Papua New Guinea — The Language Wonderland with over 800 Languages

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Papua New Guinea is a true language wonderland, renowned for its incredible linguistic diversity. The exact number of languages spoken in this fascinating region is still not precisely known, reflecting the complexity and richness of its linguistic landscape. According to Ethnologue, a comprehensive reference work cataloging all of the world’s known living languages, there are currently 841 languages documented in Papua New Guinea.

However, other sources suggest that the number could exceed 1,000. Even with the documented 841 languages, Papua New Guinea holds the title of the most linguistically diverse country in the world. This linguistic abundance offers a unique opportunity to explore a variety of languages, each with its own distinctive features and cultural significance.

Linguistic Features of Papuan Languages

Papua New Guinea’s linguistic landscape is as diverse as it is fascinating. The video by NativLang provides an in-depth exploration of the unique features that many Papuan languages exhibit. Here are some of the standout characteristics discussed in the video:

1. Phonetic Simplicity and Unique Sounds

Papuan languages often exhibit a remarkable simplicity in their phonetic inventories. Many of these languages have very few consonants and a basic set of vowels. A classic example is the Rotokas language, which uses an alphabet of just twelve letters. This phonetic simplicity means that sounds common in many other world languages, such as /p/, /g/, /l/, and /r/, are often absent in Papuan languages. Additionally, Papuan languages typically lack the /ŋ/ sound, which is prevalent in neighboring Austronesian languages.

2. Labiovelars and Prenasalized Stops

Despite their overall simplicity, Papuan languages feature complex sounds known as labiovelars and prenasalized stops. Labiovelars are two-in-one sounds, like ɡ͡b and ŋ͡m, which combine a consonant and a glide. Prenasalized stops combine nasal and oral sounds, resulting in basic phonemes such as [mb], [nd], and [ŋg]. These distinctive sounds are a hallmark of Papuan phonetics and may have influenced the phonetic systems of some Oceanic Austronesian languages.

3. Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) Word Order

A characteristic feature of Papuan languages is their word order, which typically places verbs at the end of sentences (subject-object-verb or SOV structure). For example, while Austronesian languages might phrase a sentence as “cooked grandma yams,” a typical Papuan sentence would be structured as “grandma yams cooked.” This verb-final word order influences the placement of other elements in a sentence, such as prepositions and postpositions.

4. Rich Verb Morphology

Papuan languages are known for their rich and complex verb morphology. Verbs in these languages are often marked with numerous affixes to convey tense, aspect, mood, and the roles of participants in the action. For instance, future tense might be indicated by a suffix, transforming “will eat” into “eat-‘ll.” Similarly, past tense can be marked to distinguish between actions that happened recently or long ago.

5. Simple Nouns and Pronouns

In contrast to their complex verbs, Papuan languages generally have simpler noun and pronoun systems. Plurality is not typically marked on nouns, so “yam” remains the same whether referring to one or many yams. Pronouns do not change form based on case, meaning “me” is used for both subject and object forms. However, pronouns can be quite detailed, often distinguishing between singular, dual, and plural forms, and sometimes even between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns.

6. Possession Marked on the Possessed Item

Papuan languages employ unique systems for indicating possession. Possession is often marked on the possessed noun rather than the possessor, resulting in phrases like “grandma yam-her” instead of “grandma’s yam.” Additionally, many Papuan languages use non-decimal base systems for counting, including base 20 and even rarer bases like base 2 and base 15. This variety in numeral systems highlights the ingenuity and diversity of Papuan linguistic traditions.

7. Post-Verbal Negation and Thematic Storytelling

Negation in Papuan languages frequently follows the verb, resulting in constructions like “yam-that cook don’t” for “don’t cook that yam.” This may include double or even triple negation for emphasis. Furthermore, storytelling in Papuan languages often involves a theme-distribute-link structure, where events are thematically introduced and then expanded upon with verb-heavy descriptions.