Norfuk language

Norfuk (increasingly spelled Norfolk) is the language spoken on Norfolk Island by the local residents. It is a blend of English of the 1700s and Tahitian originally introduced by Pitcairnese-speaking settlers from the Pitcairn Islands.

The language itself does not have words to express many concepts; some therefore describe it as a Cant, similar to a Pidgin, or as a Creole language. 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 regional or minority languages around the world, such as the Maori language in New Zealand and the Icelandic language.

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.

Alice Buffett , an Norfolk Island parliamentarian and Australian-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.

The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly has also periodically debated the option of making Norfuk a co-official language of the island along with English.

Relationship to Pitcairnese

As mentioned above, Norfuk is descended predominantly from the Pitcairnese (Pitkern or Pi'kern) spoken by settlers from the Pitcairn Islands. The relative ease of travel from English-speaking countries such as Australia 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 Pitcairnese 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.

See also

• List of Norfuk words and English meanings