Nauru

Summary

Official Name

Republic of Nauru

International Conventions

CSICH (2013), UNCRPD (2012)

Population

11,000

Principal Languages

English, Nauruan

General References

Bender and Rehg 1991, Wurm 2007

Language Counts

The number of established languages listed for Nauru is 3. All are living languages. Of these, 2 are indigenous and 1 is non-indigenous. Furthermore, 2 are institutional and 1 is in trouble.

Languages

Chinese Pidgin English cpi: Scattered. Users: Several thousand speakers, spoken by most in Nauru (Wurm 2007). Status: 6b* (Threatened). Alternate Names: China Coast Pidgin, Melanesian-Chinese Mixed Pidgin English Classification: Pidgin, English based, Pacific
English eng: Users: 10,020 in Nauru, all users. L1 users: 220 in Nauru (2019). L2 users: 9,800 (2019). Status: 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
Nauruan nau: Nauru Island. Users: 10,300, all users. L1 users: 9,300 (2013), decreasing. L2 users: 1,000. Status: 1 (National). De facto national language. Alternate Names: Nauru Autonym: dorerin Naoero Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Micronesian, Nauruan