The Are Alphabet

Are is an Oceanic Austronesian language ^[1] spoken by approximately 18,000 people in southern Malaita province and on Small Malaita island in the Solomon Islands. It is also known as Are'are and is a member of the Southeast Solomonic branch.

The Are people live in traditional villages along the southern coast of Malaita and on Small Malaita. The community is predominantly Christian but maintains strong traditional cultural practices, including elaborate panpipe musical traditions.

Are belongs to the Southeast Solomonic branch of the Oceanic subgroup of Austronesian ^[2]. Its closest relatives include Sa'a, Oroha, and other languages of southern Malaita.

The Oceanic subgroup includes hundreds of languages from the Solomon Islands to Hawaii to New Zealand (Maori). Are is a representative of the Malayo-Polynesian wing of this vast family.

The Are people are famous for their panpipe music ^[1] using the instrument called 'au. These are intricate bamboo panpipe ensembles played in groups, accompanying ceremonies, dances, and community events. The music is highly complex with interlocking melodic parts.

The Are panpipe tradition has been documented by ethnomusicologists since the early 20th century and is considered one of the most sophisticated traditional music systems of the Pacific. It reflects the deep cultural knowledge embedded in the Are language.

The Are alphabet is a simple Latin-based orthography ^[1] with 5 vowels and a small set of consonants including the Ng digraph. Long vowels are written by doubling the vowel letter, so aa indicates a long A sound distinct from a short A.

The Are writing system was developed by missionaries in the colonial period. Today it is used for Bible translations, educational materials, and community documentation. Are has a small but growing body of written literature.

Are follows typical Oceanic grammatical patterns ^[2] including verb-initial or SVO word orders, a complex system of possessive classifiers, and obligatory subject marking on verbs. The language has distinct inclusive and exclusive forms of the first-person plural.

Are uses a system of serial verb constructions in which multiple verbs appear in sequence without conjunctions, common across Oceanic languages. Nouns in Are are classified by possession type — direct possession (body parts, inalienable items) versus indirect possession (other objects).

Are is classified as a vigorous language ^[1] with approximately 18,000 speakers. It is actively used in communities in South Malaita and is transmitted to children. The Solomon Islands Pijin serves as a lingua franca, but Are remains the primary language of the community.

There are Bible translations and educational materials in Are, and the language is documented through linguistic research. The Are community maintains strong cultural identity through language, music, and traditional practices.

Are and Are'are are the same language ^[2] — Are'are is simply the full name of the language, while Are is the shortened form. The ISO 639-3 code alu covers both names. The apostrophe in Are'are indicates the repeated syllable as a linguistic feature of the name itself.

In linguistic literature both names appear, but Are'are is more commonly used in academic publications. The community itself uses both names depending on context, and both spellings are considered correct references to this Solomon Islands Oceanic language.

The Solomon Islands is a Pacific island nation east of Papua New Guinea ^[1] comprising hundreds of islands. Malaita is one of the largest and most populous provinces, located in the central part of the archipelago with a population of over 160,000.

Malaita is known as the most linguistically diverse province of the Solomons, with many distinct languages. South Malaita — where Are is spoken — has a distinct culture and history, including a tradition of shell money (tafuliae) that is still used ceremonially today.