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Philosophische FakultätDocumenting child language: The Qaqet of Papua New Guinea

The Qaqet

Qaqet is spoken by about 15,000 people in the Gazelle Peninsula of Papua New Guinea’s East New Britain Province. Together with their relatives from the Baining language family (Mali, Qairaq, Simbali, Ura and Makolkol), the Qaqet are the original inhabitants of the peninsula – with archaeological records dating back 30,000 years and more.

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  • Großansicht:
    Today, many Qaqet live a fairly autonomous life as slash-and-burn gardeners, moving between their villages and gardens across the vast north-western part of the peninsula.
  • Großansicht:
    The interior of the peninsula is mountainous (about 1,000 meters high and above) and rugged, covered with tropical rain forests …
  • Großansicht:
    … and criss-crossed by rivers and narrow bush tracks.
  • Großansicht:
    The people are famous in the entire region for growing taro and singapore taro (as their staple food) and peanuts (as a cash crop).
  • Großansicht:
    Taro and other garden crops, together with pork, feature prominently during festive occasions.
  • Großansicht:
    Most families also have plots of land along the more accessible coast.
  • Großansicht:
    Many of these families have now permanently settled near these plots ...
  • Großansicht:
    ... where they grow cocoa and coconut as their main source of cash income.
vergrößern:

In the remote and inaccessible interior, the Qaqet language and culture remain strong: Qaqet is spoken regularly, children still acquire it as their first language, and the famous Qaqet Fire Dances and Spear Dances are still being performed. Along the more accessible coast, however, the Qaqet now live together with speakers of many other languages – and it is here that Qaqet is rapidly disappearing in favor of the national language Tok Pisin.

Our project is set in both regions: in the remote interior mountains (in the neighboring villages of Raunsepna and Lamarain) and at the more accessible coast (in the village of Kamanakam).