| Torres–Banks | |
| Region: | Torres Islands and Banks Islands, Torba Province, northern Vanuatu |
| Familycolor: | Austronesian |
| Fam3: | Oceanic |
| Fam4: | Southern Oceanic |
| Fam5: | North-Central Vanuatu |
| Fam6: | North Vanuatu |
| Protoname: | Proto-Torres-Banks |
| Glotto: | torr1262 |
| Glottorefname: | Torres-Banks linkage |
The Torres–Banks languages form a linkage of Southern Oceanic languages spoken in the Torres Islands and Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu.
François (2011) recognizes 17 languages spoken by 9,400 people in 50 villages, including 16 living (3 of which are moribund) and one extinct language.[1]
The 17 languages, ranked from northwest to southeast, are:[1]
| Language | Number of speakers | ISO 639-3 code | Island(s) spoken | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 280 | [hiw] | Hiw | ||
| 580 | [lht] | Tegua, Lo, Toga | ||
| 200 | [tql] | Ureparapara | ||
| 240 | [urr] | Ureparapara | ||
| extinct | [mlv] | Mota Lava | ||
| 2100 | [mlv] | Mota Lava | ||
| 2 (moribund) | [lrz] | Vanua Lava | ||
| 500 | [vra] | Vanua Lava | ||
| 2000 | [msn] | Vanua Lava | ||
| 10 (moribund) | [msn] | Vanua Lava | ||
| 750 | [mtt] | Mota | ||
| 700 | [tgs] | Gaua | ||
| 300 | [wwo] | Gaua | ||
| 250 | [krf] | Gaua | ||
| 3 (moribund) | [olr] | Gaua | ||
| 800 | [lkn] | Gaua | ||
| 1100 | [mrm] | Merelava |
A. François has published several studies comparing various features of the Torres–Banks languages:
François (2012) is a sociolinguistic study of the area.
The internal structure of the Torres–Banks linkage was assessed based on the Comparative method, and presented in the framework of historical glottometry (François 2014, 2017; Kalyan & François 2018).
Kalyan & François (2018: 81) identified the following best-supported subgroups (in decreasing order of genealogical closeness):
It is possible that the strict common ancestor of any two members of the Torres–Banks linkage is Proto-Oceanic itself. Evidence of this is found in the preservation of final consonants in Lakon (via a now-lost paragogic vowel), consonants which were lost in most other languages.[2] [3]
See main article: Proto-Torres–Banks language. The common ancestor of all Torres-Banks languages is called Proto-Torres–Banks, viewed here as a mutually-intelligible chain of dialects within the Torres and Banks islands.
. A Comparative Study of the Melanesian Island Languages . Sidney Herbert Ray . 1926 . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge . 9781107682023 . xvi+598 . Ray.