Tolai language

Spoken in

• Austronesian language Malayo - Polynesian language Central -Eastern Eastern Malayo - Polynesian Oceanic Western Oceanic meso Melanesian New Ireland South New Ireland- Northwest Solomonic Patpatar - Tolai

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Kuanua (also Tolai, Gunantuna, Tinata Tuna, Tuna, Blanche Bay, New Britain Language, or Tolai Tok Ples ) is the native language of the indigenous Tolai people of the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain ( New Britain, colonial German: New Britain ) in the Bismarck archipelago of Papua New Guinea. She is also a Second Language ( transport, trade and church language ) in New Britain, the upstream Duke of York Islands and parts of the neighboring island of New Ireland ( New Ireland, formerly New Mecklenburg ). Kuanua belongs to the Malayo -Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian languages.

After counting the SIL ( Christian " Linguistic Summer Institute " ) 1991, there were approximately 61,000 native speakers and 20,000 second language speakers ( the Tolai nowadays have more than 120,000 members). The language therefore belongs to the speaker most powerful languages ​​of Papua New Guinea. There are several dialects: Vunadidir, Rapitok, Raluana, Vanumami, Livuan, Matupit, Kokopo, Kabakada, NODUP, Kininanggunan, Rakunei, Rebar, Watom and Masawa. Due to the early contact with Christian missionaries introductions have already been published in that language as well as translations of the Bible in Kuanua the colonial period.

As more languages ​​are also today's official language Tok Pisin and English language spread. The Tolai had already 1870-1875 regular contact with Europeans and made ​​up a large proportion of the workforce on the European plantations in the South Pacific. The difference on the plantations lingua franca of Papua New Guinea, Tok Pisin, therefore, relates to 10 percent of their words from the language of the Tolai Kuanua.