Category:Vanuatu



Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 A.D. to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980 A.D., when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted. Local languages (more than 100) are spoken by 72.6% of the population; pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) is spoken by 23.1%, English is spoken by 1.9%, and French is spoken by 1.4%.