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Trans–New Guinea (TNG) is an extensive
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
Papuan languages The Papuan languages are the non- Austronesian and non- Australian languages spoken on the western Pacific island of New Guinea in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, as well as neighbouring islands, by around 4 million people. It is a strictly geogr ...
spoken on the island of
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
and neighboring islands ‒ corresponding to the country
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
as well as parts of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
. Trans–New Guinea is the third-largest language family in the world by number of languages. The core of the family is considered to be established, but its boundaries and overall membership are uncertain. The languages are spoken by around 3 million people. There have been three main proposals as to its internal classification.


History of the proposal

Although Papuan languages for the most part are poorly documented, several of the branches of Trans–New Guinea have been recognized for some time. The
Eleman languages The Eleman languages are a family spoken around Kerema Bay, Papua New Guinea. Languages and classification The five languages of Eleman proper are clearly related. They were identified as a family by Sidney Herbert Ray in 1907, and would later ...
were first proposed by S. Ray in 1907, parts of Marind were recognized by Ray and JHP Murray in 1918, and the
Rai Coast languages The Rai Coast languages are a family of languages in the Madang stock of New Guinea. Sidney Herbert Ray identified what was then known of the Rai Coast languages as a unit in 1919. They were linked with the Mabuso languages in 1951 by Arthur C ...
in 1919, again by Ray. The precursor of the Trans–New Guinea family was
Stephen Wurm Stephen Adolphe Wurm ( hu, Wurm István Adolf, ; 19 August 1922 – 24 October 2001) was a Hungarian-born Australian linguist. Early life Wurm was born in Budapest, the second child to the German-speaking Adolphe Wurm and the Hungarian-sp ...
's 1960 proposal of an East New Guinea Highlands family. Although broken up by Malcolm Ross in 2005, it united different branches of what became TNG for the first time, linking Engan, Chimbu–Wahgi, Goroka, and Kainantu. (Duna and Kalam were added in 1971.) Then in 1970,
Clemens Voorhoeve Clemens Lambertus Voorhoeve (born 1930; also known as "Bert" Voorhoeve) is a Dutch linguist who specializes in Papuan languages. Education He completed his higher education in the Netherlands. He obtained his PhD in linguistics at Leiden Univers ...
and Kenneth McElhanon noted 91 lexical resemblances between the Central and South New Guinea (CSNG) and Finisterre–Huon families, which they had respectively established a few years earlier. Although they did not work out regular sound correspondences, and so could not distinguish between cognates due to genealogical relationship, cognates due to borrowing, and chance resemblances, their research was taken seriously. They chose the name ''Trans–New Guinea'' because this new family was the first to span New Guinea, from the
Bomberai Peninsula Bomberai Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Bomberai), otherwise known as the Bird's Beak Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Paruh Burung), is located in the Western New Guinea region, opposite to and to the south of the Bird's Head Peninsula. To the west lies ...
of western West Irian to the
Huon Peninsula Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finisterr ...
of eastern PNG. They also noted possible cognates in other families Wurm would later add to TNG: Wurm's East New Guinea Highlands, Binandere in the ' Bird's Tail' of PNG, and two families that
John Z'graggen John Z'graggen (born Hans Anton Z'graggen on 24 June 1932 in Schattdorf, Canton of Uri, Switzerland; died 20 May 2013 in Menzingen, Switzerland) was a Swiss Roman Catholic priest, missionary, linguist, and anthropologist known for his extensive wo ...
would later (1971, 1975) unite in his 100-language Madang–Adelbert Range family. In 1975, Wurm accepted Voorhoeve and McElhanon's suspicions about further connections, as well as Z'graggen's work, and postulated additional links to, among others, the languages of the island of
Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, ...
to the west of New Guinea, Angan, Goilalan, Koiarian, Dagan, Eleman, Wissel Lakes, the erstwhile Dani-Kwerba family, and the erstwhile Trans-Fly–Bulaka River family (which he had established in 1970), expanding TNG into an enormous language phylum that covered most of the island of New Guinea, as well as Timor and neighboring islands, and included over 500 languages spoken by some 2,300,000 people. However, part of the evidence for this was typological, and Wurm stated that he did not expect it to stand up well to scrutiny. Although he based the phylum on characteristic
personal pronoun Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (as ''I''), second person (as ''you''), or third person (as ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', ''they''). Personal pronouns may also take dif ...
s, several of the branches had no pronouns in common with the rest of the family, or even had pronouns related to non-TNG families, but were included because they were grammatically similar to TNG. Other families that had typical TNG pronouns were excluded because they did not resemble other TNG families in their grammatical structure. Because grammatical typology is readily borrowed—many of the Austronesian languages in New Guinea have grammatical structures similar to their Papuan neighbors, for example, and conversely many Papuan languages resemble typical Austronesian languages typologically—other linguists were skeptical. William A. Foley rejected Wurm's and even some of Voorhoeve's results, and he broke much of TNG into its constituent parts: several dozen small but clearly valid families, plus a number of apparent isolates. In 2005, Malcolm Ross published a draft proposal re-evaluating Trans–New Guinea, and found what he believed to be overwhelming evidence for a reduced version of the phylum, based solely on lexical resemblances, which retained as much as 85% of Wurm's hypothesis, though some of it tentatively. The strongest lexical evidence for any language family is shared morphological paradigms, especially highly irregular or suppletive paradigms with bound morphology, because these are extremely resistant to borrowing. For example, if the only recorded German words were ''gut'' "good" and ''besser'' "better", that alone would be enough to demonstrate that in all probability German was related to English. However, because of the great morphological complexity of many Papuan languages, and the poor state of documentation of nearly all, in New Guinea this approach is essentially restricted to comparing
pronoun In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun ( abbreviated ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not ...
s. Ross reconstructed pronouns sets for Foley's basic families and compared these reconstructions, rather than using a direct mass comparison of all Papuan languages; attempted to then reconstruct the ancestral pronouns of the proto-Trans–New Guinea language, such as ''*ni'' "we", ''*ŋgi'' "you", ''*i'' "they"; and then compared poorly supported branches directly to this reconstruction. Families required two apparent cognates to be included. However, if any language in a family was a match, the family was considered a match, greatly increasing the likelihood of coincidental resemblances, and because the plural forms are related to the singular forms, a match of 1sg and 1pl, although satisfying Ross's requirement of two matches, is not actually two independent matches, again increasing the likelihood of spurious matches. In addition, Ross counted forms like *a as a match to 2sg *ga, so that all counted as matches to *ga. And although and occur in Papuan pronouns at twice the level expected by their occurrence in pronouns elsewhere in the world, they do not correlate with each other as they would if they reflected a language family. That is, it is argued that Ross's pronouns do not support the validity of Trans–New Guinea, and do not reveal which families might belong to it.Harald Hammarström (2012) "Pronouns and the (Preliminary) Classification of Papuan languages", ''Journal of the Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea'' Ross also included in his proposal several better-attested families for non-pronominal evidence, despite a lack of pronouns common to other branches of TNG, and he suggested that there may be other families that would have been included if they had been better attested. Several additional families are only tentatively linked to TNG. Because the boundaries of Ross's proposal are based primarily on a single parameter, the pronouns, all internal structure remains tentative.


