New_Guine

New Guinea New Guinea is the world’s largest island located in the southwest Pacific. The whole island is politically divided approximately into two equal halves. The western half of the island is known as West Papua and comprises two Indonesian provinces. The eastern part forms the mainland of Papua New Guinea. The country consists of four regions: 1. Papua, consisting of Western, Gulf, Central, Oro (Northern) and Milne Bay provinces. 2. Highlands, consisting of Southern Highlands, Enga Province, Western Highlands, Simbu and Eastern Highlands provinces. 3. Momase, consisting of Morobe, Madang, East Sepik and Sandaun (West Sepik) provinces. 4. Islands, consisting of Manus, West New Britain, East New Britain and New Ireland provinces, and the Bougainville Autonomous Province. The following is the map of New Guinea and its divisions. . History of New Guinea Human remains have been found which have been dated to about 50,000 years ago. These ancient inhabitants probably had their origins in Southeast Asia, themselves originating in Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago. New Guinea was one of the first landmasses after Africa and Eurasia to be populated by modern humans, with the first migration at approximately the same time as that of Australia. Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7,000 BC, making it one of the few areas of original plant domestication in the world. A major migration of Austronesian speaking peoples came to coastal regions roughly 2,500 years ago, and this is correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. More recently, some 300 years ago, the sweet potato entered New Guinea, having been introduced to the Moluccas from South America by the locally dominant colonial power, Portugal. The far higher crop yields from sweet potato gardens radically transformed traditional agriculture; sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, taro, and gave rise to a significant increase in population in the highlands. Although now almost entirely eradicated, in the past headhunting and cannibalism occurred in many parts of what is now Papua New Guinea. By the early 1950s, through administration and mission pressures, open cannibalism in Papua New Guinea had almost entirely ceased. Little was known in the West about the island until the nineteenth century, although traders from Southeast Asia had been visiting New Guinea as long as 5,000 years ago, collecting bird of paradise plumes, and Spanish and Portuguese explorers had encountered it as early as the sixteenth century. The northern half of the country came into German hands in 1884 and came to be known by the name of, German New Guinea. The Significance of the name, “Papua New Guinea” The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before Independence. The word “papua” is derived from “pepuah,” a Malay word describing the frizzy Melanesian hair, and "New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer, Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, who in 1545 noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. The People Many believe human habitation on the island dates to as early as 40,000 B.C., and first settlement possibly dated back to 60,000 years ago has been proposed. The island is presently populated by very nearly a thousand different tribal groups and a near-equivalent number of separate languages, which makes New Guinea the most linguistically diverse area in the world. The people are divided into four ethnic groups: 1. New Guineans (from the north of the main island), 2. Papuans (from the south), 3. Highlanders 4. Islanders There is, however, considerable cultural variation within each of these groups. The people of the south coast were notorious for headhunting and cannibalism before the arrival of the Europeans. Many people still live in small villages and follow traditional tribal customs. Although English is the official language in schools and government, almost 800 distinct languages are spoken in the islands. Culture of New Guinea It is estimated that more than a thousand different cultural groups exist in Papua New Guinea. Because of this diversity, many different styles of cultural expression have emerged; each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more. Most of these different cultural groups have their own language. People typically live in villages that rely on subsistence farming. In some areas people hunt and collect wild plants to supplement their diets. Those who become skilled at hunting, farming and fishing earn a great deal of respect. On the Sepik River, there is a tradition of wood carving, often in the form of plants or animals, representing ancestor spirits. Sea shells are no longer the currency of Papua New Guinea, as they were in some regions — sea shells were abolished as currency in 1933. However, this heritage is still present in local customs; in some cultures, to get a bride, a groom must bring a certain number of golden-edged clam shells as a bride price. In other regions, bride price is paid in lengths of shell money, pigs, cassowaries or cash; elsewhere, bride price is unknown, and it is brides who must pay dowry. People of the highlands engage in colorful local rituals that are called "sing sings". They paint themselves and dress up with feathers, pearls and animal skins to represent birds, trees or mountain spirits. Sometimes an important event, such as a legendary battle, is enacted at such a musical festival. Language of New Guinea The island is presently populated by very nearly a thousand