User:Brian Cox95/Languages of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea, a sovereign state in Oceania, is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. According to Ethnologue, there are 839 living languages spoken in the country. In 2006, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare stated that "Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages (languages, not dialects)." 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. Papua New Guinean Sign Language became the fourth officially recognised language in May 2015, and is used by the deaf population throughout the country.

Papua New Guinean Sign Language
Main article: Papua New Guinean Sign Language

PNGSL is an official language of Papua New Guinea; it is based on Auslan and various home sign forms.

 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 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.