The languages

Most TNG languages are spoken by only a few thousand people, with only seven ( Melpa, Kuman, Enga, Huli, Western Dani, Makasae, and Ekari) being spoken by more than 100,000. The most populous language outside of mainland New Guinea is Makasae of
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...
, with 100,000 speakers throughout the eastern part of the country. Enga is the most populous Trans-New Guinea language spoken in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
, with more than 200,000 speakers. Golin, Sinasina, Mid Grand Valley Dani, Kamano, and Bunaq have between 50,000 and 100,000 speakers ( Galela of
Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island. Ha ...
, usually not classified as Trans-New Guinea, also has between 50,000 and 100,000 speakers.) All other Trans–New Guinea languages have fewer than 50,000 speakers. The greatest linguistic diversity in Ross's Trans–New Guinea proposal, and therefore perhaps the location of the proto-Trans–New Guinea homeland, is in the interior highlands of Papua New Guinea, in the central-to-eastern New Guinea cordillera where Wurm first posited his East New Guinea Highlands family. Indonesian Papua and the
Papuan Peninsula The Papuan Peninsula, also known as the Bird's Tail Peninsula, is a large peninsula in Papua New Guinea, southeast of the city of Lae, that makes up the southeastern portion of the island of New Guinea. The peninsula is the easternmost extent of th ...
of Papua New Guinea (the "bird's tail") have fewer and more widely extended branches of TNG, and were therefore likely settled by TNG speakers after the
proto-language In the tree model of historical linguistics, a proto-language is a postulated ancestral language from which a number of attested languages are believed to have descended by evolution, forming a language family. Proto-languages are usually unattes ...
broke up. Ross speculates that the TNG family may have spread with the high population densities that resulted from the domestication of
taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...
, settling quickly in the highland valleys along the length of the cordillera but spreading much more slowly into the
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
l lowlands, and not at all into areas such as the
Sepik River The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...
valley where the people already had yam agriculture, which thus supported high population densities. Ross suggests that TNG may have arrived at its western limit, the islands near
Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, ...
, perhaps four to 4.5 thousand years ago, before the expansion of Austronesian into this area.
Roger Blench Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and is based in Cambridge, England. He researches, publishes, and w ...
associates the spread of Trans–New Guinea languages with the domestication of the
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...
.Roger Blench (2017) "Things your classics master never told you: a borrowing from Trans New Guinea languages into Latin", ''McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research''


Classification


Wurm (1975)

