I., showing the historical territories of the three tribes of
Lovono,
Tanema and
Teanu The language name makes reference to an ancient village in the northwest of the island
Banie. In the language Lovono, which was once the dominant one in that area, the village was
called Alavana. In Teanu, which is now the only language spoken by the modern population, the same village is
called Lovono. This
language shift is reflected in the people's preference to use the Teanu form (i.e.
Lovono) both for the village name and for the ancient language that used to be associated with it. The same village – and hence the language – has been also spelled
Whanou or
Vano in the scientific literature, possibly reflecting an older pronunciation of the word. ==The language==