Unserdeutsch facts for kids

Rabaul Creole German, also known as Unserdeutsch (which means "our German"), is a special language. It's a Creole language spoken mainly in Papua New Guinea and parts of Australia. This language is unique because it's the only German-based creole with an official ISO code.

Unserdeutsch started in Papua New Guinea around 1900. Back then, Papua New Guinea was a German colony. Today, most people who speak Unserdeutsch live in eastern Australia. Sadly, most speakers are older, so the language might disappear soon. In Australia, Unserdeutsch speakers live in different cities. However, they stay in touch through special social groups. It's thought that fewer than ten Unserdeutsch speakers still live in Papua New Guinea. Most people who speak Unserdeutsch also know at least two other languages. These are usually English and Tok Pisin. Experts believe there are only about 100 speakers left in total.

How Unserdeutsch Started

Unserdeutsch began around 1900 near a city now called Kokopo. This city was once known as Herbertshöhe. It was an important place where the German governor lived. There was a Catholic school on the edge of town. This school taught standard German to children of mixed race. Often, their mothers were local people from Melanesia. Their fathers were usually Europeans, often from Germany. These fathers were government workers, traders, or adventurers.

Outside of school, these children mixed the German they learned with the local language, Tok Pisin. They were not allowed to speak Tok Pisin inside the school. The new language they created used mostly German words. But it followed the grammar rules of Tok Pisin.

Even after Germany no longer ruled Papua New Guinea, the Vunapope mission station kept teaching German. German was even used as the main language for some lessons. The mixed-race children often stayed together and married each other. Because of this, they passed Unserdeutsch on to their children. This is how Unserdeutsch became a true creole language.

After Papua New Guinea became independent from Australia in 1975, many Unserdeutsch speakers moved. They chose to become Australian citizens and moved to Australia, especially Queensland. This was because local Papuans were taking over jobs in their homeland.

Unserdeutsch is mainly a spoken language. There isn't an official group that decides how to write it. Experts called linguists at the University of Augsburg (now the University of Bern) started studying Unserdeutsch in 2014.

Unserdeutsch Grammar Rules

In Unserdeutsch, nouns do not have a gender. This is different from standard German. The word for "the" is always "de." For example, you would say "de Mann" (the man), "de Frau" (the woman), and "de Haus" (the house).

To make a noun plural (meaning more than one), you add the word "alle" before it. So, "alle Frau" means "all women," and "alle Knabe" means "all boys."

When asking a question, question words are often placed at the end. For example, "Du geht wo?" means "Where are you going?" Sometimes, words from Tok Pisin and English are used. For instance, "aufpicken" (to pick up) is used instead of "abholen" (to fetch). Unserdeutsch follows a strict SVO word order. This means sentences usually go Subject-Verb-Object.

See also

In Spanish: Unserdeutsch para niños