The classification here follows Wurm and includes some later modifications to his 1975 proposal. Wurm identifies the subdivisions of his Papuan classification as ''families'' (on the order of relatedness of the
Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, ...
), ''stocks'' (on the order of the
Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, D ...
), and ''phyla'' (on the order of the Nostratic hypothesis). Trans-New Guinea is a phylum in this terminology. A language that is not related to any other at a ''family'' level or below is called an isolate in this scheme. ('Family-level' groups are listed in boldface) *
Oksapmin Oksapmin is a Trans–New Guinea language spoken in Oksapmin Rural LLG, Telefomin District, Sandaun, Papua New Guinea. The two principal dialects are distinct enough to cause some problems with mutual intelligibility. Oksapmin has dyadic ki ...
isolate * Morwap (Elseng) isolate * Molof isolate * Usku isolate * Tofamna isolate * Eleman stock ** Purari isolate ** Kaki Ae (Tate) isolate ** Eastern Eleman family: Toaripi, Tairuma ** Western Eleman family: Opao, Orokolo, Keuru) * Inland Gulf family ** Ipiko language ** Minanibai branch: Minanibai, Tao, Mubami, Karami, Mahigi * Kaure stock ** Kapori isolate ** Kaure family: Kaure, Kosadle, Narau * Kopolom family: Kimaama (Kimaghana), Riantana, Ndom * Nimboran family: Gresi, Mlap, Kemtuik, Mekwei, Nimboran * Mek family ** Western branch:
Ketengban Ketengban, also known as ''Kupel'', is a Papuan language of West Papua, near the Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( ...
, Sirkai, Kinome ** Eastern branch:
Una Una and UNA may refer to: Places * 160 Una, the asteroid "Una", an asteroid named after the Faerie Queene character * Una River (disambiguation), numerous rivers * Una, Himachal Pradesh, a town in India ** Una, Himachal Pradesh Assembly constit ...
(Goliath), Eipomek, Kosarek Yale, Korupun,
Dagi Dagi was an ancient Egyptian vizier during the reign of pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty. Dagi is mainly known from his tomb in Western Thebes ( TT103), which was once decorated with paintings and reliefs. From the reliefs only smal ...
, Sisibna, Deibula, Sela, Nalca, Nipsan * Northern TNG subphylum ** Border stock *** Waris family: Waris, Manem, Senggi, Punda-Umeda, Waina, Daonda, Auwe (Simog), Amanab *** Taikat family: Awyi, Taikat *** Bewani family: Ainbai,
Umeda is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field". History Umeda was historical ...
, Kilmeri, Ningera, Pagi ** Tor stock *** Sause isolate (classification uncertain) *** Mawes isolate *** Orya isolate *** Tor family: Berike, Bonerif, Dabe, Mander, Itik, Keder, Kwesten, Maremgi, Wares * Pauwasi stock ** Eastern Pauwasi family: Yafi, Emumu ** Western Pauwasi family:
Dubu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
, Towei * Senagi family: Angor,
Dera Dera, Dero, Daro, Dhoro, Dahar or Dehra is a word in several languages of South Asia, whose meaning is 'camp', 'mound' or 'settlement'. It appears in the names of a number of places. Geography India * Dera, Himachal Pradesh * Dera Bassi, Moha ...
* South Bird's Head stock (perhaps closest to the Timor-Alor-Pantar stock) ** South Bird's Head family: Barau, Weriagar (Kemberano), Arandai, Kokoda (Tarof), Kais (Kampong Baru), Puragi, Kaburi, Kasuweri ** Inanwatan family: Duriankere, Suabo (Inanwatan) ** Konda-Yahadian family: Konda, Yahadian * Timor-Alor-Pantar stock (perhaps closest to the South Bird's Head stock) ** Adabe isolate ** Bunak isolate ** Fataluku isolate ** Kolana isolate ** Oirata isolate ** Maku'a (Lovaea) isolate ** Tanglapui family: Sawila, Kula ** Alor-Pantar (family-level clade? Some on Timor) *** Makasai isolate *** Alor branch: Kamang (Woisika), Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Kui, Kelon, *** Pantar branch: Blagar,
Tewa The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. They comprise the following communities: * ...
, Lamma, Nedebang,
Retta Marietta Sirleaf,Jung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018
, Tereweng) * Trans-
Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...
superstock ** Pawaia isolate ** Teberan family: Dadibi, Folopa (Podopa) ** East Kutubuan family: Fiwaga, Foi * Turama-Kikorian stock ** Rumu (Kairi) isolate ** Turama-Omatian family: Omati, Ikobi,
Mena MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or ...
) * Trans Fly-Bulaka River superstock ** Bulaka River family: Yelmek, Maklew ** Trans-Fly stock *** Moraori isolate *** Kiwaian family: Northeastern Kiwai, Arigibi, Southern Kiwai, Bamu, Morigi, Kerewo, Waboda *** Tirio family: Tirio (Makayam, Aturu), Bitur (Mutum), Baramu, Were *** Eastern Trans-Fly family: Bine, Wipii (Gidra), Gizra, Meriam (in Torres Strait, Australia) *** Pahoturi family: Agöb (Dabu), Idi, Waia *** Morehead & Upper Maro Rivers family: **** Yey language **** Nambu branch: Namo (Dorro), Nambo (Nambu),
Neme Neme may refer to: * Nimis, or Neme, a town and commune in Udine, Italy * Néme, or Nima, a village in Mintiu Gherlii Mintiu Gherlii ( hu, Szamosújvárnémeti; german: Deutschendorf) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is com ...
, Namat, Nama, Nen **** Tonda branch: Blafe (Tonda), Rema, Guntai, Kunja, Arammba, Wára, Ngkâlmpw Kanum, Bädi Kanum, Sota Kanum, Smärky Kanum * Madang-Adelbert Range subphylum ** Madang superstock *** Rai Coast stock **** Evapia family: Asas, Dumpu, Kesawai, Sausi, Sinsauru **** Mindjim family: Anjam (Bom), Bongu,
Male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
, Sam (Songum) **** Kabenau family: Arawum, Kolom, Siroi, Lemio, Pulabu **** Yaganon family: Yabong, Ganglau, Dumun, Saep **** Peka family: Sop (Usino), Sumau, Urigina, Danaru **** Nuru family: Uya (Usu), Ogea (Erima), Duduela, Kwato, Rerau, Jilim, Yangulam *** Mabuso stock ****
Kare Kare or KARE may refer to: * Kare (Žitorađa), a village in Serbia * Kare language, several languages with the name * Kare (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Kare Kauks (born 1961), Estonian singer * Kåre or Ka ...
isolate **** Kokon family: Girawa, Munit, Kein (Bemal) **** Gum family: Amele, Bau, Gumalu, Isebe, Panim, Sihan **** Hanseman family: Baimak, Bagupi, Gal, Nobonob (Garuh), Garus, Mawan, Matepi, Mosimo, Murupi, Nake, Rempi, Rapting, Saruga,
Samosa A samosa () or singara is a fried Indian pastry with a savory filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions, and peas. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region. Sam ...
, Utu, Wamas,
Silopi Silopi ( ku, Silopî) is a city and district of Şırnak Province in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, close to the borders of Iraq and Syria. The majority of its people are of ethnic Kurds. The district, composed of Silopi center, thre ...
, Yoidik, Wagi (Kamba) ** Adelbert Range superstock *** Pihom-Isumrud-Mugil **** Bargam (Mugil) isolate **** Pihom stock ***** Amaimon isolate ***** Wasembo isolate ***** Kaukombaran family:
Mala Mala may refer to: Comics * Mala (Amazon), an Amazon from Wonder Woman's side of the DC Universe * Mala (Kryptonian), a villain from Superman's corner of the DC Universe Films and television * ''Mala'' (1941 film), a Bollywood drama film * , ...
(Pay), Miani (Tani), Maia (Pila, Saki) ***** Kumilan family: Bepour, Mauwake (Ulingan),
Moere Moere is a small village located within the municipality of Gistel in West Flanders, Belgium. The village gained some fame when American singer Marvin Gaye moved there for several months in the early 1980s. During his stay, the singer composed h ...
***** Numagenan family: Bilakura, Parawen, Ukuriguma,
Usan 280px, "Samguk Sagi" Book 04. Silla's Records. In 512, Usan-guk(于山國)was Ulleungdo(鬱陵島) Usan-guk, or the State of Usan, occupied Ulleung-do and the adjacent islands during the Korean Three Kingdoms period. According to th ...
(Wanuma), Yaben, Yarawata ***** Omosan family:
Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
(Abasakur),
Kobol "Kobol's Last Gleaming" is the two-part first-season finale of the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series. In the first part, the human fleet discovers the abandoned planet Kobol, the mythical birthplace of humanity, who left here ...
(Koguman) ***** Tiboran family: Kowaki, Mawak, Musar, Pamosu (Hinihon), Wanambre **** Isumrud stock ***** Dimir isolate ***** Kowan family: Korak, Waskia ***** Mabuan family: Malas, Brem (Bunabun) *** Josephstaal-Wanang **** Josephstaal stock *****
Osum The Osum is a river in southern Albania, one of the source rivers of the Seman. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Its source is in the southwestern part of the Korçë County, near the village Vithkuq at an altitu ...
(Utarmbung) isolate ***** Wadaginam isolate ***** Sikan family: Mum (Katiati), Sileibi ***** Pomoikan family: Anam (Pondoma), Anamgura (Ikundun), Moresada **** Wanang stock ***** Paynamar isolate ***** Atan family: Atemble, Nend (Angaua) ***** Emuan family: Apali (Emerum), Musak ***
Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
