February 2023 Language Quiz

Questions for this quick geography quiz are inspired by the Language of the Day series from Ethnologue (ethnologue.com). You can further test your geographic knowledge (↗) with more quizzes from GeoFact of the Day. The answers to this quiz are listed below; enjoy and good luck!

1)       Which option is the Southeast Asian country where Pwo Western Karen is a threatened language with about 210,000 (and possibly decreasing) speakers?
A — MYANMAR
B — MADAGASCAR
C — UGANDA
D — TURKEY

2)      With only about 280 speakers, the Hiw language is used for communication in which country in Oceania?
A — SAMOA
B — VANUATU
C — TONGA

3)      Which of the following languages is not used for communication in PAPUA NEW GUINEA?
A — Opao
B — Vincentian English Creole
C — Saruga
D — Siroi

4)      Which option below is the East African country in which over 3.4 million people communicate with the Nyankore (Nkore) language?
A — UGANDA
B — TOGO
C — AZERBAIJAN
D — KAZAKHSTAN





















ANSWERS

Question 1:
A . . . . . Myanmar

Question 2:
B . . . . . Vanuatu

Question 3:
B . . . . . Vincentian English Creole

Question 4:
A . . . . . Uganda

Independence Day Recently Celebrated in Papua New Guinea

People all across PAPUA NEW GUINEA celebrated their country's Independence Day on Wednesday, September 16th. Papua New Guinea achieved independence from Australia in September 1975. Happy belated Independence Day!

Papua New Guinea Exports

According to National Geographic MapMaker (mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org), the following items are major exports of PAPUA NEW GUINEA: cocoa, coconuts and copra, coffee, copper, gold, natural gas, palm kernels, palm oil, petroleum, rubber, seafood, silver, sugar, sweet potatoes, tea, tropical fruit, vanilla, and wood. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include Australia (top importer), Japan, China, India, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Curaçao, Spain, Malaysia, Italy, Antigua and Barbuda, the United States, the Philippines, Belgium, Thailand, Solomon Islands, Singapore, and Luxembourg.

Papua New Guinea Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for PAPUA NEW GUINEA in Oceania lists 1 extinct species (Rhantus papuantus beetle), 37 critically endangered species, and 64 endangered species. Papua New Guinea's critically endangered species include Beck's Petrel, Black Forest-Wallaby, Black Mogurnda fish, Bougainville Paphiopedilum orchid (endemic to Bougainville island), Bulmer's Fruit Bat, Eastern Long-beaked Echidna, Glass Blue-Eye fish, Longcomb Sawfish, New Guinea Big-Eared Bat, Northern Glider marsupial, and Tenkile Tree Kangaroo. Endangered species include the Alpine Wallaby, Black-Backed Pitta bird, Bougainville Naked-Tailed Rat, David's Echymipera (David's Spiny Bandicoot) marsupial, Fergusson Island Striped Possum (Tate's Triok), Giant Bandicoot, Gressitt's Paramelomys rodent, Mountain Pademelon marsupial, Moustached Kingfisher, Northern Water Rat, Ornate Tree Kangaroo, Van Deusen's Rat, and White-Eyed Starling. Species named after the country include the Papua New Guinea Montane Keelback snake and Papua New Guinea Rat.

Huon Peninsula

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The location of a World War II campaign, rainforests, and coconut groves, Huon Peninsula is a mountainous landmass in central PAPUA NEW GUINEA shaped almost like a semicircle. It is north of the Huon Gulf, west of the Solomon Sea, and south of Vitiaz Strait. The peninsula is one of the easternmost extensions of New Guinea island. Some of Huon Peninsula's capes and points include Cape Cretin, Cape Gerhards, Kitumala Point, and Scharnhorst Point. Mount Bangeta stands 4,121 meters tall inland in Huon Peninsula's western area. The mountain is part of the Sarawaget Range, which stretches westward. Huon Peninsula is located in the northern part of Morobe province. Towns on and near the peninsula include Boana, Finschhafen (port city established by Germany), Lae, Pindiu, Sattleberg, Sialum, and Wasu.

In the Huon Peninsula campaign within Operation Postern (1943-44), allied Australian and American military forces teamed together to eschew the Japanese military away from the Vitiaz Strait and New Guinea island. These military activities resulted in an Allied victory.

Admiralty Islands

Being the location of WWII battles, the Admiralty Islands were controlled by Japan in the 1940s until the United States took over during the Pacific island hopping campaign; they now belong to PAPUA NEW GUINEA. The islands are in the northern fringe of the Bismarck Sea, which is north of most islands in Papua New Guinea. Manus Island - the largest island of the Admiralty Islands - and Los Negros Island usually look like one conjoined island on satellite images; there is a bridge that connects both islands. Manus is approximately 58 miles from side to side (about 93 kilometers) and has multiple villages, including (from west to east) Lessau, Likum, Drehet, Labahan, Selalou, and Lorengau. Go east and you will find Los Negros island, which looks like a peninsula attached to Manus in Google Maps, satellite images, and other maps. The road view of Bing Maps, however, easily shows the distinction between both islands. Momote Airport is located on the southern part of Los Negros. Other Admiralty Islands are very close to Manus, while others are farther out. All of these islands - which include Lou, Mbatmanda, the Palawat Islands, Pityilu, Rambutyo, and Tong - are much smaller than Manus.

Papua New Guinea's Languages

According to the Statistics Section in the Hammond World Atlas (Sixth Edition) and other sources in print and on the web, 700 indigenous languages are spoken in the Oceanic country of PAPUA NEW GUINEA. The official languages are Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, and English. Other spoken languages include pidgin English (mixes English with another language) and Motu. Papua New Guinea is north of Australia's Cape York, south of the Federated States of Micronesia, and east of Indonesia. Visit my Papua New Guinea post to learn more!
***Source: Hammond World Atlas, Sixth Edition. Hammond World Atlas Corporation, 2010.

Ten Largest Islands in the World

The 10 largest islands in the world are as follows:
1. Greenland (Denmark) - 840,000 square miles
2. New Guinea (Indonesia & Papua New Guinea) - 305,000 sq. mi.
3. Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, & Malaysia) - 286,000 sq. mi.
4. Madagascar - 226,656 sq. mi.
5. Baffin Island (Canada) - 195,928 sq. mi.
6. Sumatra (Indonesia) - 164,000 sq. mi.
7. Honshu (Japan) - 88,000 sq. mi.
8. Great Britain (United Kingdom) - 84,400 sq. mi.
9. Victoria Island (Canada) - 83,896 sq. mi.
10. Ellesmere Island (Canada) - 75,767 sq. mi.

*** Source for area data: Langenscheidt's Pocket World Atlas. Hammond World Atlas Corporation, 2002.

Papua New Guinea

PAPUA NEW GUINEA is an Oceanic country that occupies the eastern side of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world, and a large number of small and large islands. Papua New Guinea is east of Indonesia, west of the Solomon Islands, and south of the Federated States of Micronesia. The Torres Strait and several islands separate Papua New Guinea from Australia's Cape York peninsula. The Gulf of Papua is south of the P.N.G.-owned, eastern part of New Guinea island. The capital, located on the southern shore of a peninsula on New Guinea island is Port Moresby. The official languages are English, Tok Pisin, and Hiri Motu. The currency is the Papua New Guinean Kina. The ISO 4217 currency code is PGK, and 1 Kina equals 100 toea.

Map credit:  National Geographic Mapmaker (↗)