Drehu (Drehu)

Drehu is a member of the New Caledonian branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family spoken by about 12,000 people on Lifou Island (Île Loyauté), one of the Loyalty Islands, which are part of New Caledonia (Nouvelle-Calédonie). It has status as a French regional language and is taught in schools and universities in New Calendonia and Paris.

Drehu was first written during the 1840s by missionaries from Polynesia and England, with help from native speakers. A complete Drehu translation of the Bible was published in 1890. A revised spelling system was introduced in the 1970s.

Drehu alphabet and pronunciation

Download an alphabet chart for Drehu (Excel)

Information about Drehu compiled by Wolfram Siegel and Michael Peter Füstumum

Sample text in Drehu

Ame la angetre Tonga hnei angatr hna tro qa Tonga. Hnei angatr hna tro kowe la hnapet i angatr troa kuca la itra huliwa i angatr. Caiye me Nyie me kuca la nöjei pengön la angetra Tonga. Thupene lai angatr a tro qa lei ngöne hnapet. Hnei angatr hna tro ngöne itre kenu hnei angatr hna traqa e Walepool.

Hear a recording of this text

Translation

I'm going to tell you about the Tongans who, one day, left the island of Tonga. On their island, they used to go about various jobs. There was Caiye, Nyie, and others, they live in the Tongan fashion. Because of a conflict, they had to leave their island. They left in canoes and they arrived in Walpole.

Part of "Arrivée de Tongiens à Mu" (Arrivals of the Tongans in Mu)
Source: http://lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr/archivage/tools/show_text.php?id=crdo-DHV_MU_SOUND

Sample video in Drehu

Information about Drehu | Numbers

Links

Information about the Drehu language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drehu
http://lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr/archivage/languages/Drehu.htm
http://www.news.vu/en/living/Events/051108-Vanuatu-languages-special-feature.shtml
https://www.alk.nc/langues/drehu

New Caledonian languages

Ajië, Caac, Cèmuhî, Drehu, Iaai, Ndrumbea, Nengone, Numèè, Nyelâyu, Paicî, Vamale, Xârâcùù

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 29.05.23

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