Carolinian language

Carolinian
Spoken in	Guam
Region	Saipan, Anatahan, and Agrihan islands, Carolines.
Native speakers	5,700  (date missing)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Central-Eastern Micronesian Micronesian Proper Nuclear Micronesian Trukic Carolinian
Official status
Official language in	Northern Mariana Islands
Regulated by	No official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-3	cal

Carolinian is an Austronesian language spoken in Northern Mariana Islands, where it is an official language along with English and Chamorro. Spoken mostly by the Carolinian people, Carolinian is most closely related to Satawalese, Woleaian, and Puluwatese. Carolinian has 95% lexical similarity with Satawalese, 88% with Woleaian and Puluwatese; 81% with Mortlockese; 78% with Chuukese, 74% with Ulithian. A 1990 census estimated the number of speakers at about 3,000, currently 5,700. Carolinian is known as Refaluwasch by native speakers. It has 31 characters in its alphabet.

References

• "Ethnologue report for language code:cal". Ethnologue: Languages of the World. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=cal. Retrieved April 28, 2005. 

• "Joshua Project Carolinian of Northern Mariana Islands Ethnic People Prolife". http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rog3=CQ&rop3=101890. Retrieved December 1, 2008.