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{{Infobox language
'''Bislama''' is one of the three national languages of [[Vanuatu]]. It is a new language, made during the last two or three hundred years by mixing [[English language|English]] with some [[French]] and some local words. The way the words are put together is like people have talked in Vanuatu for a long time -- not like English or French words are put together.▼
|region= Vanuatu
|speakers=6,000
|date=2001
|speakers2=200,000 [[Second language|L2]] speakers{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}
|familycolor=Creole
|fam1=[[English-based creole languages|English Creole]]
|fam2=Pacific
|script=[[Latin script|Latin]]
|nation= {{flag|Vanuatu}}
|iso1=bi
|iso2=bis
|iso3=bis
|lingua=52-ABB-ce}}
▲'''Bislama''' is one of the three national languages of [[Vanuatu]]. It is a new language, made during the last two or three hundred years by mixing [[English language|English]] with some [[French language|French]] and some local words. The way the words are put together is like people have talked in Vanuatu for a long time -- not like English or French words are put together.
Bislama is like this:
:''Stoa long haos'' - The store next to the house.
:''Buk blong mi'' - My book.
:''Bambae mi wantem bia'' - I will want beer.
==
Between the 1870s and the 1880s, hundreds of thousands of Pacific islanders (many of them from the New Hebrides) were forced to work on plantations, mainly in the state of [[Queensland, Australia]], and [[Fiji]]. A pidgin was formed out of the several languages spoken in these plantations. It combined English vocabulary with the grammar from the languages of the region. This early plantation pidgin was the origin of Bislama, [[Tok Pisin]] in [[Papua New Guinea]] and [[Pijin]] from the [[Solomon Islands]].
*[http://www.vanuatutvet.org.vu/bislama/ Bislama spelling dictionary for Microsoft Word]▼
This creole started spreading throughout the Vanuatu archipelago at the turn of the 20th century. Because there are 113 languages spoken in Vanuatu, Bislama serves as a lingua franca for communication.
[[Category:Languages]]▼
The first dictionary of Bislama was published in 1995. Its second edition was published in 2004. This has helped to create a standardised and uniform spelling of written Bislama.
▲[[bi:Bislama]]
Besides Bislama, most ni-Vanuatu also know their local language. The country's official languages used for education are English and French.
==Grammar==
Two frequent words in Bislama are "long" and "blong", which take the place of many prepositions in English.
==="Long"===
*''Long'' as 'next to', 'by', 'beside' etc.
*;Stoa long haos: The store next to the house.
*''long'' as 'at' or 'to'
*;Mi bin stap long ples ia bifo: I have been to this place before.
*;Mi stap long stoa: I am at the store.
*''long'' as 'in'
*;Jea long haos: The chair in the house.
''Long'' has many other related meanings, and is sometimes used in improvisation.
==="Blong"===
Originally from the English word "belong", ''blong'' takes the place of 'of' or the genitive case in other languages. Just like ''of'' in English, it is one of the most widely used and versatile words in the language, and can indicate possession, country of origin, defining characteristics, intention, and others.
;Buk blong mi: The book that belongs to me, my book
;Man blong Amerika: Man from America, American.
;Hemi woman blong saiens: She is a woman of science, She is a scientist.
;Man blong dring: Man of drinking i.e. a drinker
== Other websites ==
{{InterWiki|code=bi}}
*[http://www.bislama.org/ Bislama languages resources, dictionary, translator, translaters, online training]
▲*[http://www.
*[http://www.bislama.org/images/dictionary/BislamaSpellingDictionary-v1.1.pdf Bislama Spelling Dictionary compiled by Daryl Moon] (.pdf)
*[http://www.pentecostisland.net/languages/bislama/index.htm Bislama language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524142001/http://www.pentecostisland.net/languages/bislama/index.htm |date=2011-05-24 }} A guide to speaking Bislama; dictionaries English-Bislama and Bislama-English
*[http://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/bislama.html Bislama (Vanuatu) written by Terry Crowley] Background (history, attitudes and use), vocabulary, sounds, grammar
*[https://mtranslation.com.au/Bislama.pdf Bislama: An introduction to the national language of Vanuatu by Darrell T.Tryon] (.pdf)
{{authority control}}
▲[[Category:Languages of Oceania]]
[[Category:Vanuatu]]
[[Category:Pidgins and creoles]]
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