Rapa Nui

RAP

threatened

Alternate Names: Easter Island, Pascuense, Rapanui

Dialects: None known. Lexical similarity: 64% with Hawaiian ,, Mangareva ,, and Rarotongan ,; 63% with Marquesan ,; 62% with Tahitian , and Tuamotuan ,.

Genealogy:

Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
Oceanic
Central-Eastern Oceanic
Remote Oceanic
Central Pacific
East Fijian-Polynesian
Polynesian
Nuclear
East
Rapanui

Demographics: 2,400 in Chile (Wurm 2007). Population total all countries: 2,700.

Language Use: Was vigorous, but now declining. Young generation losing interest in the language. Revival efforts are in progress (Wurm 2007). Home, education. Also use Spanish [spa].

Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: 25%–50%. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible portions: 2003.

Typology: VSO.

Writing System: Latin

Nation of Origin: Chile