How widely spoken is English in New Caledonia (Nouvelle-Calédonie)?
As I understand it, French is the main common language in New Caledonia, spoken by almost everyone there, but often as a second language.
The wikipedia article doesn't seem to mention much about English though. Assuming you largely stick to the more touristy areas (eg the beaches around Nouméa), can you get by with just English? Or is a reasonable level of French needed? (Or I guess one of the Kanak languages!)
Best Answer
I found more English in New Caledonia (Noumea, and a nearby island resort) than I did in France. Hotel staff, people selling postcards and cold drinks in the tourist areas, and airport people all had enough English for our transactions. Shuttle and taxi drivers (including boat shuttles), people who carry luggage, and people walking past on the street generally did not.
I have Canadian high-school French. This is "please", "thankyou", plus enough to generally shop, chitchat with shuttle drivers, and say "we are not ready yet". As a result I didn't notice a language problem at all in Noumea. Anyone with whom I needed to have a more nuanced conversation than my French could handle could speak English. That is in contrast to Tahiti and the Marquesas, where not having French would have been far more of an issue, even in the airport. However if you showed up with absolutely no French at all, even in Noumea, I think you would feel lost a lot of the time.
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Is English widely spoken in New Caledonia?
French is the official language of New Caledonia however, most locals involved in the tourism industry speak English. Native Kanak languages are widely spoken throughout the regions of the country.What language does New Caledonia speak?
Relatively little English is spoken in Noum\xe9a and even less is spoken outside the capital and on the Loyalty Islands, where the percentage of the Melanesian population is much higher (the Kanaks constitute 94% of the population in the Loyalty Islands, 74% in the North Province and 27% in the South Province).Do they speak English in Noumea?
The most common greetings you'll need to know during a visit to New Caledonia are:University of New Caledonia - presentation movie
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