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 settlers from the
Pitcairn Islands who spoke
Pitkern.
The language itself does not have words to express some 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. Some minority languages already have official bodies (such as New Zealand's
Maori Language Commission) creating new words.
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, a 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. A report sourced from the
Daily Telegraph in the
Dominion Post of
21 April 2005 (page B3) stated that such a declaration had just been made.
As mentioned above, 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 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.
*
List of Norfuk words and English meanings*
News Report detailing Norfuk being declared an official language
