Watiwa language
Endangered Rai Coast language of Papua New Guinea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Watiwa is a Rai Coast language of Papua New Guinea.
| Watiwa | |
|---|---|
| Dumpu | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Madang Province |
Native speakers | 510 (2003)[1] |
| none | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wtf |
| Glottolog | dump1243 |
It is spoken by some 500 people living in six villages in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, including Bebei (5.861935°S 145.711953°E) and Dumpu (5.888972°S 145.736011°E) villages of Usino Rural LLG.[2][3]
It is more commonly known as Dumpu, but this is the name of one of the six villages, and is not accepted as a name for the language. Surviving mostly as a secret language with which to talk amongst themselves when outsiders are present,[4] the majority of the speakers use Tok Pisin in daily life. Due to its increasingly rare use, it is estimated that this language will be extinct in a few decades.[4]