Merelava

Coordinates: 14°27′S 168°03′E / 14.45°S 168.05°E / -14.45; 168.05

Merelava (or Mere Lava) is an island in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu. It is situated in the southeastern part of the archipelago near Mota and Merig. The island is administratively part of Torba Province. Merelava has also been known as Star Island. It is located about 50 km east of Gaua.

Population and language

The island has about 650 inhabitants.^[1] They all speak an Oceanic language known as Mwerlap or Merlav.^[2]

Names

The inhabitants of Merelava call their own island Mwerlap, phonetically [ŋʷɞrlap], in the language of the same name.

The name Merelava (sometimes wrongly transcribed Mere Lava) reflects the way it is called in the neighbouring Mota language, phonetically [ŋ͡mʷereˈlaβa].

References

1. ^ (PDF) 2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release. Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 2009. http://www.spc.int/prism/country/vu/stats/Publications/2009%20Census%20Summary%20release%20final.pdf. Retrieved October 11, 2010. 
2. ^ François (2005:444)

Bibliography

• François, Alexandre (2005), "Unraveling the history of vowels in seventeen north Vanuatu languages", Oceanic Linguistics 44 (2): 443–504, http://alex.francois.free.fr/data/AlexFrancois_VowelsNorthernVanuatu_OL44-2.pdf 

External links

• Linguistic map of north Vanuatu, showing location of Merelava.