different tribal groups and a near-equivalent number of separate languages, which makes New Guinea the most linguistically diverse area in the world. Because of this diversity, many different styles of cultural expression have emerged; each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more. About 1000 tongues been identified out of an estimated 6,000 human dialects. Most of them are Papuan languages. A number of Austronesian languages are spoken on the coast and on offshore islands of New Guinea. Languages Families of New Guinea Almost 26 language families are a part of Papuan Languages. They include: Trans–New Guinea (the largest family), Baining, Border, Central Solomons, East Bird's Head–Sentani languages, Eastern Trans-Fly languages, Fas , East Geelvink Bay , Lakes Plain languages (upper Mamberamo River), Left May , Kwomtari , Mairasi , Nimboran , North Bougainville, Piawi, Ramu–Lower, Sepik, Senagi, Sepik, Skou, South Bougainville, South-Central Papuan, Tor-Kwerba, Torricelli, West New Britain, West Papuan, Yuat. Language of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the Island, has the highest number of spoken languages in the world. There are 820 indigenous languages spoken in this country. The three official languages of New Guinea are: a. Tok Pisin b. Hiri Motu c. English Tok Pisin Tok is derived from the English word "talk", but has a wider application also meaning "word", "speech", or "language". Pisin comes from the English word “pidgin”. It is also known as a "mixed" language. This means that it consists of characteristics of different languages. Tok Pisin obtained most of its vocabulary from the English language. History As a result of colonialism, pidgins and creoles emerged around the world in order to fulfill the communicative needs of the people who came in contact with the new situation. As those needs disappeared, pidgins also gradually disappeared. However, in some areas, such as Papua New Guinea, the need for a common language in such a linguistically heterogeneous society helped the impoverished pidgin evolve into an extended pidgin suitable for use in a wide range of contexts and functions. During the jargon stage Tok Pisin was used basically for communication between colonizers and natives. There is a need to communicate in a very restricted domain only, communication is very simple and the degree of individual variation is likely to be very high in all the areas of the language. During stabilization, norms emerged out of the chaos of the jargon. It was during this stage that Tok Pisin started to be used for communication among natives rather than only between colonizers and natives. When indentured laborers, speakers of different languages, came together on plantations, they soon realized they needed to communicate. The urgent need for vocabulary in the new situation was fulfilled by borrowing from all sources at hand, e.g. English, German, Malay, Tolai. During expansion, Tok Pisin made use of internal resources and expanded the possibilities already present in the language. At the end of this stage, renewed contact of Tok Pisin with English in towns caused a new variety to emerge, “Urban Pidgin,” characterized by the massive borrowing from English. Structure Tok Pisin, like many pidgins and creoles, has a far simpler phonology than the super-stratum language. It has 16 consonants and 5 vowels. However, this varies with the local substrate languages and the level of education of the speaker. Tok Pisin as a growing language Tok Pisin is not a language for restricted communication anymore, its use has greatly expanded and, as a consequence, its functions, too. On the one hand, there has been a massive increase of its inventory of lexical items necessary to adapt the language to the new circumstances of the society where it is spoken. New words which deal with new situations have been incorporated from English. On the other hand, stylistic variation is now possible, and a number of changes do not have an influence on the referential power, but rather on style. Tok Pisin has been enriched by new functions including expressive and poetic. Lexicon seems to be affected by external influences earlier than the other areas of the language. Speakers of Tok Pisin seem to be favoring and borrowing over exploitation of internal resources. Also in grammar, although to a much lesser extent, these changes can be observed. What evidence shows at the present moment is that the new patterns being borrowed do no seem to be replacing the old ones, but rather both of them coexist. Thus, instability will be a feature of the language while restructuring takes place. This can show that a linguistic continuum might be consolidating and that there might be a range of possibilities within the spectrum to convey the same idea. The gap emerging in the language is a reflection of the changes taking place in society, being caused by different degrees of access to formal education and to an urban setting. As a consequence of the changes taking place in society, the use of loanwords from the substratum is also declining, because they reflect a reality that is gradually disappearing. Only those words whose referent is still present will remain. Also idioms which correspond to a certain interpretation of reality will tend to disappear as the Western culture and beliefs spread. An area where substratum influence tends to be retained longer is exclamations and interjections. However, even here English expressions are finding their way into Tok Pisin. At the present moment very few people in Papua