Rapa language

Rapa
Reo Rapa; Reo Oparo
Native to French Polynesia
Native speakers
300  (2007 census)[1]
Austronesian
Language codes
ISO 639-3 ray
Glottolog rapa1245[2]

Rapa (or Rapan; autonym Reo Rapa or Reo Oparo) is the language of Rapa, in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is classified as an East Central Polynesian language, along with the Marquesic and Tahitic languages.

The language

The language is sufficiently different from the rest of the Austral languages as to be considered a separate language.[3] It is assumed to have developed in relative isolation for nearly 700 years.

It is not to be confused with the Rapa Nui language.

References

Notes

  1. Rapa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Rapa". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  3. See Charpentier & François (2015).