Kristang language
Papia Kristang ("speak Christian"), or just Kristang, is a creole language spoken by the Kristang, a community of people of mixed Portuguese and Malay ancestry, chiefly in Malacca, Malaysia.
| Papia Kristang | |
|---|---|
| Malaccan Creole Portuguese | |
| Kristang | |
| Native to | Malaysia, Singapore |
Native speakers | 2,200 (2007) |
Portuguese Creole
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | mcm |
| Glottolog | Nonemala1533 Malacca–Batavia Creole |
| ELP | Malaccan Creole Portuguese |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAC-aha |
Kristang is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
The language is also called Cristão or Cristan ("Christian"), Portugues di Melaka ("Malacca Portuguese"), Linggu Mai ("Mother Tongue") or simply Papia ("speak"). In Singapore it is known as Kristang.
In Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010; formerly the Red Book of Endangered Languages) published by UNESCO, Kristang is classified as a "severely endangered" language, with only about 2,000 speakers. Up to 2014, linguists concerned with Kristang have generally accepted a combined speaker population of about 1,000 individuals or less. The language has about 750 speakers in Malacca and another 100 in Singapore. A small number of speakers also live in other Portuguese Eurasian communities in Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia, and in diaspora communities in Perth (Western Australia), Canada, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.