| Watiwa | |
|---|---|
| Dumpu | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Madang Province |
Native speakers | 510 (2003) [1] |
| none | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wtf |
| Glottolog | dump1243 |
Watiwa is a Rai Coast language of Papua New Guinea.
It is spoken by some 500 people living in six villages in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, including Bebei ( 5°51′43″S145°42′43″E / 5.861935°S 145.711953°E ) and Dumpu ( 5°53′20″S145°44′10″E / 5.888972°S 145.736011°E ) villages of Usino Rural LLG. [2] [3]
It is more commonly known as Dumpu, but this is the name of one of the six villages, and is not accepted as a name for the language. Surviving mostly as a secret language with which to talk amongst themselves when outsiders are present, [4] the majority of the speakers use Tok Pisin in daily life. Due to its increasingly rare use, it is estimated that this language will be extinct in a few decades. [4]