family: Biyom, Faita, Isabi, Tauya * Main Section: ** Eastern TNG subphylum *** Binanderean stock **** Guhu-Semane isolate **** Binandere family: Ambasi, Aeka, Binandere, Baruga, Doghoro, Ewage (Notu), Gaina, Hunjara, Korafe, Mawae, Orokaiva, Suena, Yega, Yekora, Zia *** Coral Sea Coast stock **** Dagan family: Daga, Ginuman, Dima (Jimajima), Mapena, Maiwa, Onjob, Kanasi (Sona), Turaka, Umanakaina (Gwedena) **** Goilalan family: Fuyug, Tauade,
Biangai The Biangai people are an ethnic group living on the slopes of the upper Bulolo valley The Bulolo Valley is a geographical area in Bulolo District, Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The prov ...
- Kunimaipa- Weri **** Koiarian family ***** Koiaric branch: Grass Koiari, Mountain Koiari, Koitabu ***** Baraic branch: Barai, Ese (Managalasi), Namiae, Ömie **** Kwalean family: Humene, Uare (Kwale), Mulaha **** Manubaran family: Doromu, Maria **** Mailuan family: Bauwaki, Binahari,
Domu Xen (pronounced ) is a type-1 hypervisor, providing services that allow multiple computer operating systems to execute on the same computer hardware concurrently. It was originally developed by the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory an ...
, Laua, Mailu (Magi), Morawa **** Yareban family: Aneme Wake (Abia), Bariji, Moikodi (Doriri), Nawaru (Sirio), Yareba ** Piawi family: Hagahai (Pinai), Haruai (Waibuk) ** Central and Western TNG subphylum *** Dem isolate *** Mor isolate *** Gogodala-Suki stock **** Suki isolate **** Gogodala family: Gogodala, Ari, Waruna *** Kayagar family: Atohwaim (Kaugat), Kayagar (Kaygir), Tamagario *** Mairasi-Tanahmerah stock **** Tanahmerah isolate **** Mairasi family: Semimi, Mer, Mairasi, Northeastern Mairasi *** West Bomberai stock **** Karas isolate **** West Bomberai family: Baham, Iha ***Sentani family: Demta, Sentani proper: Sentani, Nafri,
Tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...
(Tanah Merah2) *** Wissel Lakes-Kemandoga stock **** Damal (Uhunduni) isolate **** Ekagi family: Wolani, Moni, Ekari, Auye, Dao *** Marind stock **** Boazi family: Kuni-Boazi, Zimakani **** Marind family: Bian Marind, Marind **** Yaqay family: Warkay-Bipim, Yaqay *** Angan family: **** Angaatiha language **** Angan proper: Simbari, Baruya, Safeyoka, Susuami, Tainae (Ivori), Hamtai, Kawacha, Kamasa, Menya, Akoye (Lohiki), Yagwoia *** Dani-Kwerba stock **** Lowlands (north; Kwerba-Massep) ***** Isirawa (Saberi) isolate ***** Massep isolate ***** Samarokena isolate ***** Kwerba family: Airoran, Bagusa, Kwerba (Sasawa), Trimuris, Kauwera, Kwerba Mamberamo **** Highlands (south; Dani-Ngalik) ***** Wano isolate ***** Dani family: Hupla, Nggem, Walak, Upper Grand Valley Dani, Lower Grand Valley Dani, Mid Grand Valley Dani, Western Dani ***** Ngalik family: Nduga, Silimo, Ninia Yali, Pass Valley Ninia, Angguruk Ninia *** Finisterre-Huon stock
''(note: classification levels needed)'' **** Huon ***** Kovai ***** Eastern Huon: Dedua, Kube, Kâte, Borong (Kosorong), Mape, Migabac, Momare, Sene ***** Western Huon: Burum (Mindik), Kinalakna,
Komba Komba is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Komba Claudius Gbamanja, Sierra Leonean politician from the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party *Samuel Komba Kambo, retired captain in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces *Komb ...
, Kumokio, Mese, Nabak, Nomu,
Ono ONO, Ono or Ōno may refer to: Places Fiji * Ono Island (Fiji) Israel * Kiryat Ono * Ono, Benjamin, ancient site Italy * Ono San Pietro Ivory Coast * Ono, Ivory Coast, a village in Comoé District Japan * Ōno Castle, Fukuoka * ...
, Sialum, Selepet, Timbe, Tobo **** Finisterre ***** Abaga ***** Erap: Finongan, Gusan, Mamaa, Munkip, Nakama, Nimi, Nuk,
Nek Filippo Neviani (born 6 January 1972), known by his stage name Nek, is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. Nek is popular in Italy and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and has performed and released most of his albums in both Italian ...
, Numanggang, Sauk, Uri ***** Gusap-Mot:
Madi Madi may refer to: Places * Madi, Chitwan, a municipality in Chitwan District in Nepal * Madi Municipality, Sankhuwasabha, a municipality in Sankhuwasabha District in Nepal * Madi Rural Municipality, Rolpa, a rural municipality in Rolpa Distric ...
(Gira), Iyo (Nahu), Neko, Nekgini, Ngaing, Rawa, Ufim ***** Uruwa: Nukna (Komutu), Sakam, Som, Weliki, Yau ***** Wantoat: Awara, Tuma-Irumu, Wantoat (Yagawak, Bam) ***** Warup: Asaro'o (Morafa), Bulgebi, Degenan, Forak, Guya (Guiarak), Gwahatike (Dahating), Muratayak (Asat), Yagomi ***** Yupna: Bonkiman, Domung, Gabutamon, Ma (Mebu), Nankina, Yopno (Kewieng, Wandabong, Nokopo, Isan) *** East New Guinea Highlands stock **** Wiru isolate **** Kenati isolate **** Kalam family: Gants,
Kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
- Kobon, Tai **** Eastern (Kainantu) family ***** Owenia language ***** Kambaira language ***** Tairora branch: Binumarien, South Tairoa, North Tairoa, Waffa ***** Gapsup branch:
Agarabi Agarabi, also called Bare, is a Kainantu language spoken in Agarabi Rural LLG, Eastern Highlands Province Eastern Highlands is a highlands province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Goroka. The province covers an area of 11,157&nbs ...
, Awiyaana, Awa, Gadsup, Kosena, Ontenu, Usarufa **** Central family ***** Chimbu branch: Chuave, Dom, Golin, Kuman, Nomane, Salt-Yui, Sinasina ***** Hagen branch ****** Melpa (Medlpa) language ****** Kaugel languages: Imbongu, Mbo-Ung,
Umbu-Ungu Kaugel (Gawigl) is one of the languages spoken in the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea. Native speakers call the area on the Southern Highlands side of the Kaugel River from the Western Highlands province home. Dialects are Aua ...
***** Jimi branch: Maring, Narak, Kandawo ***** Wahgi branch: Nii, Wahgi, North Wahgi **** East-Central (Goroka) family ***** Gende language ***** Fore branch: Fore, Gimi ***** Gahuku branch: Dano (Upper Asaro), Benabena, Alekano (Gahuku), Tokano (Lower Asaro) ***** Siane branch: Siane, Yaweyuha ***** Kamono-Yagaria branch: Kamono, Inoke-Yate, Kanite, Keyagana, Yagaria **** West-Central family *****
Huli language Huli is a Tari language spoken by the Huli people of the Hela Province of Papua New Guinea. It has a pentadecimal (base-15) numeral system: means 15, means 15×2 = 30, and means 15×15 = 225. Huli has a pandanus language called (bush di ...
***** Enga branch: Enga, Nete, Ipili, Lembena, Bisorio ***** Angal-Kewa branch: Kyaka, Angal, Angal Heneng (Katinja), Angal Enen, Samberigi (Sau), West Kewa, East Kewa, Erave *** Central and South New Guinea-Kutubuan superstock ****
Fasu Fasu, also known as Namo Me, is one of the Kutubuan languages of New Guinea. Varieties Wurm and Hattori (1981) considered its three principal dialects, Fasu, Some and Namumi, to be three languages, which they called the West Kutubuan family. Ho ...
isolate **** Central and South New Guinea stock (Central Highlands & Arafura Coast) ***** Komyandaret language (unclassified) ***** Asmat-Kamoro family: Casuarina Coast Asmat, Yaosakor Asmat, Central Asmat, North Asmat, Buruwai (Asienara), Citak, Tamnim Citak, Diuwe, Kamberau (Iria), Kamoro, Sempan ***** Awin-Pa family: Aekyowm (Awin), Kamula,
Pare Pare may refer to: People with the name * Emmett Paré (1907-1973), tennis player * Pare, former member of Kotak, an Indonesian band * Pare Lorentz (1905-1992), American film director * Richard Pare (born 1948), English photographer * Paré, a ...
(Pa) ***** Awyu-Dumut family: ****** Sawi (Sawuy) language ****** Awyu branch: Aghu- Tsakwambo (Kotogut), South Awyu (Siagha), Central Awyu, Jair Awyu, Edera Awyu, Asue Awyu (Pisa), North Awyu ****** Dumut branch: Atas Mandobo (Kaeti), Bawah Mandobo, Kombai, Wambon, Wanggom ****** unclassified: Korowai, North Korowai, Ketum ***** Bosavi family: Aimele (Kware), Kaluli, Beami, Dibiyaso (Bainapi), Edolo, Kasua, Onobasulu,
Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...
***** Duna-Bogaya family: Bogaya, Duna ***** East Strickland family: Fembe (Agala), Gobasi (Nomad),
Kubo Kubo or KUBO may refer to: * Kubo (surname) * Kubo gap, the average spacing between consecutive energy levels * Kantō kubō, the ruler of the Kantō region during the early Muromachi period in Japan * Lit Kubo, a proposed electric cargo scooter ...
, Odoodee (Tomu), Konai,
Samo Samo (–) founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire (''realm'', ''kingdom'', or ''tribal union''), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovakia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to ...
***** Mombum family: Koneraw, Mombum ***** Momuna family: Momina, Momuna (Somahai) ***** Ok family ****** Tangko language ****** Western branch: Burumakok, Kwer, Kopkaka ****** Lowland branch: Iwur, North Muyu (Northern Kati), South Muyu (Southern Kati), Ninggerum,
Yonggom Yonggom is one of the Ok languages of West Papua and Papua New Guinea. It is very close to North Muyu, which is also called 'Yonggom'. Phonology Consonants * /b, d/ can become fricatives �, ðintervocalically in fast speech. * /k/ can ...
****** Mountain branch: Bimin, Faiwol, Kauwol, Mian, Nakai, Setaman, Suganga, Ngalum, Tifal, Telefol, Urapmin


