The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: ELL
ISO 639-2: tvl
| Population | 8,440 in Tuvalu (1987), 97% of the population. Population total all countries 11,000 (1991 UBS). |
| Region | Tuvalu, 7 of the 9 inhabited islands. Also spoken in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand. |
| Alternate names | ELLICE, ELLICEAN, TUVALU |
| Dialects | NORTH TUVALUAN (NANUMANGA, NANUMEA, NIUTAO), SOUTH TUVALUAN (NUKUFETAU, VAITUPU, FUNAFUTI, NUKULAELAE). |
| Classification | Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Nuclear, Samoic-Outlier, Ellicean. |
| Comments | Not intelligible with Samoan, which was formerly used as a mission language. Tuvalu is intelligible with Tokelau. The southern dialect is official. Vigorous language use. Official language. Literacy rate in first language: Most people. Little Tuvalu material is available. Christian. Bible 1987, in press (1997). |
