South Halmahera languages

South Halmahera
Geographic distribution:	The Moluccas
Linguistic classification:	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian (MP) Nuclear MP (Central–Eastern) Halmahera–Cenderawasih Halmahera Sea South Halmahera
Subdivisions:	East Makian – Gane Buli

The South Halmahera languages are the branch of Austronesian languages found along the southeast coast of the island of Halmahera in the Indonesian province of North Maluku. Irarutu is spoken in the east of the Bomberai Peninsula in West Papua province.

Most of the languages are only known from short word lists, but Buli is fairly well attested.

Classification

A 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database fully supported the unity of South Halmahera, with the exception of the isolate Irarutu, which it placed as an isolate in Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian.

• East Makian – Gane
  • Gane
  • Taba (East Makian)
• Buli languages
  • Buli
  • Maba
  • Patani
  • Sawai