Carolinian language

Carolinian
Refaluwasch
Native toNorthern Mariana Islands
RegionSaipan, Anatahan, and Agrihan islands, Marianas
EthnicityCarolinians
Native speakers
(3,100 cited 2000)
Official status
Official language in
 Northern Mariana Islands
Language codes
ISO 639-3cal
Glottologcaro1242
ELPCarolinian

Carolinian is an Austronesian language originating in the Caroline Islands, but spoken in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is an official language (alongside English) of the Carolinian people. Carolinian is a threatened language according to the Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat), but available data is scarce. There are approximately 3,100 native speakers in the world. Carolinian has 95% lexical similarity with Satawalese, 88% with Woleaian and Puluwatese; 81% with Mortlockese; 78% with Chuukese, 74% with Ulithian.