Overview
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Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

300

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Recent Resources

No resources

Community Members

    No members

Revitalization Programs

No programs

Discussion Forum

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Language Information By Source

Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 18th Edition
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Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

300

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

"In 1990, 4,780 speakers were reported and language use was vigorous. The 1998 tsunami almost completely annihilated the population. Number of surviving speakers unlikely to exceed a few hundred (Wurm 2007)."

Year of info

2015

Location and Context

Countries

Papua New Guinea

Coordinates

No data

Location description

"Sandaun Province, Aitape district, Sissano area."

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

Latin

Other writing systems

"Sandaun Province, Aitape district, Sissano area."

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

300

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2010

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

-3.0129,142.0491

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

In 1990, 4,776 speakers were reported. Language use was vigorous then. However, in November 1998, a terrible tsunami was caused by a violent sea-quake only 25km off the coast and hit the coast with tremendous force, almost completely annihilating the population within the disaster area. There were only very few survivors, and almost the only speakers left were those who happened to be absent from the disaster area. It is hard to estimate the number of surviving speakers, but it is unlikely to exceed a few hundred or so.

Year of info

2007

Location and Context

Countries

Papua New Guinea

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Sandaun Province. Spoken on a long stretch of the northwestern coast of Papua New Guinea between Vanimo and Aitape.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Sandaun Province. Spoken on a long stretch of the northwestern coast of Papua New Guinea between Vanimo and Aitape.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

4,320

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

1973

Location and Context

Countries

Papua New Guinea

Coordinates

No data

Location description

14 villages: Aindin, Aipukon, Amsor (Malol), Amsor (Sissano), Arop No. 1, Arop No. 2, Lampu, Maindon, Mainya, Mainyeu, Nimas, Tainyapin, Teles, and Uian.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

14 villages: Aindin, Aipukon, Amsor (Malol), Amsor (Sissano), Arop No. 1, Arop No. 2, Lampu, Maindon, Mainya, Mainyeu, Nimas, Tainyapin, Teles, and Uian.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

300

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Media Resources

No resources

No resources

No resources

No resources

No resources

No resources

Filter By

No programs

  1. Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University
    2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
  2. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
    Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)
    http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas
  3. World Oral Literature Project
    "World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.
    http://www.oralliterature.org
  4. Australasia and the Pacific
    Stephen Wurm. 2007. "Australasia and the Pacific." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by Christopher Moseley. 425-577. Routledge.
  5. Sissano: Movements of migration within and through Melanesia
    Churchill, William. 1916. "Sissano: Movements of Migration Within and Through Melanesia." 244: Washington.
  6. A Basic Grammar of Southern Sinama
    Jun, Akamine. 2003. "A Basic Grammar of Southern Sinama." Osaka Gakuin University, Japan: Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim, Faculty of Informatics.
  7. Sissano, Warapu, and Melanesian Pidginization
    Laycock, Don. 1974. "Sissano, Warapu, and Melanesian Pidginization." In Oceanic Linguistics, 12 , no. 1/2: 245-277.
  8. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 18th Edition
    Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2015. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Eighteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.
    http://www.ethnologue.com
  9. Sepik languages: checklist and preliminary classification