English in Vanuatu

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The position of English in Vanuatu is unique in the Pacific because it shares official status with French, and at the same time has a particular constitutionally declared role with respect to the English‐derived pidgin known as Bislama. Prior to independence in Vanuatu, education was offered in schools that operated through the medium of both languages, and the numbers of enrolments were approximately equal in both systems throughout the condominium. Since independence in 1980 however, enrolments in English‐medium schools have increased dramatically at the expense of French‐medium enrolments. This was mainly because the French‐medium system has provided very few opportunities for people to gain employment or further study, while English‐educated students have gone on to gain university degrees overseas and have returned to the country to occupy senior government positions. Bislama also has a much higher status in Vanuatu than is the case with other varieties of Melanesian Pidgin, because it has become a compromise language between the two colonial languages, which have operated to divide ni‐Vanuatu.