Mota is a member of the North-Central Vanuatu branch of the Southern Oceanic group of Malayo-Polynesian languages. It is spoken by about 750 people on Mota Island, one of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu.
Mota Island was formerly known as Sugarload Island, and the language is named after the island. Mota was first written in the 1860s using a spelling system developed by missionaries from the Melanesian Mission, an Anglican missionary agency founded in 1849 by George Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand. Various religious texts, including prayers and hynms, were translated into Mota, and the language was used in religious education on Norfork Island, an external territory of Australia. The first dictionary of Mota was published in 1896 by Robert Henry Codrington (1830-1922), an Anglican priest and anthropologist from the UK.
Download an alphabet chart for Mota (Excel)
Nira me togtoga, o tavne i tuwale, vag rasoana, rara me togtoga va—va, o tavne me tiana. O tavne me tiana, rara me togtoga, o tavne me la o rerem̄era. Ni me vasis, me mate. Me mate, pa i walna ni gate glala was me mate – i tutuan o m̄ereata i rasoana. Qon̄ tuwale, ni me va ma was ni vatvatev-ia; me va ma pa, ni gate glala was walna ilon me mate veta. Ale, ni me ilo ni we pte pa gate inea. O tamate tapena veta. Ale, kalo pata ilo im̄a, me ilo tavne ilon we pte, me nonom was tur walna, was ni qale toga.
Source: https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/
Information about Mota
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mota_language_(Vanuatu)
https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/corpus/Mota?lang=en&mode=pro&seeMore=true
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Melanesia/Mota.html
https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflang00codruoft/mode/2up
http://www.language-archives.org/language/mtt
http://www.sil.org/resources/search/language/mtt
Adzera, Ahamb, Äiwoo, Aneityum, Apma, Araki, Are, ʼAuhelawa, Avava, Babatana, Bariai, Bola, Big Numbas, Buhutu, Bwaidoka, Caac, Cheke Holo, Daakaka, Dorig, Hiri Motu, Hiw, Hoava, Kakabai, Kaninuwa, Kokota, Koro. Kove, Kurti, Kwamera, Lakon, Lehali, Lenakel, Lewo, Lote, Lo-Toga, Löyöp, Manam, Marovo, Maskelynes, Mato, Mavea, Mono-Alu, Mota, Motu, Mussau-Emira, Mwerlap, Mwotlap, Nafsan, Nahavaq, Namakura, Naman, Nanggu, Nduke, Neve‘ei, Neverver, Ninde, North Efate, Nume, Paamese, Papapana, Raga, Rotuman, Roviana, Sa, Sakao, Saliba, Siar, Sio, Ske, Sobei, Sursurunga, Tamambo, Tami, Teanu, Tigak, Tirax, Tolai, Touo, Ubir, Ughele, Uneapa, Vatlongos, Vitu, Vurës, Western Fijian, Yabem, Yapese
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page created: 28.07.25. Last modified: 28.07.25
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