Language Snapshots

Nukuoro (Nukuoro Atoll, Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia) - Language Snapshot

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Abstract

Nukuoro is an endangered Polynesian Outlier language spoken on Nukuoro Atoll, an outer island of Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia. While Nukuoro is acquired as a first language by children and widely spoken in the home, nearly all speakers are multilingual in Pohnpeian, the local lingua franca, and English. Diasporic migration for education and employment has led Nukuoro speakers to settle all over the world, with large communities living in Kolonia, Pohnpei and the United States, particularly in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Oregon. As a result, the Nukuoro diaspora community is at least seven times larger than the in-situ community on the atoll. This distribution of speakers places particular challenges on language vitality, especially in smaller communities in the U.S. There are ongoing efforts to document and revitalize Nukuoro language and culture, and speakers have turned to online resources to connect across the globe.

Keywords: Nukuoro, Polynesian, Nukuoro Atoll, Pohnpei State

How to Cite:

Drummond, E. & Rudolph, J., (2021) “Nukuoro (Nukuoro Atoll, Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia) - Language Snapshot”, Language Documentation and Description 20, 145-153. doi: https://doi.org/10.25894/ldd45