There is a country where 840 languages ​​are spoken (and has as many people as Portugal)

by Andrea
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There is a country where 840 languages ​​are spoken (and has as many people as Portugal)

There is a country where 840 languages ​​are spoken (and has as many people as Portugal)

Thanks to its history of mixing cultures and its rugged geography, Papua New Guinea has managed to preserve impressive linguistic diversity despite having just 10 million inhabitants.

It is not China or India, both nations with more than a billion inhabitants, who top the list of countries where the most languages ​​are spoken. The answer is much more surprising: the Papua New Guinea.

This small Pacific nation has only 10.5 million peopleaccording to the United Nations Population Fund, little more than the 10.2 million inhabitants in Portugal — but it has an impressive linguistic diversity, with 840 living languages.

But how did Papua New Guinea develop such linguistic diversity in such a small country?

The roots of this diversity go back to 40 thousand years agowith the arrival of the first human settlers, who brought the “Papuan” languages. These do not form a single language family, but rather a set of unrelated languages, including some isolates — languages ​​without known relatives.

Later, around 3500 years ago, Austronesian languages ​​arrived from Taiwan, adding another layer to the linguistic panorama. In the 19th century, colonial influences introduced English and German, further enriching this diversity, explains .

Papua New Guinea’s rugged geography has played a crucial role in preserving this linguistic mosaic. Mountains, dense forests and swamps isolate communities, allowing their languages ​​to prosper without interference externa.

Tribal divisions and the rural lifestyle of most inhabitants — only 13% live in urban areas — also helped maintain this diversity and preserve ancient languages. According to linguist William Foley, languages ​​can evolve and divide naturally over 1000 yearsgiving Papuan languages ​​enough time to diversify over millennia.

In the midst of this diversity, the Pool Talka creole language, emerged as a unifying force. Developed by traders in the 19th century, it combines influences from English, German, Portuguese and Papuan languages. The simplicity and expressiveness of Tok Pisin have made it the main language for many Papuans.

Its adaptability has led to its use in media, education and religion. For example, “pikinini,” which means “child,” has origin in Portuguesewhile “susok man,” which means “urbanite,” translates as “shoe-sock man” in English.

However, the growth of Tok Pisin represents a threat to linguistic diversity from Papua New Guinea. As more people adopt Creole, smaller languages ​​are at risk of extinction. So far, a dozen languages ​​are gone, and the trend could accelerate as Tok Pisin becomes increasingly dominant.

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