Nukuma languages
Encyclopedia
The Nukuma languages are a small family
of clearly related languages, Kwoma, Kwanga
, and Seim
. They are generally classified among the Sepik languages
of northern Papua New Guinea
; Malcolm Ross
places them in an Middle Sepik
branch of that family.
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
of clearly related languages, Kwoma, Kwanga
Kwanga language
-Classification:There are two main dialects, and five subdialects. The 14th edition of Ethnologue classified Apos, Bongos, Wasambu, and Yubanakor as distinct languages, and assigned them the ISO codes apo, bxy, wsm, and yuo, respectively. They have since been subsumed under Kwanga....
, and Seim
Seim language
Seim, or Mende, is a Sepik language of Papua New Guinea....
. They are generally classified among the Sepik languages
Sepik languages
-Pronouns:The pronouns Ross reconstructs for proto-Sepik are:Note the similarities of the dual and plural suffixes with those of the Torricelli languages.-See also:*Papuan languages*Sepik–Ramu languages*Donald Laycock...
of northern Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
; Malcolm Ross
Malcolm Ross
Malcolm David Ross is a linguist and professor at the Australian National University. He has published work on Austronesian and Papuan languages, historical linguistics, and language contact.-External links:**...
places them in an Middle Sepik
Middle Sepik languages
The Middle Sepik languages are a family of the Sepik languages of northern Papua New Guinea. They are best known for one of their constituent branches, the Ndu languages....
branch of that family.