Simbali language

Not to be confused with Simbari language.

Simbali
Native to	Papua New Guinea
Region	New Britain
Native speakers	450 (2012) [1]
Language family	Baining Simbali
Language codes
ISO 639-3	smg
Glottolog	simb1259

Simbali is a poorly-documented Baining language spoken in the southern Gazelle Peninsula on New Britain, Papua New Guinea. ^[2]

Names

Simbali is alternatively known as Asimbali or Neu-Pommern. ^[3]

Location

In 2012, the language was described as being strongest in the villages of Alingirka, Avungi ( 4°45′21″S151°48′57″E / 4.755811°S 151.815774°E / -4.755811; 151.815774 (Avungi) ) and Kavudemki ( 4°55′43″S151°57′40″E / 4.928481°S 151.960992°E / -4.928481; 151.960992 (Kavudemki Village) ). ^[4]

Status

A 2012 SIL report described the language as vigorous and used across all ages, with speakers having a strong ethno-linguistic identity and a desire to maintain the language. ^[5] This is seemingly no longer true; the Simbali have since lost most of their land to palm oil and logging companies, a large risk factor for language death. ^[6]

External links

• A collection of mostly open-access Simbali material is available at the Endangered Languages Archive .

References

1. Simbali at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. Archive, Endangered Languages. "The Simbali Baining of Papua New Guinea: A community-based documentation project | Endangered Languages Archive". www.elararchive.org. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
3. "Glottolog 5.1 - Simbali". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
4. Archive, Endangered Languages. "The Simbali Baining of Papua New Guinea: A community-based documentation project | Endangered Languages Archive". www.elararchive.org. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
5. "Glottolog 5.1 - Simbali". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
6. Archive, Endangered Languages. "The Simbali Baining of Papua New Guinea: A community-based documentation project | Endangered Languages Archive". www.elararchive.org. Retrieved 2025-02-17.