Papua New Guinea has the most languages in use
You know that our country, India, with its 1.3 billion population, vast territory and 22 official languages (along with hundreds of unofficial ones), is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. Yet, it is not that country that has the most languages in use. That title goes to Papua New Guinea, an island country, off the coast of Australia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country has more than 800 living languages, spoken in the country, making it the most linguistically diverse place in the world. Unbelievable!
Why so many languages?
Surprisingly, the country is not that big itself. It has just 9 million people but its 800 odd languages each, enjoy between a few dozen and 650,000 speakers. The question is how did it get so many languages?
Well, the oldest group of languages are the so-called “Papuan” languages, introduced by the first human settlers 40,000 years ago. But, despite falling under the “Papuan” umbrella, these languages do not share one common root. Instead, they are split into dozens of unrelated families (with some isolates—languages with no relatives at all — leftover).
On the other hand, there are Austronesian languages, which arrived some 3,500 years ago, probably from a single Taiwanese source. Things were further complicated in the 1800s by the arrival of English - and German-speaking colonists.
Official languages
Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975 after 60 years of Australian administration. Post-independence, the country adopted three official languages: English, Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu. Later in 2015, sign language was also added.
English is the main language of government and commerce. English was introduced into the country as part of the Indo-European language by the Australians who colonised it.
Tok Pisin is the most used language in the country. It is a creole (mixed language) combining elements of English, German and indigenous languages. About five million people in the country can use Tok Pisin to some extent, although not all speak it fluently.
Hiri Motu is another trading language originally used by the people living in Port Moresby (the place’s current name).
Rural-urban divide
A great majority of the country’s population lives in rural areas. Much of the population maintains traditional religious beliefs, and rituals of magic and spells are still widely practiced. A small population lives in towns. Port Moresby and Lae, on the Huon Gulf, are the largest cities.