An Introduction
B Oh. (2015, September). Top Ten Experiences in Dili.
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Geography
Located northwest of Australia, and within southeast Asia, is Timor-Leste. The territory is made up of several islands including: the island of Timor itself, split into two regions, the islands of Pulau Atauro, and the islands of Pulau Jaco. Timor Leste, or East Timor, is a young country shaped by a history of Portuguese and Indonesian colonization. Because of these various strong cultural influences the Timorese speak a wide variety of languages.
Population
There are roughly 1,291,000 people living in East Timor, with a fifth of that population residing in East Timor's capital, Dili. The ethnic backgrounds of East Timor include Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Melanesian Papuan, and a small Chinese minority.
Language
The two official languages spoken by the Timorese are Tetum and Portugese, while English is a working language. Approximately 32 indigenous languages are spoken in East Timor. Both Tetum and Portuguese bridge the communicative and linguistic gap between communities in East Timor. English is not spoken commonly; however, there is an increase of English education in the country, meaning Timor is part of the Outer Circle.
Gerlach, Fall 2018 |