Foley (2003)

As of 2003, William A. Foley accepted the core of TNG: "The fact, for example, that a great swath of languages in New Guinea from the Huon Peninsula to the highlands of Irian Jaya mark the object of a transitive verb with a set of verbal prefixes, a first person singular in /n/ and second person singular in a velar stop, is overwhelming evidence that these languages are all genetically related; the likelihood of such a system being borrowed vanishingly small." He considered the relationship between the Finisterre–Huon, Eastern Highlands (Kainantu–Gorokan), and Irian Highlands (Dani – Paniai Lakes) families (and presumably some other smaller ones) to be established, and he said that it is "highly likely" that the Madang family belongs as well. He considered it possible, but not yet demonstrated, that the Enga, Chimbu, Binandere, Angan, Ok, Awyu, Asmat (perhaps closest to Ok and Awyu), Mek, Sentani, and the seven small language families of the tail of Papua New Guinea (Koiarian, Goilalan, etc., which he maintains have not been shown to be closely related to each other) may belong to TNG as well.


Ross (2005)

Ross does not use specialized terms for different levels of classification as
Donald Laycock Donald Laycock (1936–1988) was an Australian linguist and anthropologist. He is best remembered for his work on the languages of Papua New Guinea. Biography He was a graduate of University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and later ...
and
Stephen Wurm Stephen Adolphe Wurm ( hu, Wurm István Adolf, ; 19 August 1922 – 24 October 2001) was a Hungarian-born Australian linguist. Early life Wurm was born in Budapest, the second child to the German-speaking Adolphe Wurm and the Hungarian-sp ...
did. In the list given here, the uncontroversial families that are accepted by Foley and other Papuanists and that are the building blocks of Ross's TNG are printed in boldface. Language isolates are printed in ''italics''. Ross removed about 100 languages from Wurm's proposal, and only tentatively retained a few dozen more, but in one instance he added a language, the isolate Porome. Ross did not have sufficient evidence to classify all Papuan groups. In addition, the classification is based on a single feature – shared pronouns, especially 1sg and 2sg – and thus is subject to false positives as well as to missing branches that have undergone significant sound changes, since he does not have the data to establish regular sound correspondences. ;Unclassified Wurmian languages Although Ross based his classification on pronoun systems, many languages in New Guinea are too poorly documented for even this to work. Thus there are several isolates that were placed in TNG by Wurm but that cannot be addressed by Ross's classification. A few of them (Komyandaret, Samarokena, and maybe Kenati) have since been assigned to existing branches (or ex-branches) of TNG, whereas others (Massep, Momuna) continue to defy classification. * '' Kenati'' (→
Kainantu Kainantu is a town in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It had some historical significance as an airstrip town during WWII. It functions primarily as a market town for local produce growers and cash croppers. It is located on the "High ...
?) * '' Komyandaret'' (→ Greater Awyu) * '' Massep'' isolate * '' Molof'' isolate * Momuna family (2) * '' Samarokena'' (→ Kwerba) * '' Tofamna'' isolate * '' Usku'' isolate ;Reclassified Wurmian languages Ross removed 95 languages from TNG. These are small families with no pronouns in common with TNG languages, but that are typologically similar, perhaps due to long periods of contact with TNG languages. * Border and Morwap (Elseng), as an independent
Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...
family (15 languages) * '' Isirawa (Saberi),'' as a language isolate (though classified as Kwerba by Clouse, Donohue & Ma 2002) * Lakes Plain, as an independent Lakes Plain family (19) * Mairasi, as an independent Mairasi family (4) * Nimboran, as an independent Nimboran family (5) * Piawi, as an independent Piawi family (2) * Senagi, as an independent Senagi family (2) * Sentani (4 languages), within an East Bird's Head – Sentani family * Tor and Kwerba, joined as a Tor–Kwerba family (17) * Trans-Fly – Bulaka River is broken into five groups: three remaining (tentatively) in TNG (Kiwaian, Moraori, Tirio), plus the independent South-Central Papuan and Eastern Trans-Fly families (22 and 4 languages). * West Trans–New Guinea linkage ? _suspected_old_ _suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages.html" ;"title="dialect_continuum.html" ;"title="dialect_continuum.html" ;"title=" suspected old
_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar_families_(22) ***_ _suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar_families_(22) ***_West_Bomberai_languages">West_Bomberai_ The_West_Bomberai_languages_are_a_family_of_Papuan_languages_spoken_on_the_Bomberai_Peninsula_of_western_New_Guinea_and_in_East_Timor_and_neighboring_islands_of_Indonesia. _Languages Two_of_the_languages_of_the_mainland,_Baham_and_Iha,_are_clos_...
_family_(2) **_ _suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar_families_(22) ***_West_Bomberai_languages">West_Bomberai_ The_West_Bomberai_languages_are_a_family_of_Papuan_languages_spoken_on_the_Bomberai_Peninsula_of_western_New_Guinea_and_in_East_Timor_and_neighboring_islands_of_Indonesia. _Languages Two_of_the_languages_of_the_mainland,_Baham_and_Iha,_are_clos_...
_family_(2) **_Paniai_Lakes_languages">Paniai_Lakes_(Wissel_Lakes)_family_(5) **_
_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar_families_(22) ***_West_Bomberai_languages">West_Bomberai_ The_West_Bomberai_languages_are_a_family_of_Papuan_languages_spoken_on_the_Bomberai_Peninsula_of_western_New_Guinea_and_in_East_Timor_and_neighboring_islands_of_Indonesia. _Languages Two_of_the_languages_of_the_mainland,_Baham_and_Iha,_are_clos_...
_family_(2) **_Paniai_Lakes_languages">Paniai_Lakes_(Wissel_Lakes)_family_(5) **_Dani_languages">Dani_family_(13) *_ _suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar_families_(22) ***_West_Bomberai_languages">West_Bomberai_ The_West_Bomberai_languages_are_a_family_of_Papuan_languages_spoken_on_the_Bomberai_Peninsula_of_western_New_Guinea_and_in_East_Timor_and_neighboring_islands_of_Indonesia. _Languages Two_of_the_languages_of_the_mainland,_Baham_and_Iha,_are_clos_...
_family_(2) **_Paniai_Lakes_languages">Paniai_Lakes_(Wissel_Lakes)_family_(5) **_Dani_languages">Dani_family_(13) *_South_Bird's_Head_languages">South_Bird's_Head_ The_South_Bird's_Head_or_South_Doberai_languages_are_three_families_of_Papuan_languages._They_form_part_of_the_Trans–New_Guinea_languages_in_the_classifications_of__Malcolm_Ross_(2005)_and_Timothy_Usher_(2020),_though_Pawley_and_Hammarström_(2_...
_(South_Doberai)_family_(12) *_'' _suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar_families_(22) ***_West_Bomberai_languages">West_Bomberai_ The_West_Bomberai_languages_are_a_family_of_Papuan_languages_spoken_on_the_Bomberai_Peninsula_of_western_New_Guinea_and_in_East_Timor_and_neighboring_islands_of_Indonesia. _Languages Two_of_the_languages_of_the_mainland,_Baham_and_Iha,_are_clos_...
_family_(2) **_Paniai_Lakes_languages">Paniai_Lakes_(Wissel_Lakes)_family_(5) **_Dani_languages">Dani_family_(13) *_South_Bird's_Head_languages">South_Bird's_Head_ The_South_Bird's_Head_or_South_Doberai_languages_are_three_families_of_Papuan_languages._They_form_part_of_the_Trans–New_Guinea_languages_in_the_classifications_of__Malcolm_Ross_(2005)_and_Timothy_Usher_(2020),_though_Pawley_and_Hammarström_(2_...
_(South_Doberai)_family_(12) *_''Sumeri_language">Tanah_Merah_(Sumeri)''_isolate *_''_Mor''_isolate *_''_Dem''_isolate *_'' _suspected_old_dialect_continuum">dialect_continuum.html"_;"title="_suspected_old_dialect_continuum">_suspected_old_dialect_continuum**West_Bomberai_–_Timor–Alor–Pantar ***_Timor–Alor–Pantar_languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar_families_(22) ***_West_Bomberai_languages">West_Bomberai_ The_West_Bomberai_languages_are_a_family_of_Papuan_languages_spoken_on_the_Bomberai_Peninsula_of_western_New_Guinea_and_in_East_Timor_and_neighboring_islands_of_Indonesia. _Languages Two_of_the_languages_of_the_mainland,_Baham_and_Iha,_are_clos_...
