Languages of Oceania

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Native languages of Oceania fall into three major geographic groups:

The large Austronesian language family, with such languages as Malay (Indonesian), Tagalog (Filipino), and Polynesian languages such as Māori and Hawaiian
The various Aboriginal Australian language families, including the large Pama–Nyungan family
The various Papuan language families of New Guinea and neighbouring islands, including the large Trans–New Guinea family

Contact between Austronesian and Papuan resulted in several instances in mixed languages such as Maisin.

Non-indigenous languages include:

English in Australia, Hawaii, New Zealand, and other territories
French in French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna
Hindi in Fiji
Japanese in Palau
Spanish in Easter Island, Micronesia^[1] and Guam^[2]

There are also creoles formed from the interaction of Malay or the colonial languages with indigenous languages, such as Tok Pisin, Bislama, Pijin, various Malay trade and creole languages, Samoan Plantation Pidgin, Hawaiian Pidgin, Norfuk, Pitkern,^[3] and Unserdeutsch

Finally, immigrants brought their own languages, such as Mandarin, Italian, Arabic, Cantonese, Greek and others in Australia,^[4] or Fiji Hindi in Fiji.

References

^ There are about 3000 total Spanish speakers in the country, but only 300 of them are native speakers
^ There are about 31000 total Spanish speakers in the territory, but only 1000 of them are native speakers
^ Barbosa da Silva, Diego (2019). "Política Linguística Na Oceania: Nas Fronteiras da Colonização e da Globalização". Alfa: Revista de Linguística. 63 (2): 317–347. doi:10.1590/1981-5794-1909-4. ISSN 0002-5216. S2CID 204627919.
^ "Main Features - Cultural Diversity in Australia". 21 June 2012.

External links

Media related to Languages of Oceania at Wikimedia Commons

[1] There are about 3000 total Spanish speakers in the country, but only 300 of them are native speakers

[2] There are about 31000 total Spanish speakers in the territory, but only 1000 of them are native speakers

[3] Barbosa da Silva, Diego (2019). "Política Linguística Na Oceania: Nas Fronteiras da Colonização e da Globalização". Alfa: Revista de Linguística. 63 (2): 317–347. doi:10.1590/1981-5794-1909-4. ISSN 0002-5216. S2CID 204627919.

[4] "Main Features - Cultural Diversity in Australia". 21 June 2012.

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v t e Languages of Oceania
Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue
Dependencies and other territories	American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna

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