Papua New Guinea Languages

Description
Papua New Guinea, a sovereign state in Oceania, is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. There are 839 living languages spoken in the country. 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. A lingua franca is any language used for communication between people who do not share a native language. Papua New Guinean Sign Language became the fourth officially recognized language in May 2015, and is used by the deaf population throughout the country.


 * English - English is an official language of Papua New Guinea and is used by the government, courts, and the education system. In the 2011 census, 48.9% of the population were literate in English.
 * 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, 57.4% of the population were literate in Tok Pisin. In the north was a 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.
 * 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.
 * Papua New Guinean Sign Language - Papua New Guinean Sign Language (PNGSL) is a sign language originating from Papua New Guinea. The standardized form of PNGSL was made an official language of Papua New Guinea in 2015.

Word List(s)

 * Papua New Guinea phrasebook

Additional Resources

 * Hunter, John, Papua New Guinea phrasebook. South Yarra, Vic., Australia ; Berkeley, CA, USA : Lonely Planet, 1986. Available on WorldCat