Languages of New Caledonia
Languages of New Caledonia | |
---|---|
Kanak languages | |
Vernacular | Bislama, Tayo Creole |
Foreign | English, Japanese |
Keyboard layout |
In
At the beginning of French rule
At the outset of colonisation, Kanaks primarily spoke their native languages, and, in case of need, used Bislama, an Anglo-Melanesian language whose lexical basis is essentially English. This language allowed them to communicate with shopkeepers or with other Melanesian populations. Those native languages were favoured by some Protestant missionaries to evangelize the population, though Catholic missionaries preferred the usage of French.
In 1853, a decree imposed the teaching of French in every school of the colony, and ten years later, only the teaching of French was allowed.[1]
Present day
French
New Caledonian Pidgin French | |
---|---|
Native speakers | None |
French-based pidgin | |
Dialects |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | None (mis ) |
Glottolog | newc1245 |
New Caledonians of European descent generally speak French natively, and it is spoken by nearly all the remainder of the population as either a first or second language. New Caledonian French is characterized by some phonetic particularities and specific grammatical constructions derived from native languages.[1]
At the 2009 census, 97.3% of New Caledonians aged 15 or older reported that they could speak, read and write French, whereas only 1.1% reported that they had no knowledge of French.[2] No questions regarding the knowledge of French were asked in the 2014 and 2019 censuses, on account of the population's nearly universal understanding of it.
In the early colonial era, there had been a
Indigenous languages
The forty native languages of New Caledonia form two branches of the
At the 2019 census, 44.0% of people whose age was 15 or older reported that they had some form of knowledge of at least one Kanak language, whereas 56.0% reported that they had no knowledge of any of the Kanak languages.[3][2]
Foreign languages
Tourism constitutes an important part of the collectivity's economy, with visitors principally from Australia and New Zealand. English accordingly is understood by some New Caledonians; however, it is only widely spoken inside Nouméa and by those in the tourism industry.
The most commonly taught foreign languages are English and Japanese.[4]
Legal status
Education
Secondary school is under State authority (as opposed to nursery and primary school, which are under Provincial authority), therefore, the language in application is French. Some schools give optional native languages lessons, but it is still very rare. Nevertheless, four languages are proposed at the baccalaureate: Ajië, Drehu, Nengone and Paicî.
There has been controversy about the educational system, as it has been argued that its programs are not adapted to the needs of the local population. As a
References
- ^ a b c Jacques Leclerc, L’aménagement Linguistique dans le Monde http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/pacifique/ncal.htm
- ^ a b "Principales caractéristiques des individus de 15 ans et plus, par province de résidence et sexe". Nouméa: Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (ISEE-NC). Archived from the original (XLS) on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ^ "Population, ménages et logement par province, en 2019 – P20 Population de 15 ans et plus, selon le genre, la connaissance d'une langue kanak et la province de résidence par groupe d'âge décennal" (in French). Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (ISEE-NC). Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ "History, language and culture in New Caledonia".
- ^ Isabelle Bril, En Pays Kanaks
- ^ Isabelle Bril, En Pays Kanak, 282-8
- ^ Isabelle Bril, En Pays Kanak, 286-7