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Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is an official language of Papua New Guinea.〔Specific legislation proclaiming official languages in Papua New Guinea seems not to exist - but see Constitution of Papua New Guinea: Preamble – Section 2/11 (literacy) – where Hiri Motu is mentioned (with Tok Pisin and English) as languages in which universal literacy is sought - and also section 67 2(c) (and 68 2(h), where conversational ability in Hiri Motu is mentioned (with Tok Pisin or “a vernacular of the country”) as a requirement for citizenship by nationalisation (one of these languages required)〕 It is a simplified version of Motu, of the Austronesian language family. Although it is strictly neither a pidgin nor a creole, it possesses some features of both language types. Phonological and grammatical differences mean that Hiri Motu speakers cannot understand Motu. Similarly, Motu speakers who do not also learn Hiri Motu have similar difficulties, though the languages are lexically very similar, and retain a common Austronesian syntactical basis. Even in the areas where it was once well established as a ''lingua franca'', the use of Hiri Motu has been declining in favour of Tok Pisin and English for many years. == Dialects == Hiri Motu has two dialects, called "Austronesian" and "Papuan". Both dialects are in fact Austronesian in both grammar and vocabulary, due to their derivation from Motu; the dialect names refer to the first languages spoken by users of this lingua franca. The "Papuan" dialect (also called "Non-central") was much more widely spoken in the language's heyday, and was, at least from about 1964, used as the standard for official publications. The "Austronesian" (or "Central") dialect is closer to Motu in grammar and phonology, and its vocabulary is both more extensive and closer to the original language. For these reasons, it was the prestige dialect, regarded by speakers as more correct. The distinction between Motu and its "Pidgin" dialects has been described as blurred - forming a continuum from the original "pure" language, through the established creoles, to what some writers have suggested constitutes a form of "Hiri Motu–based pidgin" used as a contact languages with people who had not fully acquired Hiri Motu.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hiri Motu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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