Northern Mariana Islands Languages

Map showing the location of Northern Mariana Islands

The official languages of the Northern Marianas Islands are English, Chamorro, and Refaluwasch. Chamorro is an Austronesian language spoken by approximately 12,000 people as well as being spoken in neighbouring Guam. This language is heavily influenced by the Northern Marianas Islands colonial past under Spanish rule. Refaluwasch, also known as Carolinian, is a threatened Austronesian language that is spoken by a few people in the country.

Approximately 20% of the country speaks Chamorro although the numbers of speakers of this language are declining year-by-year. Just over 3,000 people speak the Realuwasch-Carolinian language and it is in danger of going extinct in the near future. The majority of the nation speaks English as a first or second language due to strict, often oppressive, language policies implemented by the United States after World War II. This practice led to the indigenous languages of the country becoming diminished in their use throughout the country as well as the fact that the majority of the media in the country is presented in English.

Phrases in the country are not limited to purely English and many phrases from indigenous languages are interwoven into daily communication. In Chamorro, hello is written as hafa dai and pronounced as hah-fuh-die and goodbye is adios, a borrowed word from Spanish. Good morning, afternoon, and evening are also Spanish loan-phrases in Chamorro. Refaluwasch, or Carolinian, phrases are not as common as those from the Chamorro language.

Minority languages in the country are plentiful with such a varied ethnic makeup in population. Asian dialects such as Filipino and Chinese are the most prevalent minority languages in the country. There are also small numbers of native Bangladeshi, Japanese, and Korean speakers in the Northern Marianas Islands. Some of these minority languages have greater numbers of speakers than the official Carolinian language.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Saipan
Languages	Philippine languages 32.8%, Chamorro (official) 24.1%, English (official) 17%, other Pacific island languages 10.1%, Chinese 6.8%, other Asian languages 7.3%, other 1.9% (2010 est.)
Ethnic Groups	Asian 50% (includes Filipino 35.3%, Chinese 6.8%, Korean 4.2%, and other Asian 3.7%), Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 34.9% (includes Chamorro 23.9%, Carolinian 4.6%, and other Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 6.4%), other 2.5%, two or more ethnicities or races 12.7% (2010 est.)
Religion	Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found)
Government	Presidential democracy; a commonwealth in political union with the US
Independance	None (commonwealth in political union with the US)
Area	464.00 km²
Land Area	464.00 km²
Population	53,467.00
Location	Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
GDP(PPP)	$682,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$13,300.00 (USD)
Export Commodities	Its main export is garments.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include food, construction equipment and materials.
Climate	Tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October
Terrain	The southern islands in this north-south trending archipelago are limestone, with fringing coral reefs; the northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanoes on several islands

Northern Mariana Islands Languages

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