Unserdeutsch language
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Unserdeutsch ("Our German"), or Rabaul Creole German, is a German-based creole language spoken primarily in Papua New Guinea and the northeast of Australia. It was formed among the New Guinean children residing in a German-run orphanage. Fewer than 100 native speakers exist today 15 of which are in New Britain.
Most speakers of Unserdeutsch are bilingual; speaking either Standard German, English, Tok Pisin or Kuanua. Most speakers are middle-aged or older, although younger members of the community may comprehend the language. The descendant of a pidginised form of Standard German which originated in the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain during German colonial times among the Catholic mixed-race (Vunapope) community. With increased mobility and intermarriage, it has been disappearing in the last few decades.
Unserdeutsch presumably influenced the development of its neighbour, Tok Pisin. Along with Küchendeutsch in Namibia, it is one of only two German-based creoles.
Example
A Baha'i prayer in Unserdeutsch:
- I bezeugen, O mein Gott, Du has geschaffen mi, fi erkennen du und fi beten zu du. I bezeugen in diese Moment mein Schwäche und dein Mach, mein Armut und dein Reichtum. Is ni ein anders Gott, nur Du, de Helfer in Gefahr, de Selbstbestehender.
- "I affirm, my God, that you have created me so that I might know you and praise you. I affirm, in this moment, my weakness and your strength, my deficiency and your sufficiency. There is no other God, only you, the Helper in distress, the One who stands alone."
Further reading
- Peter Mühlhäusler: Tracing the roots of pidgin German. In: Language and Communication , 4/(1)/1984, S. 27–57. ISSN 0271-5309
- Craig A. Volker: Rabaul Creole German Syntax. In: Working Papers in Linguistics, University of Hawaii 21/1989, S.153-189
- Craig A. Volker: The rise and decline of Rabaul Creole German, Language and Linguistics in Melanesia. In: John Lynch (ed.): Oceanic studies : proceedings of the first international conference on oceanic linguistics Australian Nat. Univ., Canberra 1996, ISBN 0-85883-440-5
External links
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