Norfuk language
Norfuk language
Main page

Norfuk language

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Norfuk language

Norfuk (Pitcairn-Norfolk: Norfuk) (increasingly spelt Norfolk) or Norf'k is the language spoken on Norfolk Island (in the Pacific Ocean) by the local residents. It is a blend of 18th-century English and Tahitian, originally introduced by Pitkern-speaking settlers from the Pitcairn Islands. Along with English, it is the co-official language of Norfolk Island.[full citation needed]

Norfuk has always been a linguistic cant. As travel to and from Norfolk Island becomes more common, Norfuk is falling into disuse. However, efforts are being made in recent years to restore the language to more common usage, such as the education of children, the publication of English–Norfuk dictionaries, the 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. In 2007, the United Nations added Norfuk to its list of endangered languages.

In the 1970s, the Norfolk community and specialists from mainland Australia noted that the Norfuk language was falling into decline, prompting discussions about how to implement Norfolk into the school system. At this point in time, Norfuk did not have a standardized writing system, as it was mostly an oral language. The Society of the Descendants of Pitcairn Islanders, founded in 1977, was a driving force behind the campaign to include Norfuk language as a teachable subject in schools. Faye Bataille was one of the first to teach Norfolk classes in public schools, in the 1980s.

The first Norfolk dictionary was compiled in 1986 by Beryl Nobbs-Palmer. It was titled A Dictionary of Norfolk words and usages and contained examples of words in the Norfuk language and how to use them.

The book Speak Norfuk Today was written by Alice Buffett and Dr Donald Laycock. It is an encyclopedia incorporating a large majority of the information about the Norfuk language and was one of the first instances in which the orthography of Norfuk was documented.

Norfuk became a language of Norfolk Island in 2004 by virtue of the Norfolk Island Language (Norf'k) Act 2004 passed by the island's legislative assembly.

In 2018, Eve Semple and colleagues received a grant from the Australian Research Council, in order to promote and facilitate revival.

Norfuk is descended predominantly from the Pitkern (Pitcairnese 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 relative to Pitkern. The difficulties in accessing the Pitcairn population have meant that a serious comparison of the two languages for mutual intelligibility has proven difficult.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.