3,507,000 (1995). Literacy rate 99%. Three main islands (North, South, Stewart, several smaller ones. Also includes Yue Chinese 20,000 (1989), Fijian 6,671 (1976), Hindi 1,200 (1985), Japanese 3,000, Niue 5,688 (1976), Pukapuka, Rakahanga-Manihiki 2,500 (1981), Rarotongan 25,000 (1989), Samoan 50,000 (1989), Tahitian 262 (1976), Tokelauan 1,737, Tongan 3,965 (1976), Tuvaluan 500 (1977), Arabic 4,000, other Chinese 16,600, others from India 15,000. Data accuracy estimate: A2. Also includes Yue Chinese 20,000 (1989), other Chinese 16,600, Hindi 11,200 (1985), Japanese 3,000, Arabic 4,000, 15,000 others from India. Christian, secular. Blind population 3,687. Deaf institutions: 29. The number of languages listed for New Zealand is 4. Of those, 3 are living languages and 1 is a second language with no mother tongue speakers.
ENGLISH [ENG] 3,213,000 in New Zealand (1987), 90% of the population; 322,000,000 in all countries (1995 WA). Indo-European, Germanic, West, North Sea, English. National language. Bible 1382-1989. NT 1380-1993. Bible portions 1530-1993.
MAORI (NEW ZEALAND MAORI) [MBF] 50,000 to 70,000 speakers (1991 Fishman, p. 231), 100,000 who understand it, but do not speak it, out of 310,000 or more Maori people. 30,000 to 50,000 adult speakers over 15 years old (1995 Maori Language Commission). Far north, east coast, North Island. Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Nuclear, East, Central, Tahitic. Dialects: NORTH AUCKLAND, SOUTH ISLAND, TARANAKI, WANGANUI, BAY OF PLENTY, ROTORUA-TAUPO, MORIORI. 71% lexical similarity with Hawaiian, 57% with Samoan. Until the 20th century spoken throughout New Zealand. Formerly fragmented into a number of regional dialects, some of which diverged quite radically from what has become the standard dialect. The Moriori dialect in the Chatham Islands is extinct. Most or all speakers are bilingual in English. There are 322 government-funded Maori language schools, including schools for pre-schoolers. Used officially for legal needs. Typology: VSO. Volcanic plateau. Christian. Braille code available. Bible 1858-1952. NT 1837-1862. Bible portions 1833-1862.
NEW ZEALAND SIGN LANGUAGE [NZS] Deaf sign language. The first school for the deaf was established in 1878. Sign language used since the 1800's. It developed informally among deaf people because the oralist method only was used in schools. It has some features in common with British sign languages and some from other countries. Some signed interpretation used in court and at important public events. Some use on TV. There is a committee on national sign language. There is a manual system for spelling. Dictionary. Grammar.
PITCAIRN-NORFOLK (PITCAIRN ENGLISH) [PIH] (630 or fewer in all countries). Also on Norfolk Island, Pitcairn Island, Fiji, and some second generation Pitcairn Islanders in Australia. English-Tahitian cant. Developed from mutineers settling on Pitcairn in 1790. Some people were removed to Norfolk in 1859. An in-group language used to assist in the preservation of identity. People speak standard English as mother tongue. Christian. Second language only. No mother tongue speakers.
Part of the Ethnologue, 13th Edition, Barbara F. Grimes, Editor.
Copyright © 1996, Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc. All rights reserved.
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