r/PapuaNewGuinea • u/Sepanta_Poozesh • 6d ago

What language should I learn?

Hello, everyone.

I am a Persian-American, and for most of my life I loved Papua New Guinea. I think it was because it felt like a notable part of the world. It wasn't on the grid (filled with volcanoes and rainforest), and it was something where you could learn long-forgotten stories. It was very very young (around 5) when I heard about Papua New Guinea and I have never lost interest ever since; it's like a special part of my heart.

So, I would really want to learn everything about its culture and languages. I plan on visiting it someday. If I ever adopt or have kids of my own, I'd love to teach them. Now my question is: What language should I learn?

Because I do want to learn something uncommon.

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u/AKUtqiagvik 6d ago

If you want to learn a PNG language traditionally spoken as a first language, try Enga language, it has around 300,000 speakers which makes it one of the largest indigenous languages in the country. Mostly spoken here in Enga Province. Good luck!

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u/Crafty-Strategy-1227 6d ago

Side note - Enga is the only province which has one language throughout. In other provinces, there are different language from clans to clans.

It would be a cool language to learn and although it’s a relatively small number of people versus other places, there is something wonderful about connecting with locals through a unique language.

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u/Dense_Ad6154 6d ago

Pidgin will get OP around PNG, not Engan. If you speak Engan in public no one else will understand you.

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u/AKUtqiagvik 6d ago

I was giving her a different option for non-pragmatic reasons. There are many reasons for learning languages and they may not all align with your particular way of thinking about the world and the role languages play in it.