Darrell Tryon

Darrell T. Tryon (20 July 1942 – 15 May 2013) was a New Zealand-born linguist, academic, and specialist in Austronesian languages. Specifically, Tryon specialised in the study of the languages of the Pacific Islands, particularly Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and the French-speaking Pacific.

From 1970 to 1971, Tryon completed the first systematic study of the languages of Vanuatu, known at the time as the New Hebrides.

Early life Tryon was born on 20 July 1942, in New Zealand. He studied at the University of Canterbury, where he completed a thesis on the indigenous languages of the Loyalty Islands, an archipelago of New Caledonia. He achieved fluency in French as a student and developed a fascination with the culture and history of the French regions of the South Pacific.

Vanuatu Much of Tryon's research focused on the New Hebrides, the colonial name for Vanuatu.