Mandara language

{{Short description|Austronesian language spoken in Papua New Guinea}}

{{distinguish|Mandara language (Chadic)}}

{{Infobox language

|name= Mandara

|altname=Tabar

|states=Papua New Guinea

|region=Tabar Group, New Ireland Province

|speakers=4,000

|date=2000 census

|ref=e25

|familycolor=Austronesian

|fam2=Malayo-Polynesian

|fam3=Oceanic

|fam4=Western

|fam5=Meso-Melanesian

|fam6=(New Ireland)

|fam7=Tabar

|dia1=Simberi

|dia2=Tatau

|dia3=Tabar

|script=Latin

|iso3=tbf

|glotto=mand1440

|glottorefname=Mandara

}}

Mandara, also known as Tabar, is an Austronesian language spoken on the Tabar Group of islands, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. Three dialects have been identified, Simberi, Tatau and Tabar, corresponding to the three main islands in the group.{{cite book|editor-last=Brown|editor-first=Keith |title=Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PdfExcerptURL&_imagekey=B7T84-4M3C3K0-10D-1&_uoikey=B7T84-4M3C3K0-10D&_piikey=B0080448542093573&_cdi=27028&_user=10&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_userid=10&md5=38595fa49820cf34d73546fff5fad743&ie=/excerpt.pdf|year=2006|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-08-044854-1|page=i}}

Recently,{{When|date=February 2023}} a written form of Mandara has been made by a Korean missionary. So far, about 3,000 people are literate in this form of Mandara, and a Bible has been published in it as well.