The Papuan Tip languages are a branch of the Western Oceanic languages consisting of 60 languages.

Quick Facts Geographic distribution, Linguistic classification ...
Papuan Tip
Geographic
distribution
Eastern New Guinea
Linguistic classificationAustronesian
Proto-languageProto-Papuan Tip
Subdivisions
  • Nuclear Papuan Tip
  • Suauic
  • North Mainland – D'Entrecasteaux
  • Peripheral Papuan Tip
  • Kilivila–Misima
  • Nimoa–Sudest
  • Central Papuan Tip
Language codes
Glottologpapu1253
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All Papuan Tip languages, except Nimoa, Sudest, and the Kilivila languages (all spoken on islands off the coast of mainland Papua New Guinea), have subject–object–verb (SOV) word order due to influences from nearby Papuan languages (Lynch, Ross, & Crowley 2002:104). Universally, this is considered to be a typologically unusual change. Since these non-Austronesian influences can be reconstructed for Proto-Papuan Tip, they did not simply result from recent contact among individual daughter languages.[1]

Languages

According to Lynch, Ross, & Crowley (2002), the structure of the family is as follows:[2]

Maisin is difficult to classify, but its Austronesian component likely belongs with Nuclear Papuan Tip. Yele has recently been tentatively classified as closest to Nimoa–Sudest, while others classify it as a Papuan language.

References

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