Iaai language
| Iaai | |
|---|---|
| Hwen iaai | |
| Pronunciation | [jaːi] |
| Region | Ouvéa Island, New Caledonia |
Native speakers | 4,100 (2009 census) |
Austronesian
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | iai |
| Glottolog | iaai1238 |
Iaai is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Iaai (Iaai pronunciation: [jaːi]; English: /ˈjaɪ/ Y-EYE) is a language of Ouvéa Island (New Caledonia). It shares the island of Ouvéa with Fagauvea, a Polynesian outlier language.
Iaai is the sixth-most-spoken language of New Caledonia, with 4078 speakers as of 2009. It is taught in schools in an effort to preserve it.
The language has been studied by linguists Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre and Anne-Laure Dotte.