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| Motu | |
|---|---|
| Pure Motu, True Motu | |
| Native to | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Central Province |
| Ethnicity | Motuan |
Native speakers | 39,000 (2008)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Latin script (Motu alphabet) Motu Braille | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | meu |
| Glottolog | motu1246 |
Motu (sometimes called Pure Motu or True Motu to distinguish it from Hiri Motu) is a Central Papuan Tip language that is spoken by the Motuans, an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. It is commonly used today in the region, particularly around the capital, Port Moresby.
A simplified form of Motu developed as a trade language in the Papuan region, in the southeast of the main island of New Guinea, originally known as Police Motu, and today known as Hiri Motu. After Tok Pisin and English, Hiri Motu was at the time of independence the third most commonly spoken of the more than 800 languages of Papua New Guinea, although its use has been declining for some years, mainly in favour of Tok Pisin.
Motu is classified as one of the Malayo-Polynesian languages and bears some linguistic similarities to Polynesian and Micronesian languages.
- ^ Motu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)