Mono-Alu language

Mono-Alu, also known as Mono, is an Austronesian language spoken by approximately 6,600 people on the islands of Mono, Alu, and Fauro in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It is the primary language of Mono Island in the Treasury Islands as well as Alu Island and Fauro Island in the Shortland Islands.

The language area is located near the northwest border of the Solomon Islands, south and southeast of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. The communities are often collectively referred to by the acronym FAMOA, representing Fauro, Mono, and Alu Islands.

While the 1999 census reported 2,944 speakers, research informed by community reports suggests a significantly higher population. The total number of speakers was estimated to exceed 5,000 in 2020, with approximately 3,000 speakers on Alu Island, 1,500 on Fauro Island, and 800 on Mono Island, as well as diaspora communities in Honiara and other islands in the Western Province. The language is the primary language spoken on the islands along with Pijin.

The alphabet has 19 letters: A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, and V.

R was traditionally used more than D, but D is used more often in loanwords or in names that have been introduced into the language. It is also used to represent the allophonic variant [d] of the phoneme /ɾ/.

The letter V is used to represent the allophonic variant [v] of the phoneme /b/.

The letter H is sometimes replaced by F.

The length distinctions of vowels and nasals are not represented in the current orthography.