Kanak people
Kanak languages are extremely diverse, but French serves as the official language of New Caledonia. There are 28 distinct Kanak languages, as well as many dialects, out of the 1,200 Melanesian languages spoken throughout the Pacific. They are mutually incomprehensible. All are a part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. They all belong to the New Caledonian subgroup – except for Fagauvea, which is a Polynesian language.
Kanak Language Academy
The Kanak Language Academy (Académie des Langues Kanak; KLA) is a local, public educational establishment in New Caledonia. Founded in 2007, with roots reaching to the Nouméa Accords of 1998, the legislative assembly endorsed the setting up of the French territory’s first indigenous Kanak languages institute. Its mission is "to establish rules of usage and to help promote and develop all Kanak languages and dialects". The KLA is expected to standardise, protect, and develop the about forty Kanak languages and dialects, as well as standardize the written form for Kanak languages.