New Guinea are in direct contact with English and for many it is a language learnt in the formal environment of the classroom. The influence of English on Tok Pisin will not spread if Tok Pisin remains only the language of formal education. However, other factors such as the contact of a growing number of speakers with English as a consequence of expected migration to town areas, the influence of the media or the growing prestige of the urban variety can help to increase the number of English features in Tok Pisin. Throughout its history, Tok Pisin has evolved and has become enriched by its speakers. They, rather than language policies, have been the ones who have decided the direction of the development of the language by accepting or rejecting the different possibilities of expansion. It is in their hands to decide what Tok Pisin will be like, to decide if they want to favor the changes in the direction of English and the consolidation of a linguistic continuum already emerging, knowing there is a risk of losing communicative power, a factor which cannot be undervalued in such a linguistically heterogeneous society. Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, (also known as Police Motu or Pidgin Motu) is an official language of Papua New Guinea. It is a simplified version of Motu and although it is strictly neither a pidgin nor a creole, it possesses some features of both language types. Phonological and grammatical differences mean not only that Hiri Motu speakers cannot understand Motu, but also that Motu speakers not exposed to Hiri Motu have similar difficulties, though the languages are lexically very similar, and retain a common Austronesian syntactical basis. History The language has a history long pre-dating European contact; it was originally used by participants in the Hiri trade cycle (principally in sago and clay pots) between the Motu people and their neighbors on the south east coast of the island of New Guinea. In early colonial days, its use was spread by its adoption by the Royal Papua Constabulary (hence the name "Police Motu"). Tok Pisin was not widely used in Papua New Guinea south of the Owen Stanley Ranges until after World War II, and by the early 1960s Hiri Motu had probably reached its widest use, being the normal lingua franca of a large part of the country. It was in fact the first language of many people whose parents came from different language groups (typically the children of policemen and other public servants). However, since the early 1970s, if not earlier, the use of Hiri Motu as a day-to-day lingua franca in its old "range" has been gradually declining in favor of English and Tok Pisin; speakers nowadays tend to be elderly, and concentrated in Central Province and Gulf Province. Reflecting this situation, younger speakers of the "parent language" (Motu proper) tend to be unfamiliar with Hiri Motu, and few of them understand or speak it well, which was certainly not the case a generation or two ago. Dialects of Hiri Motu Hiri Motu has two dialects, called Austronesian and Papuan. Both dialects are of course Austronesian in both grammar and vocabulary due to their original derivation − the dialect names refer to the "first languages" spoken by users of this lingua franca. The Papuan dialect (also called "Non-central") was in the language's heyday much more widely spoken, and was, at least from about 1964, used as the standard for official publications: but the Austronesian (or "Central") dialect is closer to Motu in grammar and phonology, and its vocabulary is both more extensive, and also closer to the "original" language. It tended, for this reason, to have a much higher status, and was regarded by almost all speakers as more "correct". English History of English The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc - from which the words England and English are derived. Old English The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100. Middle English (1100-1500) In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. Modern English Early Modern English (1500-1800) Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published. Late Modern English (1800-Present) The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries. English in Papua New Guinea In Papua New Guinea English is the language spoken within the government and the education system, but is used by only around 1-2% of the people and that too for educational purposes, mostly. Languages of West Papua (Indonesian western part of New Guinea) The official and most commonly spoken language is Indonesian. Other tribal languages that are also spoken in the region and they range from 200 to over 700. The most widely spoken are Dani, Yali, Ekari and Biak. Indonesian is also known as Bahasa Indonesia which means "the language of Indonesia". It is a member of the Austronensian language family. Indonesian consonants are represented in a way similar to Italian which is a Romance Language. The Dutch colonisation left an imprint on the Indonesian language that can be seen in words such as polisi (from politie = police), kualitas (from kwaliteit = quality), wortel (from wortel = carrot), kamar (from kamer = room, chamber). Indonesian words are also derived from Portuguese Language. They include sabun (from sabão = soap), meja (from mesa = table), boneka (from boneca = doll), jendela (from janela = window) Many words are of Chinese origin e.g. pisau (匕首 bǐshǒu - knife), loteng, (楼/层 = lóu/céng - [upper] floor/ level), mie (麵 > 面 Hokkien mī - noodles), lumpia (潤餅 (Hokkien = lūn-piáⁿ) - springroll),