Talk:manki

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Latest comment: 5 years ago by Ptilinopus in topic manki (Tok Pisin)
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manki (Tok Pisin)[edit]

It is incorrect to say that "manki" meaning "small child" is derived from English "monkey". This is commonly believed today in Papua New Guinea, and for that reason has fallen out of use. But its origins predate the English influence to the German period under which much of Tok Pisin developed. (In the Anglo-Australian controlled south - Papua - Tok Pisin did not gain currency until the 1970s with the influx from the highlands - the Australian administration used Hiri (Police) Motu). The origin of manki is from the German "männchen" meaning "male" or "little man". Ptilinopus (talk) 06:34, 7 May 2019 (UTC)Reply