Languages of Papua New Guinea
The languages of Papua New Guinea include 700 to 860 different languages, depending on the source, making Papua New Guinea the state with the largest number and variety of languages in the world, part of the range of the Papua languages and the Austronesian languages .
Common language
As working languages in a multilingual country, in addition to the official language English and the Creole languages Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu ( Police Motu, Motu Pidgin ) spread, with Tok Pisin at the expense of mainly in the former British part spread Hiri Motu continues to spread.
Tok Pisin Creole
Hiri Motu
The Hiri Motu language is based on Motu , the language of the indigenous Motu people who dominated the police force at the time of the British colonial government . Hence the name Police Motu . It was also very important as a commercial language . The alternative name Hiri trading language still suggests it today.
Austronesian languages
Of the 700 to over 800 independent languages of Papua New Guinea - depending on the information given - around 200 are Austronesian languages , spoken by around a sixth of the population. The rest are spread over 13 other language groups.
Non-Austronesian languages
The 13 non-Austronesian language groups have little in common. Often these languages are collectively referred to as Papuan languages .
The Trans New Guinea Languages
The largest of these groups is that of the Trans New Guinea languages with over 300 individual languages. The Simbu and Enga languages are the largest in this group, with around 138,000 and 165,000 speakers, respectively.
Other language groups
The other language groups are:
- in Sandaun (West Sepik ), East Sepik and Madang :
- Sepik / Ramu (consists of several single families, a total of approx. 100 languages, e.g. Yimas )
- Torricelli (approx. 50 languages)
- in New Britain , New Ireland , Bougainville , Rossel Islands :
- East Papuan languages (approx. 30 languages)
- and:
- Sko (7 languages in Sandaun Province)
- Arai (6 languages in East Sepik)
- Kwomtari (4 languages in Sandaun Province)
- Amto-Musian (2 languages in Sandaun Province)
- and the following isolated languages :
- Busa in Sandaun Province
- Nagataman in Sandaun Province
- Yuri languages in Sandaun Province
- Porome in Gulf
- Maisin in Oro
- Kwomtari-Baibai
- Unserdeutsch ( German- based Creole language around the town of Rabaul ; today only fewer than a hundred speakers)
The Role of Church Languages in Papua New Guinea
Missionaries have used local languages as a medium and spread it well beyond their native territory. Since English has been used as the main language in schools, the importance of the so-called church languages has decreased.
Examples of church languages are:
- Lutheran Church: Kate (originally only spoken in some villages around Finschhafen , distributed by the Lutheran Church ), Gedaged ( Madang ), Yabem ( Morobe Province )
- Anglican Church : Binandere (Oro), Wedau ( Milne Bay Province )
- Methodist Church : Dobu , Kuanua
- London Missionary Society : Kiwai (to the west ), Motu (central PNG), Suau , Toaripi
literature
- Vormann, Friedrich - Schmidt, Wilhelm: A contribution to the knowledge of the Valman language . Journal of Ethnology 32 (1900) 87-104.
- Johann Klaffl, Friedrich Vormann. With additions by P. Wilhelm Schmidt: The languages of the Berlinhafen district in German New Guinea. Announcements of the seminar for oriental languages 8, Berlin 1905, 138 p., Reprint: Nabu Press 2012, ISBN 978-1-279-04631-9 .
- Kirschbaum, Franz: Language and cultural groups in German New Guinea . Anthropos. 1921; 16-17: 1052-1053.
- Kirschbaum, Franz: Distribution of Languages and Cultures in Northern New Guinea. In: Congrès International des Sciences Anthropologiques et Ethnologiques. Institut Royal d'Anthropologie; Londres 1934, 187-188.
- Kasprus, Aloys: The Languages of the Mugil District, Northeast-New Guinea . Anthropos. 1942; 37-40: 711-778.
- Kasprus, Aloys: Corrections to the Article "The Languages of the Mugil District, NE-New Guinea" . Anthropos Vol. XXXVII-XL, 1942-45, pp. 711-778 et Anthropos. 1946; 41-44: 370.
- Aufinger, Albert: The secret languages on the small islands near Madang in New Guinea . Paulusdruckerei publishing house, Freiburg / Switzerland 1945
- Aufenanger, Heinrich: Vokabular u. Grammar of the Gende Language in Central New Guinea . Posieux / Ch: Anthropos Institute; 1952. 301 pp. (Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos; v. 1).
- H. Aufenanger: Vokabular u. Grammar of the Nondugl language in Central New Guinea . Posieux / Ch: Anthropos Institute; 1953. 274 pp. (Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos; v. 5).
- H. Aufenanger: Text samples of the Nondugl language (Central New Guinea) . Anthropos. 48, 1953, pp. 569-577.
