Papua New Guinea, a sovereign state in Oceania, is the most linguistically diverse country in the world.[5] According to Ethnologue, there are 840 living languages spoken in the country.[6] In 2006, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare stated that "Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages (languages, not dialects)."[7][8]
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.[9][10] 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.
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.[11]
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, 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.[12]
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.[citation needed] In the 2011 census, 68.4% of the population were literate in Tok Pisin.[11]
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.[11]
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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):[13]
People speaking languages belonging to the Austronesian family arrived in New Guinea approximately 3,500 years ago.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
PNGSL is an official language of Papua New Guinea; it is based on Auslan and various home sign forms.
In 2011, 67.6% of the population of Papua New Guinea over 10 years of age were literate.[11]
