Palauan language

Palauan
a tekoi er a Belau
Native toPalau, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands
Native speakers
17,000 (2008)
Latin (formerly katakana)
Official status
Official language in
 Palau
Regulated byPalau Language Commission
Language codes
ISO 639-2pau
ISO 639-3pau
Glottologpala1344
Linguasphere31-PAA-aa
Approximate location where Palauan is spoken
Approximate location where Palauan is spoken
Palauan
Coordinates: 7°20′N 134°29′E / 7.34°N 134.48°E / 7.34; 134.48
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Palauan (tekoi er a Belau) is a Micronesian language spoken in Palau. It is officially regulated by the Palau Language Commission.

References

  1. ↑ The figure used here, for all countries, is from Ethnologue. According to the 2005 Palau Census, there are 18,544 people aged 5 years or older residing in the Republic of Palau, of whom 4,718 do not speak Palauan. There are thus an estimated 13,826 Palauan speakers in Palau as of 2005; the UNSD estimated 12,400 in Palau in 2008. This number does not include native Palauan speakers residing outside of Palau, who probably comprise several thousand additional speakers (4,000 according to Ethnologue). (See Nuger 2016:13.)
  2. ↑ Katakana is no longer widely used, since the orthography based on Latin script has received official status and is taught in schools. But see Matsumoto 2001:90.