The Cheke Holo: a case study from Solomon Islands on language and religion

It is fair to say that to be one of the 11,000 speakers of the Cheke Holo language of Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands, is to be an Anglican Christian. This paper is a case study of various religious factors which intersect and influence language use and development among the Cheke Holo, and which are documented from the author's three decades of field work among them. The paper describes (1) the place of Cheke Holo among other so-called 'church languages' in the Solomons; (2) the role of the Anglican church in influencing language use; (3) issues related to literacy in publications and orthography; and (4) factors related to church work in a multi-lingual Anglican Diocese, and whose largest percentage of speakers is Cheke Holo. The paper concludes with commentary on the predicted future of the use of the Cheke Holo language in twenty-first century Solomon Islands.