Central and South New Guinea languages

For the independent language-family hypothesis, see South-Central Papuan languages.

Central and South New Guinea
Geographic distribution:	New Guinea
Linguistic classification:	Trans–New Guinea Central and South New Guinea
Subdivisions:	Asmat–Kamoro Awyu–Dumut Mombum Ok–Oksapmin

The Central and South New Guinea languages (CSNG) are a proposed family of the Trans–New Guinea languages (TNG). They were part of Voorhoeve & McElhanon's original TNG proposal, but have been reduced in scope by half (nine families to four) in the classification of Malcolm Ross. According to Ross, it is not clear if the pronoun similarities between the four remaining branches of Central and South New Guinea are retentions for proto-TNG forms or shared innovations defining a single branch of TNG. Voorhoeve argues independently for an Awyu–Ok relationship, and Foley echoes that Asmat may be closest to Awyu and Ok of the TNG languages. Regardless, the four individual branches of reduced Central and South New Guinea are themselves clearly valid families.

• Central and South New Guinea (Ross 2005)
  • Asmat–Kamoro family (11) [a recent expansion along the south coast]
  • Awyu–Dumut family (16)
  • Mombum family (2)
  • Ok family (20)

Ethnologue (2009) retains only Awyu–Dumut and Ok, calling the branch Ok-Awyu, and place Asmat and Mombum as independent branches of TNG. Loughnane & Fedden (2011) link Ok to the Oksapmin language.

History

In the mid 1960s, Alan Healey, a colleague of Laycock, noted connections between the Ok, Asmat, and Awyu–Dumut families. Voorhoeve (1968) expanded on this and coined the name CSNG; his proposal added Trans-Fly and Marind to the mix. Collaboration with McElhanon and his Finisterre–Huon family in 1970 found a connection between them, which was named Trans–New Guinea. Wurm's 1975 expansion of TNG also expanded CSNG, with the addition of Awin–Pa, Bosavi, Duna–Pogaya, East Strickland, Mombum, and Momuna. Ross's recension in 2005 retained nothing from Voohoeve and only Mombum from Wurm, though the Momuna languages were too sparsely attested for him to classify.

References

• Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages". In Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Robin Hide, Jack Golson, eds. Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 15–66. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782. 

External links

• The nine C. & S. New Guinea families in Wurm's proposal
• Online Bibliography of Asmat Ethnographic Resources