Rapa Nui language

Rapa Nui
Vānaŋa Rapa Nui
Pronunciation[ˈɾapa ˈnu.i]
Native toChile
RegionEaster Island
EthnicityRapa Nui
Native speakers
1,000[1] (2016)[2]
Latin script, possibly formerly rongorongo
Official status
Official language in
 Easter Island (Chile)
Language codes
ISO 639-2rap
ISO 639-3rap
Glottolograpa1244
ELPRapa Nui
Rapa Nui is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Rapa Nui or Rapanui (English: /ˌræpəˈni/,[3] Rapa Nui: [ˈɾapa ˈnu.i], Spanish: [ˈrapa ˈnu.i]), also known as Pascuan (/ˈpæskjuən/) or Pascuense, is an Eastern Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family. It is spoken on Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui.

The island is home to a population of just under 6,000 and is a special territory of Chile. According to census data,[4] there are 9,399 people (on both the island and the Chilean mainland) who identify as ethnically Rapa Nui. Census data does not exist on the primary known and spoken languages among these people. In 2008, the number of fluent speakers was reported as low as 800.[5] Rapa Nui is a minority language and many of its adult speakers also speak Spanish. Most Rapa Nui children now grow up speaking Spanish and those who do learn Rapa Nui begin learning it later in life.[6]

  1. ^ "Rapa Nui (Vananga rapa nui)". Omniglot.
  2. ^ Rapa Nui at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  3. ^ Laurie Bauer (2007), The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
  4. ^ "2017 Chilean census data" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2018.
  5. ^ Fischer 2008, p. 149
  6. ^ Makihara 2005a, p. 728.