Papua New Guinea, a sovereign state in Oceania, is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. Ethnologue, among other sources, state that there are 840 living languages spoken in the country, although estimates vary due to the distinction between a language and a dialect. In 2006, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare stated that "Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages (languages, not dialects)." 25 of those languages are officially recognized, with the country's lingua franca (and vernacular for some) being Tok Pisin, an English-based creole (although standard English is typically used in government, education, and formal writing).
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.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). 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. Although no official data in the last decade is easily available, the 2011 census states that 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):
Trans-New Guinea Madang Finisterre-Huon Kainantu-Goroka Chimbu-Wahgi Enga-Kewa-Huli Bosavi East Strickland Kutubu Duna-Bogaya Wiru Ok-Oksapmin (also in Indonesia) Anim (also in Indonesia) Gogodala-Suki Turama-Kikori Kiwaian Awin-Pa Angan Greater Binanderean Dagan Mailuan Koiarian Goilalan Yareban Kwalean Manubaran Torricelli Sepik Lower Sepik-Ramu Border (also in Indonesia) Sko (also in Indonesia) Eastern Pauwasi (also in Indonesia) Senagi (Angor-Dera) (also in Indonesia) Kwomtari Leonhard Schultze (Walio-Papi) Upper Yuat (Arafundi-Piawi) Yuat Left May Amto-Musan Busa Taiap Yadë Yam (also in Indonesia) Pahoturi River Eleman Oriomo Teberan Doso-Turumsa Dibiyaso Kaki Ae Kamula Karami Pawaia Porome Purari Tabo Baining North Bougainville South Bougainville Butam-Taulil Anêm Ata Kol Kuot Makolkol Sulka Yélî Dnye
Austronesian languages
People speaking languages belonging to the Austronesian family arrived in New Guinea approximately 3,500 years ago.
All the Austronesian languages spoken in Papua New Guinea belong to its Oceanic subgroup.See map of Oceanic languages (source: Glottolog). More precisely, these languages belong to four branches of Oceanic: St Matthias Admiralty Islands Western Oceanic North New Guinea Meso-Melanesian Papuan Tip Polynesian outliers
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
Further reading
External links Language distribution maps for individual PNG provinces (SIL International in Papua New Guinea)