Chimbu–Wahgi languages
Appearance
Chimbu–Wahgi | |
---|---|
Central East New Guinea Highlands Simbu – Western Highlands | |
Geographic distribution | New Guinea |
Linguistic classification | Northeast New Guinea?
|
Subdivisions |
|
Glottolog | cent2120 |
![]() Map: The Chimbu–Wahgi languages of New Guinea
The Chimbu–Wahgi languages
Other Trans–New Guinea languages
Other Papuan languages
Austronesian languages
Uninhabited |
The Chimbu–Wahgi languages are a language family sometimes included in the Trans–New Guinea proposal.
Languages
There is little doubt that the Chimbu–Wahgi family is valid. The languages are:[1]
- Chimbu–Wahgi family
Features
Several of the Chimbu–Wahgi languages have lateral consonants, which are uncommon: see Nii, Wahgi, and Kuman for examples. Tone is contrastive. The singular pronouns are:
sg 1 *ná 2 *nim 3 *[y]é
Dual *-l and plural *-n reflect Trans–New Guinea forms.
References
Further reading
- 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
- Kaipuleohone archive of Chimbu-Wahgi language recordings