- H. Aufenanger: RF Salisbury's Vocabulary of the Siane Language of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea (Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos Vol. 24). Anthropos. 51, 1956, pp. 1064-1066.
- Burgmann, Arnold: J. Schneider's grammar of the Sulka language (New Britain) . Anthropos, Volume 57, H. 1./2. (1962), pp. 183-186.
- A. Burgmann: K. Neuhaus' dictionary of the Pala language (New Ireland) . (Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos, Vol. 40). Anthropos, Volume 61, H. 1./2. (1966), pp. 298-299.
- A. Burgmann: L. Bischof's vocabulary of the Ubili language (New Britain) . Anthropos, Volume 56, H. 5./6. (1961), pp. 930-933.
- A. Burgmann: Alfons Schäfers vocabulary of the Chimbu language in Central New Guinea . Anthropos, Volume 48, H. 1./2. (1953) 268-273.
- A. Burgmann: Heinrich Aufenanger's vocabulary and grammar of the gender language in Central New Guinea . Anthropos, Volume 48, H. 1./2. (1953) 263-267.
- A. Burgmann: Heinrich Aufenanger's vocabulary and grammar of the Nondugl language in Central New Guinea. Anthropos, Volume 48, H. 3./4. (1953) 616-620.
- A. Burgmann: Andreas Gerstner's grammar of the Aluban language (north coast of New Guinea). In: Anthropos, Volume 58, H. 5. / 6 (1963) 897-899.
- A. Burgmann: Heinrich Maurer's grammar of the Tangga language (Melanesia) . (Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos, Vol. 39) Anthropos, Volume 61, H. 1./2. (1966) 294-297.
- Z'graggen, Johannes: A Linguistic Survey of the Central North-East Coast of New Guinea. In: Anthropos Institute. Anthropica: Commemorative publication for the 100th birthday of P. Wilhelm Schmidt. St. Augustin near Bonn: publishing house of the Anthropos Institute; 1968: 421-428. (Studia Instituti Anthropos; v. 21).
- Z'graggen, JA Classificatory and Typological Studies in Languages of the Madang District . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1971. viii, 179 pp. (Pacific Linguistics, Series C; v. 19).
- Z'graggen, John A .: History of Research in Austronesian Languages: Madang Province. In: SA Wurm, Editor: New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study. Vol. 2: Austronesian Languages . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1976: 95-114. (Pacific Linguistics, Series C; v. 39).
- Z'graggen, John A.: Austronesian Languages: Madang Province. In: SA Wurm, Editor. New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study , Vol. 2: Austronesian Languages . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1976: 285-299. (Pacific Linguistics, Series C; v. 39).
- SA Wurm, Editor: New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study, Vol. 1: Papuan Languages and the New Guinea Linguistic Scene . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1975: 569-612. (Pacific Linguistics, Series C; v. 38).
- Z'graggen, John A.: Missionary Lingue Franche: Boiken. In: SA Wurm, Editor: New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study. Vol. 3: Language, Culture, Society, and the Modern World . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1977: 947-952. (Pacific Linguistics, Series C; v. 40).
- Z'graggen, John A .: A Comparative Word List of the Rai Coast Languages, Madang Province , Papua New Guinea. Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1980. xv, 181 pp. (Pacific Linguistics, Series D; v. 30).
- Z'graggen, John A .: A Comparative Word List of the Northern Adelbert Range Languages, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1980. xvi, 178 pp. (Pacific Linguistics, Series D; v. 31).
- Z'graggen, John A .: A Comparative Word List of the Southern Adelbert Range Languages, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1980. xvi, 97 pp. (Pacific Linguistics, Series D; v. 33).
- Z'graggen, John A .: A Comparative Word List of the Mabuso Languages, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea . Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics; 1980. xv, 184 pp. (Pacific Linguistics, Series D; v. 32).
- Jackson Rannels: PNG - A fact book of modern Papua New Guinea. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1995, ISBN 0-19-553679-7 .
Web links
- Materials on the languages of Papua New Guinea (English, PDF)
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.el-puente.de/index.php?modul=info&modus=html_land&land=pg&kontinent=Asien&&popup=1&typ=&einzeln=1 (accessed on: June 2, 2012).
- ↑ http://www.transozeanien.org/pages/papua-neuguinea.php (accessed on: June 2, 2012).
- ↑ http://www.geo.de/reisen/community/reisen/papua-neuguinea/reisefuehrer (accessed on: June 2, 2012).
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on: June 2, 2012).
- ↑ http://www.irmarc.de/downloads/Laenderbericht_PNG.pdf ( retrieved ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: June 2, 2012).
- ↑ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pp.html (accessed on: June 2, 2012)
- ↑ 839 living languages at http://www.ethnologue.com/country/PG