The Yapen languages are the branch of

Malayo-Polynesian languages The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeas ...

spoken on Yapen Island and the nearby isle of Cenderawasih Bay, both in Papua province of northeastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. They share Yapen Ιsland with the Papuan Yawa languages.

Historical morphology

Reconstructions of subject markers and inalienable possessive markers for Yapen proto-languages according to Kamholz (2015). Note that V = vocalic conjugation, C = consonantal conjugation: Proto-Yapen: : : Proto-Western Yapen (Proto-Central–Western Yapen): : : Proto-Central Yapen: : : Proto-Eastern Yapen: : :

Languages

From Kamholz (2024): *Yapen **Western Yapen (Central–Western Yapen) *** Ambai *** Ansus *** Marau *** Wandamen *** Woi ***Central Yapen **** Munggui **** Pom **** Papuma **** Serui-Laut **** Busami **Eastern Yapen *** Kurudu *** Wabo

Lexical reconstructions

Reconstruction of lexemes found in Proto-Yapen according to Gasser (2017).Gasser, Emily (2017)
Papuan-Austronesian language contact on Yapen Island: A preliminary account
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Historical morphology

Languages

Lexical reconstructions

Further reading

References