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Languages of Papua New Guinea
Official	Tok Pisin, English, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language
Indigenous	Papuan languages
Vernacular	Hiri Motu (in the New Guinea Highlands), Tok Pisin (nationwide)
Immigrant	Chinese
Foreign	French, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian

Papua New Guinea, a sovereign state in Oceania, is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. According to Ethnologue, there are 840 living languages spoken in the country. In 2006, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare stated that "Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages (languages, not dialects)."

Most of these are classified as indigenous Papuan languages, which form a diverse sprachbund across the island of New Guinea. There are also many Austronesian languages spoken in Papua New Guinea, most of which are classified as Western Oceanic languages, as well as some Admiralty Islands languages and Polynesian Ellicean–Outlier languages in a few outer islands. Since the late 19th century, West Germanic languages — namely English and German — have also been spoken and adapted into creoles such as Tok Pisin, Torres Strait Creole and Unserdeutsch.

Languages with statutory recognition are Tok Pisin, English, Hiri Motu, and Papua New Guinean Sign Language. Tok Pisin, an English-based creole, is the most widely spoken, serving as the country's lingua franca. Papua New Guinean Sign Language became the fourth officially recognised language in May 2015, and is used by the deaf population throughout the country.

Languages

English

English is a language of Papua New Guinea and is used by the government, courts, and the education system. In the 2011 census, 39.9% of the population was literate in English.

German

From 1884 to 1914, the northern half of the present-day country was a German colony known as German New Guinea, in which German was the official language. Tok Pisin derives some vocabulary from German as a result of this influence. Today however, German is not a generally spoken language in Papua New Guinea.

Unserdeutsch

Unserdeutsch, or Rabaul Creole German, is a German-based creole language spoken mainly in East New Britain Province. The lexicon is derived from German, while the substrate language is Tok Pisin.

Tok Pisin

Tok Pisin is an English-based creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in the country. In parts of Western, Gulf, Central, Oro and Milne Bay provinces, however, the use of Tok Pisin has a shorter history, and is less universal especially among older people. In the 2011 census, 68.4% of the population were literate in Tok Pisin.

Hiri Motu

Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a simplified version of the Motu language of the Austronesian language family. In the 2011 census, 4.7% of the population were literate in Hiri Motu.

Papuan languages

Outside Papua New Guinea, Papuan languages that are also spoken include the languages of Indonesia, East Timor, and Solomon Islands.

Below is a full list of Papuan language families spoken in Papua New Guinea, following Palmer, et al. (2018):

1. Trans-New Guinea
   1. Madang
   2. Finisterre-Huon
   3. Kainantu-Goroka
   4. Chimbu-Wahgi
   5. Enga-Kewa-Huli
   6. Bosavi
   7. East Strickland
   8. Kutubu
   9. Duna-Bogaya
   10. Wiru
   11. Ok-Oksapmin (also in Indonesia)
   12. Anim (also in Indonesia)
   13. Gogodala-Suki
   14. Turama-Kikori
   15. Kiwaian
   16. Awin-Pa
   17. Angan
   18. Greater Binanderean
   19. Dagan
   20. Mailuan
   21. Koiarian
   22. Goilalan
   23. Yareban
   24. Kwalean
   25. Manubaran
2. Torricelli
3. Sepik
4. Lower Sepik-Ramu
5. Border (also in Indonesia)
6. Sko (also in Indonesia)
7. Eastern Pauwasi (also in Indonesia)
8. Senagi (Angor-Dera) (also in Indonesia)
9. Kwomtari
10. Leonhard Schultze (Walio-Papi)
11. Upper Yuat (Arafundi-Piawi)
12. Yuat
13. Left May
14. Amto-Musan
15. Busa
16. Taiap
17. Yadë
18. Yam (also in Indonesia)
19. Pahoturi River
20. Eleman
21. Oriomo
22. Teberan
23. Doso-Turumsa
24. Dibiyaso
25. Kaki Ae
26. Kamula
27. Karami
28. Pawaia
29. Porome
30. Purari
31. Tabo
32. Baining
33. North Bougainville
34. South Bougainville
35. Butam-Taulil
36. Anêm
37. Ata
38. Kol
39. Kuot
40. Makolkol
41. Sulka
42. Yélî Dnye

Austronesian languages

People speaking languages belonging to the Austronesian family arrived in New Guinea approximately 3,500 years ago.

Austronesian languages spoken in Papua New Guinea include Meso-Melanesian languages (such as Nalik, spoken in New Ireland Province; Kuanua, spoken in East New Britain Province; and Nakanai spoken in West New Britain Province).

The Austronesian languages are widely spread across the globe, as far west as Malagasy in Madagascar, as far east as Rapa Nui in Easter Island, and as far as north as the Formosan languages of Taiwan. Austronesian has several primary branches, all but one of which are found exclusively on Taiwan.

Papua New Guinean Sign Language

PNGSL is an official language of Papua New Guinea; it is based on Auslan and various home sign forms.

Literacy

In 2011, 67.6% of the population of Papua New Guinea over 10 years of age were literate.

See also

• Papua New Guinean literature
• Education in Papua New Guinea

References

1. "PNG University promotes French language".
2. ^ "The French Language Celebrated in Papua New Guinea | Coopération Régionale et Relations Extérieures de la Nouvelle-Calédonie".
3. "Launching of Japanese Language Proficiency Test".
4. "Papua New Guineans embrace Russian exchange". Radio New Zealand. 17 October 2019.
5. Krishnan, Varun B. (7 August 2019). "Which Country Has Most Number of Languages? Not India". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
6. "Papua New Guinea". Ethnologue.
7. Somare, Michael T. (21 September 2006). Statement at the World Leaders Forum (Speech). World Leaders Forum. Columbia University, New York. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008 – via Office of the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.
8. "Papua New Guinea's Incredible Linguistic Diversity". The Economist. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
9. There is no specific legislation proclaiming official languages in Papua New Guinea. In the constitution of Papua New Guinea, section 2(11) (literacy) of its preamble mentions '...all persons and governmental bodies to endeavour to achieve universal literacy in Pisin, Hiri Motu or English' as well as "tok ples" and "ita eda tano gado". In addition, section 67 (2)(c) mentions "speak and understand Pisin or Hiri Motu, or a vernacular of the country, sufficiently for normal conversational purposes" as a requirement for citizenship by nationalisation; this is again mentioned in section 68(2)(h).
10. Silva, Diego B. (2019). "Política Linguística Na Oceania: Nas Fronteiras da Colonização e da Globalização". Alfa: Revista de Linguística. 63 (2): 317–347. doi:10.1590/1981-5794-1909-4. S2CID 204627919.
11. ^ National Statistical Office (2015). Papua New Guinea 2011 National Report (PDF) (Report). Port Moresby. p. 57. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
12. Maitz, Péter; Volker, Craig Alan (2017). "Documenting Unserdeutsch: Reversing Colonial Amneasia". Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. 32 (2): 365–397. doi:10.1075/jpcl.32.2.06mai.
13. Palmer, Bill (2018). "Language Families of the New Guinea Area". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 1–20. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

Further reading

• Gordon, Raymond G. Jr., ed. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.

External links

• Language distribution maps for individual PNG provinces (SIL International in Papua New Guinea)

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