'Are'are people 'Are'are people ‘Are‘are is the name of a people from the south of the island of Malaita, which is part of the Solomon Islands. Their language is the 'Are'are language, which is part of the Austronesian language family. In 1999 there were an estimated 17,800 speakers, up from about 8-9,000 in the 1970s. Prior to colonisation and subsequent independence, the 'Are'are occupied a much larger geographical area encompassing parts of Guadalcanal and Makira, as well as Malaita. This included the northern part of Makira known as Arosi and the eastern part of Guadalcanal known today as Marau Sound. In the
Malaita word play. According to Harold M. Ross, from north to south along the island's axis, the linguistic groups are roughly the Northern Malaita languages (more properly a collection of dialects without a standard name, generally To'abaita, Baelelea, Baegu, Fataleka, and Lau), Kwara'e in the hilly area between the ridges, Kwaio in about the geographic center of the island, and 'Are'are to the south. Each of these spreads across the width of the island. In addition, there is the Langalanga in a lagoon on the west coast between the Kwara'ae and Kwaio regions, and Kwarekwareo on the western coast between the