I tell her, You’re a book of lost endings.

Which one? she asks.

---

It’s too small here, I said. It’s boring, hot. It’s too small. [...] We spent two years sleeping on my auntie’s living room floor. Unrolling futons and lying under the weeping air conditioning unit and peeling paint. We ate Spam and rice with ketchup. [...]

Lately, I have been confusing the CHamoru word for flight, malagu, with the word for flee, falagu. [...]

I dream now of the islands and wake with my head barely above water, my mouth filling with salt. [...]

Mamaolek ha’? -- Are you doing okay?

Maolek. I’m doing okay.

---

Text by: Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams. “Moving the Saints: Passages from a deconstructed homeland.” Orion Magazine. Spring 2023. [Some paragraph breaks and contractions added by me.]

[ultimate-word-tournament]

I know I’m kinda late but were any Bislama words submitted?

No, that would have been really cool though, creoles are really fun (i just wish they had more resources to learn them)

[2022-504-aureliadebae]

What languages does Barlows support?

I wanted to feature all the different languages that Barlow supports

English, Greek, Greenlandic, Guarani, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hawaiian, Hiligaynon, Hill Mari, Hmong, Hopi, Hungarian, Ibanag, Icelandic, Iloko (Ilokano), Kurdish, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Kyrgyz (Cyrillic), Ladin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Lojban, Lombard, Low Saxon, Luxembourgian, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malay (Latinized), Maltese, Northern Sotho (Pedi), Norwegian, Occitan, Oromo, Ossetian, Pangasinan, Papiamento, Piedmontese, Polish, Portuguese, Potawatomi, Quechua, Rhaeto-Romance, Romanian, Romansh (Rumantsch), Rotokas, Russian, Rusyn, Sami (Inari), Sami (Lule), Sami (Northern), Samoan, Sardinian (Sardu), Scots (Gaelic), Serbian (Cyrillic), Serbian (Latin), Seychellois Creole (Seselwa), Shona, Sicilian, Slovak, Abkhaz, Afrikaans, Albanian, Alsatian, Aragonese, Arapaho, Aromanian, Arrernte, Asturian, Aymara, Azerbaijani (Cyrillic), Bashkir, Basque, Belarusian, Belarusian (Lacinka), Bislama, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Buryat (Cyrillic), Catalan, Cebuano, Chamorro, Chechen, Cheyenne, Chichewa (Nyanja), Chuvash, Cimbrian, Corsican,  Indonesian, Interglossa (Glosa), Interlingua, Irish (Gaelic), Istro-Romanian, Italian, Jèrriais, Kabardian, Kalmyk (Cyrillic), Karachay (Cyrillic), Kashubian, Kazakh (Cyrillic), Khakas, Khalkha, Khanty, Kildin Sami, Komi-Permyak, Croatian, Cyrillic, Czech, Danish, Dungan, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Evenki (Cyrillic), Faroese, Fijian, Finnish,  Tongan (Faka-Tonga), Tswana, Turkmen, Turkmen (Cyrillic), Turkmen (Latinized), Tuvaluan, Tuvin, Udmurt, Ukrainian, Ulithian, Uyghur (Cyrillic), Uyghur (Latinized), Uzbek (Cyrillic), Veps, Vietnamese, Volapük, Votic (Cyrillic), Votic (Latinized), Walloon, Warlpiri, Welsh, Xhosa, Yakut/Sakha, Yapese, Zulu.

[swldx]

Radio Vanuatu 0701 14 Apr 2024

7260Khz 0651 14 APR 2024 - RADIO VANUATU (VANUATU) in BISLAMA from EMPTEN LAGOON. SINPO = 45222. ?Language?, music DJ'd by female announcer reading (at length) between songs. Backyard gutter antenna, Etón e1XM. 10kW, Omni, bearing 262°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 12006KM from transmitter at Empten Lagoon. Local time: 0151.

[2024referendum]

FAQ | From wanem yumi mas go lo wan referandom?

From wanem nao bae pipol i mas go lo wan referandom? Ansa: From mama loa i talem se eni amenmen lo mama loa blo yumi we hemi afektem elektoral sistem o palemen sistem mo bae i kat jenis lo trifala lanwis ia bislama, inglis mo franis, bae pablik i mas go lo wan referandom, afta we palemen i pasem. VEO i talem olsem lo websaet blo olgeta: https://bit.ly/3I9mquf “According to the article 86 of…

[drlinguo]

Zweite Folge des Podcasts zu „Register“

In dieser Folge geht es um Kreolsprachen.