_family_(2) **_Paniai_Lakes_languages">Paniai_Lakes_(Wissel_Lakes)_family_(5) **_Dani_languages">Dani_family_(13) *_South_Bird's_Head_languages">South_Bird's_Head_ The_South_Bird's_Head_or_South_Doberai_languages_are_three_families_of_Papuan_languages._They_form_part_of_the_Trans–New_Guinea_languages_in_the_classifications_of__Malcolm_Ross_(2005)_and_Timothy_Usher_(2020),_though_Pawley_and_Hammarström_(2_...
_(South_Doberai)_family_(12) *_''Sumeri_language">Tanah_Merah_(Sumeri)''_isolate *_''_Mor''_isolate *_''_Dem''_isolate *_''Amung_language">Uhunduni''_(''Damal,_Amungme'')_isolate *_Mek_languages.html" ;"title="Amung_language.html" ;"title="Sumeri_language.html" ;"title="South_Bird's_Head_languages.html" "title="Dani_languages.html" ;"title="Paniai_Lakes_languages.html" ;"title="West_Bomberai_languages.html" "title="dialect continuum"> suspected old dialect continuum">dialect_continuum.html" ;"title=" suspected old dialect continuum"> suspected old dialect continuum**West Bomberai – Timor–Alor–Pantar *** Timor–Alor–Pantar languages">Timor–Alor–Pantar families (22) *** West Bomberai languages">West Bomberai The West Bomberai languages are a family of Papuan languages spoken on the Bomberai Peninsula of western New Guinea and in East Timor and neighboring islands of Indonesia. Languages Two of the languages of the mainland, Baham and Iha, are clos ...
family (2) ** Paniai Lakes languages">Paniai Lakes (Wissel Lakes) family (5) ** Dani languages">Dani family (13) * South Bird's Head languages">South Bird's Head The South Bird's Head or South Doberai languages are three families of Papuan languages. They form part of the Trans–New Guinea languages in the classifications of Malcolm Ross (2005) and Timothy Usher (2020), though Pawley and Hammarström (2 ...
(South Doberai) family (12) * ''Sumeri language">Tanah Merah (Sumeri)'' isolate * '' Mor'' isolate * '' Dem'' isolate * ''Amung language">Uhunduni'' (''Damal, Amungme'') isolate * Mek languages">Mek family (13) * ? Kaure–Kapori (4) [Inclusion in TNG tentative. No pronouns can be reconstructed from the available data.] ** '' Kapori'' isolate ** Kaure family (3) * ? Pauwasi family (4) Karkar,_which_is_well_attested_and_not_TNG.html" ;"title="Karkar_language.html" ;"title="nclusion in TNG tentative. No pronouns can be reconstructed from the available data. Since linked to Karkar,_which_is_well_attested_and_not_TNG">Karkar_language.html"_;"title="nclusion_in_TNG_tentative._No_pronouns_can_be_reconstructed_from_the_available_data._Since_linked_to_Karkar_language">Karkar,_which_is_well_attested_and_not_TNG*_ Karkar,_which_is_well_attested_and_not_TNG">Karkar_language.html"_;"title="nclusion_in_TNG_tentative._No_pronouns_can_be_reconstructed_from_the_available_data._Since_linked_to_Karkar_language">Karkar,_which_is_well_attested_and_not_TNG*_Kayagar_languages">Kayagar_family_(3) *_Kolopom_languages.html" ;"title="Kayagar_languages.html" ;"title="Karkar language">Karkar, which is well attested and not TNG">Karkar_language.html" ;"title="nclusion in TNG tentative. No pronouns can be reconstructed from the available data. Since linked to Karkar language">Karkar, which is well attested and not TNG* Kayagar languages">Kayagar family (3) * Kolopom languages">Kolopom family (3) * '' Moraori'' isolate * ? Kiwai–Porome (8) [TNG identity of pronouns suspect] ** Kiwaian family (7) ** '' Porome (Kibiri)'' isolate * Marind family (6) * Central and South New Guinea ? (49, reduced) art of the original TNG proposal. Not clear if these four families form a single branch of TNG. Voorhoeve argues independently for an Awyu–Ok relationship.** Asmat–Kamoro family (11) ** Awyu–Dumut family (8–16) ** Mombum family (2) ** Ok family (20) * ''
Oksapmin Oksapmin is a Trans–New Guinea language spoken in Oksapmin Rural LLG, Telefomin District, Sandaun, Papua New Guinea. The two principal dialects are distinct enough to cause some problems with mutual intelligibility. Oksapmin has dyadic ki ...
'' isolate ow linked to the Ok family* Gogodala–Suki family (4) * Tirio family (4) * Eleman family (7) * Inland Gulf family (6) * Turama–Kikorian family (4) * ? Teberan family nclusion in TNG tentative(2) * ? '' Pawaia'' isolate as proto-TNG vocabulary, but inclusion questionable* Angan family (12) * ? ''
Fasu Fasu, also known as Namo Me, is one of the Kutubuan languages of New Guinea. Varieties Wurm and Hattori (1981) considered its three principal dialects, Fasu, Some and Namumi, to be three languages, which they called the West Kutubuan family. Ho ...
(West Kutubuan)'' family (1–3) as proto-TNG vocabulary, but inclusion somewhat questionable* ? East Kutubuan family (2) as proto-TNG vocabulary, but inclusion somewhat questionable* Duna–Pogaya family (2) * Awin–Pa family (2) * East Strickland family (6) * Bosavi family (8) * '' Kamula'' isolate * Engan family (9) * '' Wiru'' isolate (lexical similarities with Engan) * Chimbu–Wahgi family (17) * Kainantu–Goroka (22) lso known as East Highlands; first noticed by Capell 1948**
Goroka Goroka is the capital of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It is a town of approximately 19,000 people (2000), above sea level. It has an airport (in the centre of town) and is on the "Highlands Highway", about 285 km from ...
family (14) **
Kainantu Kainantu is a town in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It had some historical significance as an airstrip town during WWII. It functions primarily as a market town for local produce growers and cash croppers. It is located on the "High ...
family (8) * Madang (103) ** Southern Adelbert Range–Kowan *** Kowan family (2) *** Southern Adelbert Range **** Josephstaal (7) ***** ''
Osum The Osum is a river in southern Albania, one of the source rivers of the Seman. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Its source is in the southwestern part of the Korçë County, near the village Vithkuq at an altitu ...
(Utarmbung)'' isolate ***** '' Wadaginam'' isolate ***** Sikan family (2) ***** Pomoikan family (3) **** Wanang (5) ***** '' Paynamar'' isolate *****
Atan Atan may refer to: Places * Atan, Armenia * Atan, Iran People * Atan Shansonga (born 1955), Zambian diplomat * Çağdaş Atan, Turkish footballer * Cem Atan, Turkish footballer Other * Attan, a Pashtun and Afghan traditional dance * arctang ...
family (2) ***** Emuan family (2) **** '' Faita'' isolate ** Rai Coast–Kalam ***
Rai Coast Rai Coast District is a district in the southeast of Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. It is one of the six districts that of the Madang Province. The District has four local level government (LLG) areas namely; Astrolabe Bay, Nahu Rawa, (Nanki ...
family (31) ***
Kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
family (4; perhaps part of Rai Coast) ** Croisilles linkage *** Dimir-Malas (2) *** Kaukombar (4) *** Kumil (5) *** Tibor-Omosa (6) *** '' Amaimon'' isolate ***Numugen-Mabuso **** Numugen family (6) **** Mabuso family (29) * Finisterre–Huon (62) suppletive_per_the_person_and_number_of_the_object..html" ;"title="suppletion.html" ;"title="art of the original TNG proposal. Has verbs that are suppletive_per_the_person_and_number_of_the_object.">suppletion.html"_;"title="art_of_the_original_TNG_proposal._Has_verbs_that_are_suppletion">suppletive_per_the_person_and_number_of_the_object.**_ suppletive_per_the_person_and_number_of_the_object.">suppletion.html"_;"title="art_of_the_original_TNG_proposal._Has_verbs_that_are_suppletion">suppletive_per_the_person_and_number_of_the_object.**_Finisterre_languages">Finisterre_family_(41) **_Huon_languages.html" ;"title="Finisterre_languages.html" ;"title="suppletion">suppletive per the person and number of the object.">suppletion.html" ;"title="art of the original TNG proposal. Has verbs that are suppletion">suppletive per the person and number of the object.** Finisterre languages">Finisterre family (41) ** Huon languages">Huon family (21) * ? Goilalan family (6) [inclusion in TNG tentative] * Southeast Papuan (Bird's Tail) ? [these families have not been demonstrated to be related to each other, but have in common ''ya'' for 'you[plural]' instead of proto-TNG ''*gi''] ** Koiarian family (7) ** Kwalean family (3) ** Manubaran family (2) ** Yareban family (5) ** Mailuan family (6) ** Dagan family (9) * Binanderean (16) ** '' Guhu-Samane'' isolate ** Binandere family (15) recent expansion from the north


