Biga language

Biga
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Misool Island
Native speakers	300 (2001)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian Eastern Malayo-Polynesian South Halmahera–West New Guinea Raja Ampat–South Halmahera Biga
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bhc
Glottolog	biga1238
ELP	Biga
Biga Location of Misool Island, Biga is spoken in the southern part of this island.
Coordinates: 2.00°S 130.27°E / -2.00; 130.27

Biga is a heavily Papuan-influenced Austronesian language spoken in Southwest Papua, Indonesia in the south of the island of Misool. It is the predominant spoken language in the single village of Biga in Misol Timur Selatan District.^[2]

Its status is slightly less precarious than other Raja Ampat–South Halmahera languages, as children of the village still learn the Biga language. However, its use by the younger generation is limited to speech to elders, and Papuan Malay dominates child-to-child speech.^[3]: 37

References

1. Biga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Ronsumbre, Adolof (2020). Ensiklopedia Suku Bangsa di Provinsi Papua Barat. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kepel Press. ISBN 978-602-356-318-0.
3. Arnold, Laura (2020-07-31). "Four undocumented languages of Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia". Language Documentation and Description. 17 (0). doi:10.25894/ldd95. ISSN 2756-1224.

External links

• Paradisec open access collection of George Grace's manuscripts from the University of Hawai'i.