Language in Nauru

Nauruan is an Austronesian language of the Micronesian region. It is used strongly in family life, cultural practice and informal participation, especially in speech. English is the main language of government, courts, business, schooling, technology and mass media. Nauruan therefore has high cultural and identity value, while English provides wider access to formal institutions and economic life. The language balance is changing. In the 2011 household data, Nauruan was the main household language for 93% of people, English for 2% and other languages for 5%. Among people aged five and older, 95% reported speaking Nauruan and 66% English. In 2021, 69% of households used only Nauruan at home, 25.3% used Nauruan together with another language and 3.9% used only other languages. Among households using Nauruan, 52.4% reported that speakers could read and write it; the figure was 50.0% for Nauruan-only households and 59.0% for households using Nauruan with another language. The latest census tables group other languages together, so they do not provide a complete current breakdown for each community language. I-Kiribati and Chinese are documented minority languages in Nauru. Fijian, Tuvaluan and other languages may also be present, but the available census reporting does not establish a complete individual distribution. No reliable current official classification of regional Nauruan dialects or standardized regional varieties is documented, so dialect claims should not be expanded beyond this limited evidence. Nauruan spelling and language standards remain partly underdeveloped. The Naoero Language Authority Act 2025, Act 39/2025, provides for the protection, promotion, development and use of Nauruan and supports dictionaries, grammar works, usage resources and literature. According to the government, the Nauruan Bible was the only officially published Nauruan form identified in the available research at that time. Elders are recognized as carriers of language and tradition and must be consulted by the Authority. The Department of National Heritage, Culture, Tourism and Naoero Museum and the Language Bureau also support language and cultural work. English is the prescribed language of instruction in schools. Nauruan teachers may use Nauruan when necessary to support understanding, but lower-level curricula have contained only limited Nauruan elements and do not provide full instruction in Nauruan. A 2024 UNESCO report identified a Language Committee within the Department of Education and a Language Bureau within National Heritage. The 2025 Act provides for integration into the curriculum, but a public rollout timetable has not been identified. English is the dominant language in administration and commerce. The Constitution requires information to be provided in a language that can be understood. A person who does not understand or speak the language used in criminal proceedings can receive an interpreter without charge. Court interpretation covers Nauruan and English, including spoken and written communication and court records. A general right to bilingual administrative documents, general language-service fees or fixed processing deadlines has not been established in the available evidence; access depends on the institution and the person's need for understanding. Radio Naoero FM88.0 provides local broadcasting. The Government Information Office and the Naoero Bulletin operate predominantly in English, and the government reports that English dominance in technology and mass media is reducing the written use of Nauruan. The Naoero Language Authority is intended to support vernacular literature. Dei-Naoero remains a central marker of Nauruan identity and culture. Naoero is also the local form of the country's name; a constitutional renaming proposal in 2026 had not been completed in the available research. The Nauru Bureau of Statistics supplies language data, while the Department of Judiciary, Justice and Border Control is relevant to court-language access.