Mele-Fila

A language of Vanuatu

ISO 639: mxe
Alternate Names: Fila-Mele, Ifara-Mele, Ifira-Mele
Population: 3,500 (Lynch and Crowley 2001).
Location:: Shefa province: Efate, Mele village; Ifira island.
Language Status: 5* (Developing).
Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Nuclear, Samoic-Outlier, Futunic
Dialects: Fila (Atara Ifira, Efira, Fira, Ifira), Mele (Atara Imere). Significant differences between Mele and Fila, but mutually intelligible (Clark 2002).
Typology: SVO; prepositions; noun head initial; both definite and indefinite articles, with ordinary and affectionate categories; dual and paucal numbers; tense and aspect; causatives; 15 consonants and 5 vowels; stress falls on antepenultimate syllable; inclusive/exclusive pronouns; alienable/inalienable possession; verb serialization.
Language Use: Also use South Efate [erk].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: 5%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 75%–100%. NT: 1993.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Mele-Fila
Writing: Latin script [Latn].

Location: Shefa province: Efate, Mele village; Ifira island.