Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Sisano, Sinano, Sinama, Aissano, Siau
CLASSIFICATION		Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, North New Guinea
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		sso
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 18th Edition” . Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig · SIL International

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
300
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"In 1990, 4,780 speakers were reported and language use was vigorous. The 1998 tsunami almost completely annihilated the population. Number of surviving speakers unlikely to exceed a few hundred (Wurm 2007)."

DATE OF INFO: 2000

Scripts (Writing system): Latin

PLACES: Papua New Guinea

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Sandaun Province, Aitape district, Sissano area."

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
4,320
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1970

PLACES: Papua New Guinea

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: 14 villages: Aindin, Aipukon, Amsor (Malol), Amsor (Sissano), Arop No. 1, Arop No. 2, Lampu, Maindon, Mainya, Mainyeu, Nimas, Tainyapin, Teles, and Uian.

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
300
Native speakers worldwide

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
300
Native speakers worldwide

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
100-999
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
In 1990, 4,776 speakers were reported. Language use was vigorous then. However, in November 1998, a terrible tsunami was caused by a violent sea-quake only 25km off the coast and hit the coast with tremendous force, almost completely annihilating the population within the disaster area. There were only very few survivors, and almost the only speakers left were those who happened to be absent from the disaster area. It is hard to estimate the number of surviving speakers, but it is unlikely to exceed a few hundred or so.

More on Orthography: No literacy

PLACES: Papua New Guinea

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Sandaun Province. Spoken on a long stretch of the northwestern coast of Papua New Guinea between Vanimo and Aitape.

	3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing	Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub	300		100-999		Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)			-3.0129,142.0491
	18th		2015	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 18th Edition			Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig	SIL International	Dallas, Texas	http://www.ethnologue.com		Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2015. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Eighteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.		300	2000	100-999	"In 1990, 4,780 speakers were reported and language use was vigorous. The 1998 tsunami almost completely annihilated the population. Number of surviving speakers unlikely to exceed a few hundred (Wurm 2007)."	Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Papua New Guinea	"Sandaun Province, Aitape district, Sissano area."
Pacific Linguistics		B 25	1973	Sepik languages: checklist and preliminary classification			Wurm, Stephen A.	Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics	Canberra		Laycock, Donald C.			4,320	1970	1000-9999		Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Papua New Guinea	14 villages: Aindin, Aipukon, Amsor (Malol), Amsor (Sissano), Arop No. 1, Arop No. 2, Lampu, Maindon, Mainya, Mainyeu, Nimas, Tainyapin, Teles, and Uian.
			2007	Australasia and the Pacific	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	425-577	Christopher Moseley	Routledge	London and New York		Stephen Wurm	Stephen Wurm. 2007. "Australasia and the Pacific." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by Christopher Moseley. 425-577. Routledge.				100-999	In 1990, 4,776 speakers were reported. Language use was vigorous then. However, in November 1998, a terrible tsunami was caused by a violent sea-quake only 25km off the coast and hit the coast with tremendous force, almost completely annihilating the population within the disaster area. There were only very few survivors, and almost the only speakers left were those who happened to be absent from the disaster area. It is hard to estimate the number of surviving speakers, but it is unlikely to exceed a few hundred or so.	Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Papua New Guinea	Sandaun Province. Spoken on a long stretch of the northwestern coast of Papua New Guinea between Vanimo and Aitape.
				World Oral Literature Project						http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.		300		100-999		Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Sissano

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

4,320

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100-999

Discussion

Sissano

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

4,320

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100-999

Discussion

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