Languages
Larson (1977) divided the family into three branches based on lexicostatistics, and Nggem was later added as a fourth. The Ngalik languages are very poorly attested. * Dani family ** Wano ** Nggem ** Central Dani: *** Grand Valley Dani (upper, lower, and mid dialects) *** Hupla *** Western Dani– Walak ** Ngalik: *** Nduga *** Silimo *** Yali (dialect cluster)Phonemes
Usher (2020) reconstructs the consonant inventory as follows. This is identical to the reconstruction of Bromley (1966-1967) apart from adding the rare consonants *pw, *mbw, and the possible additional vowel *ɐ. And the diphthongs *ei, *ou, *ai, *au.Pronouns
Ross (1995) reconstructs the independent pronouns and possessive/object prefixes of Central Dani as: :Vocabulary comparison
The following basic vocabulary words are from Bromley (1967) and Voorhoeve (1975), as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database. The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. ''nakapak'', ''ogobak'', ''nokopak'' for “nose”) or not (e.g. ''natði'', ''nemake'', ''nabilikagen'' for “tongue”).Evolution
Dani reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea (pTNG) etyma are: Grand Valley Dani language: * 'man' < * 'tongue' < * 'hair' < ( is 1sg possessor) * 'come' < * 'new' < Western Dani language: * 'man' < * < * 'tongue' < * 'new' < * 'leg' < * 'skin' < * 'tree' < Ngalik language: * 'tree' < * 'breast' < * 'full' < * 'smoke' <References
* {{Authority control West Papuan Highlands languages Languages of Western New Guinea