Pawley and Hammarström (2018)

Andrew Pawley Andrew Kenneth Pawley (born 1941 in Sydney), FRSNZ, FAHA, is Emeritus Professor at the School of Culture, History & Language of the ''College of Asia & the Pacific'' at the Australian National University. Career Pawley was born in Sydney but ...
and Harald Hammarström (2018) accept 35 subgroups as members of Trans-New Guinea. ;Trans-New Guinea subgroups (strong evidence): 35 subgroups, 431 languages *
Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histo ...
(107) * Finisterre-Huon (62) * Kainantu-Goroka (29) * Ok-Oksapmin (20) *
Anim Anim or ANIM may refer to: Places *A city in the mountains of Judah, now el-Ghuwein, near Eshtemoh, about 10 miles south-west of Hebron *An alternative spelling for the biblical city of Anem, now Jenin * Anim synagogue, a synagogue in Israel ...
(17) * Chimbu-Wahgi (17) * Greater Awyu (17) * Enga-Kewa-Huli (14) * Angan (13) * Dani (13) * Greater Binanderean (13) * Asmat-Kamoro (11) * Dagan (9) * Mailuan (8) * Bosavi (7) * Koiarian (7) * Mek (7) * East Strickland (6) * Kiwaian (6) * Goilalan (5) * Paniai Lakes (5) * Yareban (5) * Gogodala-Suki (4) * Turama-Kikori (4) * Kayagaric (3) * Kolopom (3) *
Kutubu Lake Kutubu is the second-largest lake in Papua New Guinea,Lake Kutubu
at Ramsar site
after Kwalean (3) *
West Bomberai The West Bomberai languages are a family of Papuan languages spoken on the Bomberai Peninsula of western New Guinea and in East Timor and neighboring islands of Indonesia. Languages Two of the languages of the mainland, Baham and Iha, are clos ...
(3) * Awin-Pa (2) * Duna-Bogaya (2) * Manubaran (2) * Somahai (2) *''Marori language, Marori'' (isolate) *'' Wiru'' (isolate) Groups and isolates considered by Pawley and Hammarström (2018) as having weaker or disputed claims to membership in Trans-New Guinea (some of which they suggest may ultimately turn out to be Trans-New Guinea, but further evidence is needed): *Bayono-Awbono languages, Bayono-Awbono (2) *Komolom languages, Komolom ( Mombum) (2) * Mairasi (3) * Pauwasi (5) *''Pawaian language, Pawaian'' (isolate) *Sentanic languages, Sentanic (4) *South Bird's Head languages, South Bird's Head (12) *''Sumeri language, Tanah Merah'' (isolate) * Teberan (2) *Timor-Alor-Pantar languages, Timor-Alor-Pantar (20+) *''Uhunduni language, Uhunduni'' ('' Damal'') (isolate) Groups and isolates sometimes classified as Trans-New Guinea, but rejected by Pawley and Hammarström (2018) as Trans-New Guinea: *'' Dem'' (isolate) * Eleman (5) *'' Kaki Ae'' (isolate) *'' Kamula'' (isolate) *Kaure-Narau languages, Kaure-Narau (2) *'' Mor'' (isolate) *'' Porome'' (isolate) *'' Purari'' (isolate)


''Glottolog'' 4.0 (2019)

''Glottolog'' 4.0 (2019) accepts 10 groups as part of the ''Nuclear Trans–New Guinea'' family. *
Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histo ...
(106) * Finisterre-Huon (61) *Asmat-Awyu-Ok languages, Asmat-Awyu-Ok (49) * Kainantu-Goroka (28) * Chimbu-Wahgi (17) * Enga-Kewa-Huli (14) * Dani (13) * Greater Binanderean (13) * Mek (8) * Paniai Lakes (5)


Usher (2020)