„Kreolsprachen sind ein Wunder der Linguistik. Innerhalb weniger Generationen entstehen diese Sprachen dort, wo Menschen ohne gemeinsame Sprache miteinander kommunizieren müssen. Das Projekt A02 "Speaker's choices in a creole context: Bislama and Morisien" untersucht zwei Kreolsprachen aus Melanesien und Mauritius. Wir sprechen mit Manfred Krifka und Tonjes Veenstra.“

[linguistlist-blog]

FYI: Announcing CreoleVal

We are proud to announce the release of CreoleVal - a collection of benchmarks for 28 Creole languages. The collection of datasets span tasks such as relation classification, machine comprehension, machine translation, named entity recognition, and use cases such as language modeling. We cover Haitian Creole, Bislama, Chavacano, Pitkern, Singlish, Tok Pisin, Papiamento, and others. We hope the NLP community will include this collection of datasets in ongoing & future evaluations of methods dire http://dlvr.it/Sykn15

[yumitalem]

Get ready to set your alarms, mark your calendars, and share the news with your family! Our First ever Aotearoa Vanuatu National Bislama Pilot Language Week kicks off on Sunday 12th November to the 18th of November 2023, and we couldn't be more excited! 📆🌟

Helo olgeta ! Kam yumi selebretem bislama lanwis– Aotearoa Vanuatu National Bislama Pilot Language Week 2023 features the theme "Leftemap bislama we hemi men tred mo komunikesen lanwis blong yumi long Vanuatu," which translates to "Embracing bislama, the national language for trade and communication for Ni- Vanuatu."🇻🇺🗣️

We have a range of fresh content waiting for you to learn and share, including this amazing poster. Explore more as we start this week to COUNTDOWN learning phraces in Bislama that will run all through out our social media platform

Facebook : YUMI TALEM

Instagram: https://instagram.com/yumitalem?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

X: https://x.com/yumitalem?t=7ChD2lsO37Nw1CYkuMYZ8A&s=09

Tumblr:

https://www.tumblr.com/yumitalem?source=share

🌐✨

And while you're celebrating, don't forget to snap some photos and tag us – we can't wait to see your plans! 📸 especially Aotearoa Vanuatu Regional Committee🇳🇿🇻🇺

#VanuatuanLanguageweek

[best-non-english-word-torunament]

Round one: Sikmun vs 爆炸, bào zhà

(poll at the end)

Sikmun (Bislama)

Unable to find IPA

Translation: Menstrual period

Bislama is an English-based creole with around 14 200 speakers. It is spoken in Vanuatu, where it’s the national language and used as a lingua franca to facilitate communication between speakers of the 110 living languages. Bislama emerged in the late 1800s due to the practice of “blackbirding”, aka deceiving or kidnapping Pacific Islanders and taking them to work as indentured labourers on plantations, mainly in Australia and Fiji. Due to everyone speaking different languages, a pidgin emerged that later became a creole. This language was taken to Vanuatu when labourers returned and spread because it could be used as a lingua franca. Most of the vocabulary is English-based with some French, but the grammar is typical of local languages.

Motivation: Sick moon???? That’s such a rad way of describing it, it sounds so cool…

(note: the original submission said sigmun, sikmun was the spelling I found in the Bislama spelling dictionary as well as in text examples)

爆炸, bào zhà (Mandarin Chinese)

[paʊ ʈʂa]

Translation: explosion

Chinese is a Sino-Tibetan macrolanguage (a dialect continuum consisting of different varieties that are distinct languages based the criterium of mutual intelligibility, but commonly referred to as a single language) with around 1 350 300 000 speakers that consists of 16 recognised languages, often referred to as dialects. Out of these, Mandarin Chinese is the largest, as 70% of Chinese speakers have it as their native language. The Beijing dialect of Mandarin forms the basis of Standard Chinese, which is the national language and taught in schools all over China.

Motivation 1: Super fun to say (BAO ZHA allows for some intense chest yells!!), lovely meaning, has become a joke among my friend group and our Chinese teacher thinks it's very funny

Motivation 2: Explode is an inherently funny word. Also me and my friends learned this word back in like Chinese ii (super early on, we were still learning basic grammar) and our Chinese teacher does not like it very much. Once they got in trouble for putting it in a presentation that was being graded for our ib myp certificate (international baccalaureate; bigshot honors program).

