Norfuk language
Encyclopedia
Norfuk is the language
spoken on Norfolk Island
by the local residents. It is a blend of English
of the 18th century and Tahitian
originally introduced by settlers from the Pitcairn Islands
who spoke Pitkern
. It is the co-official language of Norfolk Island.
As travel to and from Norfolk Island becomes more common, Norfuk is falling into disuse. Efforts are being made, however, to restore the language to more common usage - with education of children, the publication of English-Norfuk dictionaries, use of the language in signage, and the renaming of some tourist attractions (most notably the rainforest walk "A Trip Ina Stik") to their Norfuk equivalents. In 2007, the United Nations
added Norfuk to its list of endangered languages.
and New Zealand
to Norfolk Island, particularly when compared with that of travel to the Pitcairn Islands, has meant that Norfuk has been exposed to much greater contact with English than Pitkern has. The difficulties in accessing the Pitcairn population have meant that a serious comparison of the two languages for mutual intelligibility has been largely impossible.
. However, many linguists now classify it as an Atlantic Creole language
, despite the island's location in the Pacific Ocean.
The language is closely related to Pitkern, but has no other close relatives other than its parent tongues of English and Tahitian. It is generally considered that English has had more of an influence upon the language than Tahitian, with words of Tahitian extraction being largely confined to taboo subjects, negative characterisations, and adjectives indicating that something is undesirable.
for the language. Early attempts either attempted to enforce English spelling onto the Norfuk words, or used diacritical marks
to represent sounds distinct to the language.
Alice Buffett
, a Norfolk Island parliamentarian
and Australia
n-trained linguist, developed a codified grammar and orthography
for the language in the 1980s, assisted by Dr Donald Laycock
, an Australian National University
academic. Their book, Speak Norfuk Today, was published in 1988. This orthography has won the endorsement of the Norfolk Island government, and its use is becoming prevalent.
in New Zealand
and the Faroese
and Icelandic
languages. Some languages already have official bodies (such as New Zealand's Māori Language Commission
) creating new words.
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
spoken on Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
by the local residents. It is a blend of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
of the 18th century and Tahitian
Tahitian language
Tahitian is an indigenous language spoken mainly in the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to the other indigenous languages spoken in French Polynesia: Marquesan, Tuamotuan, Mangarevan, and Austral Islands languages...
originally introduced by settlers from the Pitcairn Islands
Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Pacific...
who spoke Pitkern
Pitkern
Pitkern is a creole language based on an 18th century dialect of English and Tahitian. It is a primary language of Pitcairn Island with fewer than 100 speakers worldwide. However, the closely related Norfuk language has a few thousand native speakers...
. It is the co-official language of Norfolk Island.
As travel to and from Norfolk Island becomes more common, Norfuk is falling into disuse. Efforts are being made, however, to restore the language to more common usage - with education of children, the publication of English-Norfuk dictionaries, use of the language in signage, and the renaming of some tourist attractions (most notably the rainforest walk "A Trip Ina Stik") to their Norfuk equivalents. In 2007, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
added Norfuk to its list of endangered languages.
Relationship to Pitkern
As mentioned above, Norfuk is descended predominantly from the Pitkern (Pitcairnese or Pi'kern) spoken by settlers from the Pitcairn Islands. The relative ease of travel from English-speaking countries such as AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
to Norfolk Island, particularly when compared with that of travel to the Pitcairn Islands, has meant that Norfuk has been exposed to much greater contact with English than Pitkern has. The difficulties in accessing the Pitcairn population have meant that a serious comparison of the two languages for mutual intelligibility has been largely impossible.
Classification
As Norfuk does not have words to express some concepts, some have described it as a cantCant (language)
A Cant is the jargon or argot of a group, often implying its use to exclude or mislead people outside the group.-Derivation in Celtic linguistics:...
. However, many linguists now classify it as an Atlantic Creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
, despite the island's location in the Pacific Ocean.
The language is closely related to Pitkern, but has no other close relatives other than its parent tongues of English and Tahitian. It is generally considered that English has had more of an influence upon the language than Tahitian, with words of Tahitian extraction being largely confined to taboo subjects, negative characterisations, and adjectives indicating that something is undesirable.
Orthography
Due to the language's nature as being a spoken rather than written language and the lack of standardisation, a number of attempts have been made at developing an orthographyOrthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
for the language. Early attempts either attempted to enforce English spelling onto the Norfuk words, or used diacritical marks
Diacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
to represent sounds distinct to the language.
Alice Buffett
Alice Buffett
Alice Buffett is a political figure and linguist from the Australian territory of Norfolk Island.-Political role:In 1981 Alice Buffett stood for, and was elected to serve as, a member of the Norfolk Legislative Assembly.-Linguist:...
, a Norfolk Island parliamentarian
Norfolk Legislative Assembly
The Norfolk Legislative Assembly is the prime legislative body of Norfolk Island. Formed after the Norfolk Island Act 1979 was passed in the Australian parliament, its first members were elected on the tenth of August 1979 . The current assembly is the 13th, and was elected on 17 March 2010 ...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-trained linguist, developed a codified grammar and orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
for the language in the 1980s, assisted by Dr Donald Laycock
Donald Laycock
Dr Donald Laycock was an Australian linguist and anthropologist. He is best remembered for his work on the languages of Papua New Guinea.-Biography:...
, an Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
academic. Their book, Speak Norfuk Today, was published in 1988. This orthography has won the endorsement of the Norfolk Island government, and its use is becoming prevalent.
Depth
The language itself does not have words to express some concepts, which can make expressing them, particularly those having to do with science and technology, difficult. Some Islanders believe that the only solution is to create a committee charged with creating new words in Norfuk rather than simply adopting English words for new technological advances. For example, Norfuk recently adopted the word Kompyuuta, a Norfuk-ised version of Computer. Processes similar to this exist in relation to other languages around the world, such as the Māori languageMaori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the Faroese
Faroese language
Faroese , is an Insular Nordic language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese people in Denmark and elsewhere...
and Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
languages. Some languages already have official bodies (such as New Zealand's Māori Language Commission
Maori Language Commission
New Zealand's Māori Language Commission is an autonomous crown entity set up under the Māori Language Act 1987 with the following functions:...
) creating new words.
Personal pronouns
| English | Norfuk |
|---|---|
| I | ai |
| You | yu (singular), yorlye (plural) |
| He | hi |
| She | shi |
| We | wi |
| They | dem |
Miscellaneous
| English | Norfuk |
|---|---|
| different | defrent |
| tree | trii |
| other | taeda |
| main | mien |
| page | paij |
| donation | doenaiishun |
| Europe | Urup |
| city | citii |
| island | ailen |