Pingelapese
| Pingelapese | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Micronesia |
| Region | Pingelap |
|
Native speakers
|
(3,000 cited 1991) |
|
Austronesian
|
|
| Latin script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | ping1243 |
The Pingelapese language is a Micronesian language native to Pingelap, an atoll belonging to the state of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. This atoll is the homeland to the Pingelapese people, consisting of a three-square mile range of inhabited small coral islets, Daekae and Sukora, and the uninhabited islet, Pingelap. These islands partially make up the Caroline Islands.
For various reasons, including natural disasters and emigration consequent to European and U.S. influence, the current overall population of the Pingelapese people remains relatively small, at around 2,000 people worldwide. Although the official language of the Pohnpei State is English, 200 of the 250 Pingelap atoll residents and 1,200 Pohnpei residents speak Pingelapese. Fortunately, the Pingelapese language is still used today during face-to-face communication amongst speakers of all ages and it maintains its classification as a vigorous language. With the help of linguists like Leilani Welley-Biza sharing knowledge from her elders, significant cultural/historical connections bound to the Pingelapese language can be more thoroughly documented and preserved, to be passed down between generations.
Pingelapese is a Micronesian member of the Austronesian language family. It is closely related to other languages within the Chuukic-Pohnpeic branch, sharing 83% lexical similarity with Mokilese and sharing 79% lexical similarity with Pohnpeian. Approximately 5,000 years ago, the Micronesian peoples voyaged eastward from Taiwan, and eventually made it to Micronesia about 3,000 years later. Morton et al. estimated that the Micronesian peoples have resided on Pingelap for 1,000 years, nearly 800 years before any European contact were to be recorded.
Popular legends passed down in oral history have created controversy over the true origin of the Pingelapese people, suggesting possible roots with Korsraean in the Legend of Nahwehlap, or a differing ancestry claimed to be linked to the Yapese in the Legend of Yap. Alternatively, close linguistic similarities found between the regions of Pingelap and Pohnpei hint that the Pingelapese people may have originally come from Pohnpei. Other versions of oral history make it difficult to decipher whether Pohnpeian vocabulary terms were used prior to the introduction of Korsraean vocabulary terms, specifically the titles used for Pingelapese chiefs.
All throughout their history, the Pingelapese people were politically dominated by the Pohnpeian people, while being greatly influenced by initial European contact, the Germans during WWI, the Japanese post-WWI, and the U.S. thereafter. As a result of succumbing to such colonial powers while being dominated by neighboring islands, the Pingelapese language and vernacular was affected by the Spanish, German, Japanese, English, and Pohnpeian language.
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