Mixed Papua New Guinea Trivia

1. There are over 820 indigenous languages spoken in Papua New Guinea, which must make communication difficult at times! There is, however, a lingua franca that is spoken by many. What is it?

From Quiz Passing Through Papua New Guinea

Answer: Tok Pisin

A lingua franca is a language common in a particular area that many people learn as a second language. Also called a bridge language or trade language, this helps to facilitate communication between different culture groups. Papua New Guinea has many official languages, including English and Hiri Motu, but Tok Pisin is the lingua franca. The word "Tok" is derived from the English word talk, while "Pisin" comes from the English pidgin, which is the term for a simple way people who do not have a language in common communicate. Many times such a language is used when people of different cultures are trading. While in the past many learned only enough of the language to get by with what they needed, today Tok Pisin is taught in schools and some use it as a primary language.

From Quiz New Guinea History, Geography and Culture

Answer: Second

The largest island in the world is Greenland, at over 2.1m square kilometres. New Guinea comes second at 785,000 square kilometres and Borneo is a close third at 748,000 sq. km.

From Quiz Passing Through Papua New Guinea

Answer: New Guinea

The second largest island in the world, New Guinea contains two countries - Papua New Guinea to the east and Western New Guinea, to the west, which is part of Indonesia. When Western explorers began to arrive to the island in the 1500s, they named it New Guinea, "land of the blacks", because the people who lived there resembled those who lived in the area of Africa that was already known as Guinea.

From Quiz New Guinea History, Geography and Culture

Answer: Britain, Germany, Holland

Though initially contacted and surveyed by Portuguese and Spanish explorers in the early 1600s, the western half of the island was annexed by Holland (the Netherlands) from the early 1800s. The last part of the 19th century saw Britain take control of the southern half of the eastern portion of the island, while Germany took control of the northern half of the eastern portion. This area included the major offshore islands today known as New Britain and New Ireland.

From Quiz New Guinea History, Geography and Culture

Answer: 1,000

The Island of New Guinea has the highest "language density" of any area on earth. With a total population of about ten million, Ethnologue has catalogued over 1,000 languages - 841 alone in Papua New Guinea (which constitutes the eastern half of the island) and an estimated minimum of 200 in the Indonesian-controlled western half of the island. In fact there may be as many as 500 - 700 in the Indonesian portion, as research there has been much less extensive than in the east. The 1,000 languages represent about one-seventh of the total of nearly 7,000 languages estimated by Ethnologue to exist on the planet. That means with a total population of about 1/7 of 1% of the world, the island (and surrounding islands) have about 15% of the total languages. That is a "linguistic density" of about 105 times what would be expected based on population alone.

From Quiz New Guinea History, Geography and Culture

Answer: 16,020 ft.

It is stunning that what most think of as a "tropical island" can contain a peak of over 16,000 feet, but such is the case. To put this in perspective, that is higher by far than any peak in the contiguous 48 states of the United States (topped by Mt. Whitney in California at 14,505 ft.). It is higher as well than any peak in the Alps or western Europe as a whole (topped by Mont Blanc at 15,782 ft.). It is by far the highest point on any island in the world, followed by Mauna Kea in Hawaii at about 13,800 ft. There are several additional peaks on the main island that tower over 14,000 feet.

From Quiz Passing Through Papua New Guinea

Answer: Sea shells

Seashells were used as currency in Papua New Guinea in the past, however, their use was abolished and replaced by the Papua New Guinean kina in 1975. The word kina is derived from the Kuanua language of the nation and refers to a callable pearl shell that had been used for trading. In spite of the introduction of a new currency, in some of the more than one thousand estimated cultures in Papua New Guinea, bride grooms must present some golden-edged clam shells or other type of kina shell as a bride price. Some groups may offer livestock or even cassowaries as the bride price, while others expect the bride to pay a dowry.

From Quiz Passing Through Papua New Guinea

Answer: Rugby League

Rugby League is considered to be the national sport in Papua New Guinea. It was introduced there in the 1940s by Australian soldiers. In an area where tribal warfare, cannibalism, and head hunting was common in the past, rugby league is considered to be a more acceptable competition. Talented athletes may become celebrities while representing their country, and many play in professional leagues elsewhere around the world. Papua New Guinea also has a national team called the Kumuls that competes against an Australia national team each year.

From Quiz New Guinea History, Geography and Culture

Answer: The reigning monarch of Great Britain

Papua New Guinea is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Head of the Commonwealth is the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. However, Papua New Guinea is also in that subset of Commonwealth countries known as the Commonwealth Realm consisting of 16 nations (including Canada, Australia and Papua New Guinea) that explicitly recognise the queen (or king) of Great Britain as the reigning monarch and, therefore, Head of State.

From Quiz Passing Through Papua New Guinea

Answer: Sweet potatoes

Papua New Guinea is one of a few locations in the world where people learned how to domesticate plants and farm independently of others. This was accomplished by approximately 7000 BC. At that time the taro, which is much like a yam, was considered to be the staple crop. When Europeans began coming to the island the Portuguese introduced the sweet potato, which had been introduced to them in South America. It became an important staple crop because it yields more food than the taro. This meant that the population in some areas grew.

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 11:05 AM

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