North New Guinea languages
{{Short description|Western Oceanic languages}}
{{distinguish|North New Guinea languages (Papuan)}}
{{Infobox language family
|name=North New Guinea
|altname=
|region=Northern New Guinea
|familycolor=Austronesian
|fam2=Malayo-Polynesian
|fam3=Oceanic
|fam4=Western Oceanic
|child1=? Sarmi–Jayapura family
|child2=Schouten linkage
|child3=Huon Gulf family
|child4=Ngero–Vitiaz linkage
|glotto=nort3206
|glottorefname=North New Guinea linkage
}}
The North New Guinea languages of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia form a possible linkage of Western Oceanic languages. They have been in heavy contact with Papuan languages.
Classification
According to Lynch, Ross, & Crowley (2002){{fcn|date=May 2024}}, the structure of the family is as follows:
- ? Sarmi–Jayapura family
- Schouten linkage
- Huon Gulf family
- Ngero–Vitiaz linkage
The center of dispersal was evidently near the Vitiaz Strait between New Britain and the New Guinea mainland.
The inclusion of Sarmi and Jayapura Bay is uncertain, and it may constitute a separate branch of Western Oceanic.
References
{{Reflist}}
- Ross, Malcolm (1988). Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian languages of western Melanesia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
{{North New Guinea languages}}
Category:Western Oceanic languages
Category:Languages of Papua New Guinea