| Also Known As: True Motu,Pure Motu
Description:
Motu (sometimes called Pure Motu or True Motu to distinguish it from Hiri Motu) is one of many Central Papuan languages spoken by the Motuans, native inhabitants of Papua New Guinea. It is still common today in the region, particularly around the capital, Port Moresby.
A simplified form of Motu developed as a trade language in the Papuan region, in the South-East of the main island of New Guinea, originally known as Police Motu, and today known as Hiri Motu. After Tok Pisin and English, Hiri Motu was at the time of independence the third most commonly spoken of the more than 800 languages of Papua New Guinea, although its use has been declining for some years, mainly in favour of Tok Pisin.
Motu is classified as one of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, and bears some linguistic similarities to both the Polynesian languages and Micronesian languages.
Motu itself is a language that is heavily vowel-based. Most words have as many vowels as consonants, and a significant number of words have more vowels than consonants. However since there are only five vowel sounds, it is relatively easy to enunciate (compared to English). The many diphthongs are simply combinations of the basic vowels...... full article at Wikipedia |
