Oroha

Oroha, categorized as an Austronesian language, is one of many languages spoken by Melanesian people in the Solomon Islands. It is also known as Maramasike (after the Maramasike Passage that separates Malaita Province's two main islands, where masike means 'little'), Mara Ma-Siki (literally "Little Mala/Mara" [to 'Tolo' people who do not have the sound [l] in their language], after the area), Oraha, and Oloha, and is used primarily in the southern part of Malaita Island within the Malaita Province. Little Mala is composed of three indigenous languages of the 'Tolo' people which are Na’oni, Pau, and Oroha. They are all slightly different, yet come from the same origin. The three languages may be thought of as different dialects of the same language. The three Tolo villages now harbor schools under the Melanesian Mission.

There are 38 people who still currently use the Oroha language today. Oroha is an indigenous, endangered Oceanic language, and its current status is shifting, meaning that its speaker community is in the process of speaking a different language, to the Sa'a language, another indigenous language of the Solomon Islands. Most of the Oroha speakers already know how to read Sa'a; therefore, it is easy to convert to using this other language. Comparing Sa'a to the Oroha language, one can see their common origins. For example, [d] in the Sa’a language corresponds to a [s] or, more commonly, to a [t] in Oroha.

The Oroha people have come from the dividing channel in Mala to their current residence. Most of the Oroha language speakers believe in Christianity.

摘自英文维基百科 · Oroha language · CC BY-SA 4.0