Bwaidoka
A language of Papua New Guinea
| Population | 6,500 (2000 SIL). 50% monolingual. |
| Region | Milne Bay Province, south tip of Goodenough Island; Bolubolu District, west Fergusson Island. |
| Language map |
Papua New Guinea, Map 17, reference number 784 |
| Alternate names | Bwaidoga |
| Dialects | Mataitai, Wagifa, Kilia, Lauwela, Bwaidoga, Faiyava, Belebele I, Bebebele Ii, Kalauna, Kiliva. Lexical similarity: 72% with Iduna [viv] (most similar). |
| Classification | Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Western Oceanic, Papuan Tip, Nuclear, North Papuan Mainland-D’Entrecasteaux, Bwaidoga |
| Language use | Vigorous. Diodio [ddi], Iamalele [yml], and Kaninuwa [wat] use Bwaidoka as L2. All domains. Main language used in church, along with Dobu [dob]. Oral and written use in local commerce. All ages. Positive attitude. Also use Dobu or English. |
| Language development | Literacy rate in L1: 65%. Literacy rate in L2: 65%–75%. Bible portions: 1934–1994. |
| Writing system | Latin script. |
| Comments | Half of the children are in school. Agriculturalists. |
Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:
Academic Publications
Anonymous. 2011. Bwaidoka Organised Phonology Data.
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GIBSON, Patty, author. 2008. Participant Identification in Bwaidoka Discourse.
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KASSELL, Alison; LAMBRECHT, Philip, authors. 2012. "A Sociolinguistic Profile of the West and North Goodenough Groups."
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LITHGOW, David, author. 1980. Review of: Bwaidoka tales, by Maribelle Young.
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