Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Moenebeng, Neukaledonien, Caawac, Mwelebeng
CLASSIFICATION		Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Nuclear Southern Oceanic, Southern Melanesian, New Caledonian, Extreme Northern
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3; Glottolog
LANGUAGE CODE		msq; caac1237
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Pouébo La Conception (St. Louis)
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “A study of space in Caac, an Oceanic language spoken in the north of New Caledonia” . Aurelie Cauchard (2015)

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
2,215
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
99,100

DATE OF INFO: (INSEE, 2009), (Rivierre, 2003)

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Caac has very little representation in media and education. Caac is generally used in traditional and social contexts and within families. Some young Mwelebeng people only have passive knowledge of Caac, due to most adults downplaying their own ability to speak it and devaluing the way youth speak it.

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

Kanak peoples are typically multilingual. Mwelebeng adults often downplay their own language proficiency and disregard the way the youth speak the language. French, the lingua franca, is given precedence in education, work, media, public services, and more.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

1998 Noumea Accords officialy recognized Caac as a language of culture and education

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

French

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

Children who attend school in the south speak French more easily than Caac. Children attending school in Pouebo in the 1980s-90s were able to study Caac in classes, but no longer.

PLACES: Most Caac speakers live in Pweevo (Puebo) and Noumea, in the customary area of Hoot ma Waap, on the northeastern coast of New Caledonia. This area corresponds with the old Mwelebeng chiefdom.

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
890
Native speakers worldwide

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
890
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Data for the number of native speakers comes from the 1996 census.

DATE OF INFO: 1996

PLACES: New Caledonia;

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
890
Native speakers worldwide

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,050
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 2003

PLACES: Hoot ma Waap, northern New Caledonia

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,165
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Only speakers above age 14 are included in this figure.

DATE OF INFO: 2009

PLACES: New Caledonia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spoken in the region of Pouébo: Saint Adolphe, Saint DenisPouébo, Saint Gabriel, Saint Ferdinand, Saint Joseph, Saint Louis, and Sainte Marie.

16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)	M. Paul Lewis	SIL International	Dallas, TX			http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		890	1996	100-999	Data for the number of native speakers comes from the 1996 census.					Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					New Caledonia;
	2010	"Documenting Caac, an endangered language spoken in the north of New Caledonia" HRELP Abstract						http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=236	Aurélie Cauchard	Cauchard, Aurélie. 2010. ""Documenting Caac, An Endangered Language Spoken in the North of New Caledonia" HRELP Abstract." Online: http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=236.			1,050	2003	1000-9999						Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Hoot ma Waap, northern New Caledonia		-21.5,165.5
		Académie des Langues Kanak (ALK)				Académie des Langues Kanak (ALK)		http://www.alk.gouv.nc/portal/page/portal/alk		"Académie Des Langues Kanak (ALK)." Online: http://www.alk.gouv.nc/portal/page/portal/alk.			1,165	2009	1000-9999	Only speakers above age 14 are included in this figure.					Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					New Caledonia	Spoken in the region of Pouébo: Saint Adolphe, Saint DenisPouébo, Saint Gabriel, Saint Ferdinand, Saint Joseph, Saint Louis, and Sainte Marie.	-20.396645, 164.567986
3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger		UNESCO Publishing	Paris			http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		890		100-999						Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)							-20.3883,164.5614
	2015	A study of space in Caac, an Oceanic language spoken in the north of New Caledonia					The University of Manchester	https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/files/32802980/FULL_TEXT.PDF	Aurelie Cauchard	Cauchard, A. (2015). A study of space in Caac, an Oceanic language spoken in the north of New Caledonia. University of Manchester.		99,100	2,215	(INSEE, 2009), (Rivierre, 2003)	1000-9999		French	1998 Noumea Accords officialy recognized Caac as a language of culture and education	Kanak peoples are typically multilingual. Mwelebeng adults often downplay their own language proficiency and disregard the way the youth speak the language. French, the lingua franca, is given precedence in education, work, media, public services, and more.	Children who attend school in the south speak French more easily than Caac. Children attending school in Pouebo in the 1980s-90s were able to study Caac in classes, but no longer.	Threatened (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	11	Caac has very little representation in media and education. Caac is generally used in traditional and social contexts and within families. Some young Mwelebeng people only have passive knowledge of Caac, due to most adults downplaying their own ability to speak it and devaluing the way youth speak it.	13	13	Most Caac speakers live in Pweevo (Puebo) and Noumea, in the customary area of Hoot ma Waap, on the northeastern coast of New Caledonia. This area corresponds with the old Mwelebeng chiefdom.		-20.2250,164.3545
		World Oral Literature Project						http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			890		100-999						Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Caac

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

2,215

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

890

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

890

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

890

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,050

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,165

Discussion

Caac

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

2,215

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

890

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

890

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

890

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,050

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,165

Discussion

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Sources of information

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