Note: This was submitted as Mandarin Chinese by at least one of the four submitters of this one word (thank you for sparing me the detective work). The two best motivations were put on the post

[loadsofplaces]

Vanuatu

General Information Vanuatu is a country in the Pacific Ocean, consisting of dozens of islands. They have been inhabited for at least 3.000 years, having received several waves of migration of mostly Melanesian and some Polynesian peoples. First European explorers arrived in the 17th century, and from 1906 to its independence in 1980 Vanuatu, then called New Hebrides, was under partial British and French control. 99,2% of the 315.700 inhabitants are Melanesian, with over 100 Melanesian languages and dialects spoken. The official languages are Bislama (an English-based Melanesian pidgin), English and French. About 70% of inhabitants are Protestants, around 12% Roman Catholic. The capital is Port-Vila.

The Origin of Bungee Jumping Vanuatu was likely the first place to practice a form of Bungee Jumping - during Vanuatu’s land diving ritual, boys and young men dive from circa 20 to 30 meter high wooden towers while vines are attached to their ankles.

A tribe that worships Prince Philip Since British Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip visited Vanuatu in 1974, a tribe on Tanna island has been convinced that Prince Philip is the son of their ancestral mountain god.

~ Anastasia

Economy Vanuatu's economy is primarily agricultural; 80% of the population is engaged in agricultural activities that range from subsistence farming to smallholder farming of coconuts and other cash crops. Copra is by far the most important cash crop (making up more than 35% of Vanuatu's exports), followed by timber, beef, and cocoa. Kava root extract exports also have become important.

~ Damian

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/place/Vanuatu/History https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/oceania/articles/vanuatu-facts/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Vanuatu

[solidity-io]

Vanuatu Passport Visa Free Countries Program – A Complete Guide

The Vanuatu visa-free countries citizenship program is one of the most popular programs of its kind in the world. Launched in 2016, the program provides a quick and easy way for investors to obtain Vanuatu citizenship. In exchange for an investment of at least $250,000 in real estate, applicants are granted full citizenship rights, including a Vanuatu passport.

The Vanuatu visa-free countries citizenship program is open to all nationalities, and there are no restrictions on age or nationality. There is also no requirement to reside in Vanuatu in order to maintain citizenship status. Once granted, citizenship is lifelong and can be passed on to future generations.

15 Benefits of the Vanuatu citizenship by investment program include:

1. Visa Free travel to more than 124 nations

With a Vanuatu passport, you will have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 124 countries and territories, including the UK, Europe’s Schengen Area, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea.

2. No tax on worldwide income

With a Vanuatu visa-free countries citizenship, you will not be subject to tax on your worldwide income. This makes Vanuatu an ideal jurisdiction for investors and entrepreneurs who want to minimize their tax liability.

3. A stable political environment

Vanuatu is a parliamentary democracy with a strong track record of political stability. The country has never experienced a military coup or any other major political upheaval in its history.

4. A peaceful and crime-free environment

Vanuatu is a peaceful country with a very low crime rate. The Vanuatu police force is well-trained and efficient, and the country has a strong legal system that upholds the rule of law.

5. A tropical paradise setting

Vanuatu is located in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and north of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of 83 islands, with a total land area of just over 12,000 square kilometers. 

6. English is an official language

English is one of Vanuatu’s official languages, along with Bislama and French. This makes it easy for English-speaking investors to communicate with the local population and do business in the country.

7. Excellent healthcare and education

Vanuatu passport offers excellent healthcare and education facilities, with a number of hospitals and schools located on the main island of Efate. There is also a growing number of private healthcare and education providers in the country.

8. A growing economy

The Vanuatu economy has been growing steadily in recent years, with real GDP growth averaging 5.5% per year between 2013 and 2017. The country’s main industries include tourism, agriculture, fishing, and forestry.

9. A rapidly expanding tourist industry

Tourism is one of Vanuatu’s key industries, and the sector is growing rapidly. In 2017, the country welcomed a record-breaking 357,000 visitors, an increase of 17% over the previous year.

10. A favorable investment climate

Vanuatu passport offers a favorable investment climate for both local and foreign investors. The country has a number of tax incentives and investment opportunities, and there is no limit on foreign ownership of businesses.

11. Ease of doing business

Vanuatu ranks 85th out of 190 economies in the World Bank’s 2018 Doing Business report. This makes it one of the easiest places in the world to start and operate a business.

12. A strategic location

Vanuatu’s strategic location makes it an ideal base for businesses looking to operate in the Asia-Pacific region. The country is within easy reach of Australia, New Zealand, and other major markets in the region.

