About Bislama

With a population of only 252,763 people speaking 113 diverse languages, Vanuatu is the most language-dense country in the world. Bislama is the English-based pidgin used across all 83 islands and is the nation’s common language, allowing people of different traditional (or ‘kustom’) languages to communicate easily with one other. As a consequence of Vanuatu’s colonial history, English and French are also widely spoken across the country and together with Bislama are the republic’s three official languages.

Early forms of Bislama began in the western Pacific during the 19th century as a simplified means of communication between islanders and European traders. The name ‘Bislama’ itself derives from the Portuguese bicho do mar meaning ‘small sea creature’. In French it was known as biche la mar, meaning ‘small sea slug’. Throughout the western Pacific, a lucrative trade developed during the mid 1800s for this Chinese delicacy – the pidgin that developed in these situations drew its name from the object of the trade.

Bislama was developed during the 1870’s and 1880’s in the ‘blackbirding’ era when thousands of Pacific Islanders were transported as indentured workers on plantations in Australia and Fiji. Many of them came from Vanuatu. Coming from many different islands that each had their own local languages, a form of pidgin English was developed that combined English words with the grammatical structures of the Pacific region. This pidgin allowed communication between the Aboriginalpeople as well as with plantation owners, European traders and settlers. By 1906 the practice of indentured Islander labour was banned in Australia, although over one hundred years later our agricultural sector is still heavily reliant on seasonal migrant workers from the Pacific Islands.

When the labourers were returned to their islands in the early 20th century, their pidgin language inevitably went with them. This new language became widespread and is the origin of the widely spoken pidgin languages of Oceania, including Bislama in Vanuatu, Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea and Pijin of the Solomon Islands. It found its place in Vanuatu life, mixing with the existing pidgins and jargons, local tradition languages and European languages, especially English. The result was a language unique to Vanuatu – Bislama.

Although a visitor should have no trouble communicating in English in Port Vila, (English is far more prevalent than French throughout the archipelago), to the adventurous traveller wishing to trek further afield, an understanding of Bislama is essential. Bislama will deeply enrich your experience of Vanuatu and offers the possibility of visiting almost any island in the country.

This introduction to speaking Bislama is a basic starting point – if you wish to further develop your language skills, please consult some of the more detailed resources listed at the bottom of this page.

Lanem Bislama!

Pronunciation

Bislama is similar in pronunciation to English, the reason being that the majority of words found in Bislama (around 85%) are derived from English. The other 15% come from a melange of Melanesian and Polynesian languages as well as some French and Portuguese.

Vowels

Consonants

Speaking

Basic Phrases

Get started with the essentials!

Language Difficulties

These phrases might help you get out of a tight spot when travelling.

First Encounters

Some phrases when meeting new people.

Specifics

Number

In Bislama there is no difference in form between singular and plural nouns. i.e. there is no equivalent of the -s plural ending of English, for example dog, dogs. Plurality is indicated by ‘ol’ which precedes the noun.

Family/Age/Nationality

Getting Around

Get around the islands of Vanuatu with these invaluable phrases.

Food

The pidgin word for food common across Melanesia is kae or kae kae. As well as functioning as a noun, kae kae also serves as the verb ‘to eat’.

One of the best things to do as a visitor to Vanuatu is to wander through local markets, tasting local specialities such as Lap Lap, fish curries (fis kari) and a plethora of fresh tropical fruits and veggies.

Traditional Vanuatu

Further Resources

We have only covered the basics here. For more detailed explanations of Bislama grammatical structures, vocabulary and other goodies, make sure you have a good look through the resources below.

We are indebted to Lonely Planet’s Pidgin Phrasebook and Darrell Tryon’s Let’s Talk Bislama – Evri Samting Yu Wantem Save Long Bislama Be Yu Fraet Tumas Blong Askem (Everything You Wanted to Know About Bislama but Were Afraid to Ask) – A Traveller’s Guide to Vanuatu Pidgin for the information contained on this page.

Bislama – Wikipedia

Bislama.org

Bislama Handbook – Live Lingua

Bislama Language Audio Training Course by Language Recall – available on iTunes

Bislama: An introduction to the national language of Vanuatu – available on Amazon

Pidgin Phrasebook – available at Lonely Planet

Let’s Talk Bislama – Evri Samting Yu Wantem Save Long Bislama Be Yu Fraet Tumas Blong Askem (Everything You Wanted to Know About Bislama but Were Afraid to Ask) – A Traveller’s Guide to Vanuatu Pidgin – available on Amazon