Timothy Usher has reconstructed lowel-level constituents of Trans–New Guinea to verify, through the establishment of regular sound changes, which purported members truly belong to it, and to determine their subclassification. In many cases Usher has created new names for the member families to reflect their geographic location. Much of his classification is accepted by ''Glottolog'' (though his names are not, as ''Glottolog'' invents its own names). As of 2020, his classification is as follows, including correspondences to the names in earlier classifications. He expects to expand the membership of the family as reconstruction proceeds.NewGuineaWorld, Trans–New Guinea
/ref> *Berau Gulf languages, Berau Gulf **'' Mor'' **North Berau Gulf languages, North Berau Gulf (= South Bird's Head) ***Yabin languages, Yabin ***South Bird's Head languages, South Bird's Head (= nuclear South Bird's Head plus Inanwatan) **
West Bomberai The West Bomberai languages are a family of Papuan languages spoken on the Bomberai Peninsula of western New Guinea and in East Timor and neighboring islands of Indonesia. Languages Two of the languages of the mainland, Baham and Iha, are clos ...
(incl. Timor–Alor–Pantar languages, Timor–Alor–Pantar) *Sumuri language, Sumuri *West Papuan Highlands languages, West Papuan Highlands (= Irian Highlands) **Amung–Dem ***Amung language, Amung (Uhunduni) *** Dem **Balim Valley languages, Balim Valley (= Dani) ** Paniai Lakes *Asmat–Mombum languages, Asmat – Muli Strait **Asmat – Kamrau Bay languages, Asmat – Kamrau Bay (= Asmat–Kamoro) **Muli Strait languages, Muli Strait (= Mombum) *Cook River – Kolopom **Cook and Gondu Rivers languages, Cook River (= Kayagar) ** Kolopom (incl. Moraori) *Oksap language, Oksap (Oksapmin) *Central West New Guinea **Digul River – Ok ***Digul River languages, Digul River (= Greater Awyu, incl. Bayono-Awbono language, Bayono-Awbono) ***Kamula – Elevala River languages, Kamula – Elevala River (= Awin–Pa plus Kamula) *** Ok **Momuna–Mek *** Mek *** Momuna *Papuan Plateau languages, Papuan Plateau (= Bosavi, incl. Dibiyaso) *Duna–Bogaia languages, Duna–Bogaia *Abom language, Abom *Fly River languages, Fly River (Anim) ** Inland Gulf **Lake Murray languages, Lake Murray (= Boazi) **Lower Fly River languages, Lower Fly River (= Tirio) **Marind–Yakhai languages, Marind–Yakhai (= Marind) *Morobe – Eastern Highlands languages, Morobe – Eastern Highlands **Eastern Highlands languages, Eastern Highlands (= Kainantu–Goroka) ** Finisterre–Huon **Kratke Range languages, Kratke Range (= Angan) *Papuan Peninsula languages, Papuan Peninsula (Southeast Papuan) **Meneao Range languages, Meneao Range (= Dagan) **Owen Stanley Range ***Koiari – Managalas Plateau languages, Koiari – Managalas Plateau (= Koiarian) ***Kwalean languages, Humene–Uare (= Kwalean) ***Mount Brown languages, Mount Brown (= Manubaran) ***Cloudy Bay – Musa River ****'' Bauwaki'' ****Cloudy Bay languages, Cloudy Bay (= Mailuan) ****Musa River languages, Musa River (= Yareban) These branches may cluster together (the southwestern branches, for example, may group together), but the details are as yet unclear. The families from the Ross and Glottolog classifications that are not included are Kaure, Pauwasi, Engan, Chimbu–Wahgi, Madang, Eleman, Kiwaian, Binanderean, Goilalan, and the several Papuan Gulf languages, Papuan Gulf families. Usher only includes families that have a regular reflex of the 2sg pronoun, so there may be additional TNG families that have changed their pronouns.


Dryer (2022)

According to Matthew Dryer, Dryer (2022), evidence for membership in Trans-New Guinea based solely on pronouns and 'louse' is not considered to be sufficient, since they are more likely to be widespread areal lexical forms (''Wanderwort, Wanderworts''). Matthew Dryer's (2022) preliminary evaluation of Pawley and Hammarström (2018), which he had based on his preliminary quantitative analysis of data from the ASJP database, suggests that the following language groups are likely to be Trans–New Guinea (listed in order of highest to lowest score, i.e. starting from the most likely group): *
Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histo ...
* Chimbu–Wahgi *Awyu–Ok languages, Awyu–Ok *Enga–Kewa–Huli languages, Enga–Kewa–Huli * Kiwaian * Finisterre–Huon * Dagan * Yareban *'' Wiru'' *Bayono–Awbono languages, Bayono–Awbono * Paniai Lakes * Turama–Kikorian *Kainantu–Goroka languages, Kainantu–Goroka * Dani * Angan * Somahai * East Strickland * Koiarian *'' Fuyug'' *''
Fasu Fasu, also known as Namo Me, is one of the Kutubuan languages of New Guinea. Varieties Wurm and Hattori (1981) considered its three principal dialects, Fasu, Some and Namumi, to be three languages, which they called the West Kutubuan family. Ho ...
'' * Gogodala–Suki *'' Damal'' * Manubaran *
Anim Anim or ANIM may refer to: Places *A city in the mountains of Judah, now el-Ghuwein, near Eshtemoh, about 10 miles south-west of Hebron *An alternative spelling for the biblical city of Anem, now Jenin * Anim synagogue, a synagogue in Israel ...
* Greater Binanderean On the other hand, Pawley and Hammarström (2018) do not consider Bayono–Awbono languages, Bayono–Awbono and Damal to be Trans–New Guinea subgroups. "Borderline" groups that show somewhat more similarities with "Trans–New Guinea" than other non-Trans–New Guinea groups: * Bosavi * Goilalan *South Bird's Head languages, South Bird's Head *Timor–Alor–Pantar languages, Timor–Alor–Pantar *''
Fasu Fasu, also known as Namo Me, is one of the Kutubuan languages of New Guinea. Varieties Wurm and Hattori (1981) considered its three principal dialects, Fasu, Some and Namumi, to be three languages, which they called the West Kutubuan family. Ho ...
'' *'' Bogaya'' * Teberan South Bird's Head languages, South Bird's Head, Timor–Alor–Pantar languages, Timor–Alor–Pantar, and Teberan are not considered by Pawley and Hammarström (2018) to be Trans–New Guinea subgroups. The following groups display few Trans–New Guinea basic vocabulary items and are hence less likely to be Trans–New Guinea: * Mailuan *'' Duna'' *Asmat–Kamrau Bay languages, Asmat–Kamrau Bay * Kwalean * Kolopom *
West Bomberai The West Bomberai languages are a family of Papuan languages spoken on the Bomberai Peninsula of western New Guinea and in East Timor and neighboring islands of Indonesia. Languages Two of the languages of the mainland, Baham and Iha, are clos ...
* Mek *Elevala languages, Elevala *'' Moraori'' * Kayagaric *'' Mulaha'' However, Dryer (2022) notes that this preliminary quantitative analysis only gives a rough estimate of the groups that may or may not belong within Trans–New Guinea, and that similarities may be due to loanwords, areal influences, and so forth.


Lexical semantics

A number of Colexification, colexification patterns (called 'semantic conflations' by
Donald Laycock Donald Laycock (1936–1988) was an Australian linguist and anthropologist. He is best remembered for his work on the languages of Papua New Guinea. Biography He was a graduate of University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and later ...
), particularly in the Noun, nominal domain, are commonly found among Trans–New Guinea languages: *[man, husband] *[woman, wife] *[bird, bat] *[hair, fur, feather, leaf] *[tree, firewood, fire] *[water, river] *[bark, skin of animal, peel or skin of fruit] *[bark, skin, body] *[egg, fruit, seed; some other round objects, e.g. kidney, eye, heart] *[hand, foreleg of quadruped, wing] *[heart, seat of emotions] *[blood, red] *[garden, work], [to make gardens, to work] *[joint, elbow, knee] *[milk, sap, semen, white of egg, bone marrow] *[nose, face] *[teeth, internal mouth] *[leg, foot, hindleg] *[finger, toe] *[father, owner; mother, owner]


Proto-language


See also

*Indo-Pacific languages *Wiktionary:Appendix:Proto-Trans-New Guinea reconstructions, Proto-Trans-New Guinea reconstructions (Wiktionary)


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


TransNewGuinea.org - database of the languages of New Guinea
(by Simon Greenhill)
Timothy Usher's Newguineaworld site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trans-New Guinea Languages Trans–New Guinea languages, Proposed language families Language families Languages of Indonesia Languages of Papua New Guinea Papuan languages