Vanuatu's government has launched a national language policy as part of efforts to preserve the country's diverse dialects.
The director of the Language Services Department, Stewart Garae, said it's the first steps towards a national language act.
Vanuatu has one of the world's highest linguistic densities, with 138 indigenous languages for a population of 300-thousand.
But Mr Garae said many of these are on the decline.
Bislama, English and French are the only official languages by law.
