[1] However, Roger Blench (2014)[2] argues that the aberrancy of Utupua and Vanikoro, which he considers to be separate branches that do not group with each other, is due to the fact that they are actually non-Austronesian languages.

Blench (2014) doubts that Utupua and Vanikoro are closely related, and argues that thus they should not be grouped together.

According to Blench, historically this was due to the Lapita demographic expansion consisting of both Austronesian and non-Austronesian settlers migrating from the Lapita homeland in the Bismarck Archipelago to various islands further to the east.

More recently, Lackey & Boerger (2021) finds no phonological evidence for an Utupua-Vanikoro subgroup, suggesting that they actually consist of two primary branches.

[3] François (2009) notes that the lexicons of all three Vanikoro languages are highly distinct from each other and do not appear to be closely related, although their grammars are all similar.