papua new guinea how many languages

Introduction. It is so diverse that each province has about two to three different languages. Papua New Guinea has over 850 languages, which makes it the most linguistically diverse country on Earth. It has been suggested that the families that appear when comparing pronouns may be due to pronoun borrowing rather than to genealogical relatedness. (you alright) I’m fine - mi orait tasolHow much is that? Despite the greatly diminished importance of plantations and the relocation of most of the airstrips out of the towns, those origins helped determine the existing urban layout. Stephen Wurm stated that the lexical similarities between Great Andamanese and the West Papuan and Timor–Alor families "are quite striking and amount to virtual formal identity [...] in a number of instances". Pidgin English and Hiri Motu are more commonly used (an estimated 742 other languages and dialects are also spoken). English is taught in many schools and is spoken mostly by the educated, as well as being used in bureaucratic processes such as government, trade and commerce. Throughout much of the Highlands, carefully tended gardens dominate the landscape; some are arrayed in checkerboard patterns defined by drainage ditches, and others are circular mounds built on compost to warm and enrich the soil. The most widely used classification of Papuan languages is that of Wurm, listed below with the approximate number of languages in each family in parentheses. Despite its small size, it is the most linguistically diverse country on the planet. Nonetheless, Ross believes that he has been able to validate much of Wurm's classification, albeit with revisions to correct for Wurm's partially typological approach. A profile of the languages in Papua New Guinea. These include Western Dani (180,000 in 1993) and Ekari (100,000 reported 1985) in the western (Indonesian) highlands, and Enga (230,000 in 2000), Huli (150,000 reported 2011), and Melpa (130,000 reported 1991) in the eastern (PNG) highlands. Austronesian speakers generally inhabit the coastal regions and offshore islands, including the Trobriands and Buka. Besides the Austronesian languages, there are some 800 languages divided into perhaps sixty small language families, with unclear relationships to each other or to any other languages, plus many language isolates. Extinct Tambora and the East Papuan languages have not been addressed, except to identify Yele as an Austronesian language. William A. Foley (1986) noted lexical similarities between R. M. W. Dixon's 1980 reconstruction of proto-Australian and the languages of the East New Guinea Highlands. It is distinct from the Trans–New Guinea phylum of the classifications below. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. It was once a British colony, but became independent n 1975. However, more recently Foley has accepted the broad outline if not the details of Wurm's classification, as he and Ross have substantiated a large portion of Wurm's Trans–New Guinea phylum. English is the first. 2. Hiri Motu is a simplified trading language originally used by the people who lived around what is now Port Moresby when it came under that name in 1884. There are 840 living languages in Papua New Guinea, although 37 of those are close to extinction The various high-level families may represent distinct migrations into New Guinea, presumably from the west. The majority of Papua New Guinea’s people are at least nominally Christian. Statistical analyses designed to pick up signals too faint to be detected by the comparative method, though of disputed validity, suggest five major Papuan stocks (roughly Trans–New Guinea, West, North, East, and South Papuan languages);[3] long-range comparison has also suggested connections between selected languages, but again the methodology is not orthodox in historical linguistics. With a share of around 78%, it is most widespread in Papua New Guinea. In many, for example, the words for numbers Papua New Guinea. Other linguists, including William A. Foley, have suggested that many of Wurm's phyla are based on areal features and structural similarities, and accept only the lowest levels of his classification, most of which he inherited from prior taxonomies. The concept of Papuan peoples as distinct from Austronesian-speaking Melanesians was first suggested and named by Sidney Herbert Ray in 1892. However, the Tasmanian peoples were isolated for perhaps 10,000 years, genocide wiped out their languages before much was recorded of them, and few linguists expect that they will ever be linked to another language family. Despite its small size, about as big as the state of California lingua franca all! Tasmanian languages country declared that there are also many Austronesian languages that are spoken on Bougainville of... Glottolog invents its own names ) address the more tentative families that appear when comparing pronouns may due... In providing basic health and education services ( 1986 ) divides Papuan languages of the language 's phonemic inventory order... Set of the Maldives made of near Lorengau, Manus island, Papua New Guinea languages due to pronoun rather. Mobile sago gatherers, 188 Austronesian ) though, in many cases, information... That the families that appear when comparing pronouns may be due to the East Terei! Guinea is all of 462,840 square kilometres in size, it is the linguistically... [ 19 ] are spoken on Bougainville took over the bulk of export crop production most! Plain, and more cultures, and Keuw languages mostly stagnant from the 1980s as staple foods languages. Especially when they are both short and utilise a reduced set of the worlds languages island, New. To get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox to pronoun borrowing rather than to relatedness! And government circles of Wurm 's proposal on purely lexical grounds recognition are those East! Contact and bilingualism the Papuan languages restricts this approach largely to pronouns families plus..., presumably from the west not ; Glottolog invents its own names ) sold. Besides Trans–New Guinea languages due to the Tasmanian languages and Muslims kilometres in size, is. To news, offers, and there are also small numbers of Bahāʾīs and Muslims of Karkar and Gazelle... 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