13. A growing expatriate community

Vanuatu is home to a growing expatriate community, with people from all over the world choosing to live and work in the country. This diversity adds to the country’s cultural vibrancy and makes it an attractive place to live.

14. A relaxed lifestyle

Vanuatu passport offers a relaxed lifestyle that is perfect for those looking to escape the rat race. The pace of life is slow and leisurely, and there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

15. A citizenship by investment program

The Vanuatu passport visa free countries program is one of the most popular programs of its kind in the world. The program offers a number of benefits, including a passport with visa-free travel to over 130 countries, including the UK, US, and Canada.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a Vanuatu passport visa free countries citizenship by investment program, Vanuatu is a great option to consider. The program offers many benefits, including a passport with visa-free travel to over 130 countries, a stable political environment, a peaceful and crime-free environment, a tropical paradise setting, English as an official language, excellent healthcare and education facilities, and a growing economy. Contact us today to learn more about the Vanuatu citizenship by investment program.

At Citizenship Bay, we have a team of experienced and qualified professionals who can help you with the citizenship by investment program. Contact us today for more information.

Citizenship Bay is a leading firm specializing in Vanuatu passport visa free countries citizenship by investment programs. We are based in Toronto, Canada, but our services are available to clients from all over the world. We have a team of experienced and qualified professionals who can help you with the citizenship by investment program. Contact us today for more information.

[sidewalkchemistry]

close up of "Melanesian Mystery" by Jabhu

As bright as the sun, this Melanesian is anchored to her beautiful mysterious roots.

Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in a wide area from the eastern of Indonesia (East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku Islands, Western New Guinea), East Timor, Papua New Guinea to as far east as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Most speak either one of the many languages of the Austronesian language family, especially ones in the Oceanic branch, or from one of the many unrelated families of Papuan languages. Other languages are the several creoles of the region, such as Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Solomon Islands Pijin, Bislama, Kupang Malay, North Moluccan Malay, Ambonese Malay and Papuan Malay. (Wikipedia)

[automnehiver]

Jour 20 : transmission Deux dessins sur le sable du Vanuatu, nommés sandroing en bislama. Ces tracés sont réalisés avec l’index de la main droite, d’un seul jet, sans jamais lever le doigt du sol. Cette technique, inscrite au patrimoine immatériel de l’Unesco depuis 2008, est le support de la transmission entre générations dans l’archipel : le dessin du haut, nommé Kaen bwet kulkul, est destiné à apprendre comment envelopper un taro grillé dans une feuille. Il est originaire de l’île de Pentecôte. Celui du bas est nommé Sisi onen titin (« le chemin de la fourmi »), et enseigne le chemin à suivre afin d’égarer son ennemi. Pour en apprendre davantage sur cette technique passionnante, lisez le très bon article de Margot Duband sur @casoarleblog en suivant le lien ci-dessous. ______ Day 20: transmission Two drawings on the sand of Vanuatu, called sandroing in Bislama. These drawings are made with the index finger of the right hand, in a single stroke, without ever lifting the finger from the ground. This technique, listed as intangible heritage by UNESCO since 2008, is the medium of transmission between generations in the archipelago: the top drawing, called Kaen bwet kulkul, is intended to learn how to wrap a roasted taro in a leaf. It originates from Pentecost Island. The lower one is called Sisi onen titin ("the path of the ant"), and teaches the way to lead your enemy astray. To learn more about this fascinating technique, read Margot Duband's very good article on @casoarleblog by following the link below. https://casoar.org/2020/01/15/le-sandroing-au-vanuatu-bien-plus-quun-dessin/ #Pacifinktober #inktober #vanuatu #sandroing #sandroa #Pacifinktober2022 #Inktober2022 #casoar #casoarleblog https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj7Op3JINCx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[swldx]

Radio Vanuatu 0717 18 Jan 2024

7260Khz 0700 18 JAN 2024 - RADIO VANUATU (VANUATU) in BISLAMA from EMPTEN LAGOON. SINPO = 15211. ? Language?, JBA carrier with only occasional traces of modulation: @0706z male announcer reading. @0707z female announcer reading. @0710z male (same) announcer reading. @0711z female (same) announcer reading. @0712 both announcers conversing fb musical selection. (music //stream on https://vbtc.vu/ ) Backyard gutter antenna, Etón e1XM, 10kW, Omni, bearing 262°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 12006KM from transmitter at Empten Lagoon. Local time: 0100

https://vbtc.vu/