Highly endangered languages in Papua New Guinea

Many of Papua New Guinea’s languages are considered endangered. Below is a listing of some highly endangered languages in PNG. The list is intended to provide a sample, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Each language name below is linked to a short assessment of language vitality, together with a list of known language resources.

SIL has no current plans to do work in the listed languages. However, we hope that this website will encourage further linguistic research by others while these languages are still being spoken. SIL is willing to consider making further information available to researchers.

Further information can be obtained from

Highly endangered languages

• Abom
• Ak
• Ambakich
• Dumpu (Watiwa)
• Gweda
• Karawa
• Magori
• Makolkol
• Munkip
• Rempi (Aic)
• Taiap
• Tenis
• Turaka
• Turumsa
• Wiarumus

Languages probably extinct

• Abaga
• Aribwatsa

Other links

• Articles and FAQs about Endangered Languages
• From Endangered to Less Endangered: Case Histories from Brazil and Papua New Guinea
• International Clearing House for Endangered Languages
• The Rosetta Project: a global collaboration of language specialists and native speakers building a publicly accessible online archive of ALL documented human languages.
• Ethnologue list of Nearly Extinct Languages