Eastern Trans-Fly languages facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eastern Trans-Fly
Oriomo Plateau
Geographic distribution:	Oriomo Plateau, Papua New Guinea, Torres Strait Islands (Australia)
Linguistic classification:	Trans-Fly or independent language family Eastern Trans-Fly
Subdivisions:	—
Map: The Eastern Trans-Fly languages of New Guinea      The Eastern Trans-Fly languages      Trans–New Guinea languages      Other Papuan languages      Austronesian languages      Australian languages      Uninhabited

The Eastern Trans-Fly languages are a small group of languages. They are also known as the Oriomo Plateau languages. People speak them in an area called the Oriomo Plateau in New Guinea. This area is found to the west of the Fly River. These languages are part of a larger group called Papuan languages.

What Are Language Families?

Languages are often grouped into "families" based on how they are related. This is like how people in a family share common ancestors. Linguists, who study languages, try to find these connections.

How Linguists Classified These Languages

In 1970, a linguist named Stephen Wurm first suggested that these languages belonged to a group called "Trans-Fly." Later, in 1975, he included them in an even bigger group called Trans–New Guinea.

However, other linguists had different ideas. Malcolm Ross and Timothy Usher later looked at these languages again. They decided that the Eastern Trans-Fly languages should be their own family. They removed them from the larger Trans–New Guinea group.

Timothy Usher calls these languages the Oriomo Plateau languages. He believes they might be connected to other language groups like the Pahoturi languages and the Tabo language.

Languages in This Family

There are four main languages in the Eastern Trans-Fly family. One of them is spoken in Australia, while the others are in Papua New Guinea.

• Meriam (spoken in the Torres Strait Islands of Australia)
• Bine
• Wipi (also known as Gidra)
• Gizrra

Where These Languages Are Spoken

Here is a list of the Oriomo (Eastern Trans-Fly) languages. It also shows where they are spoken and how many people speak them.

Pronouns in Eastern Trans-Fly Languages

Pronouns are words like "I," "you," "he," "she," "we," and "they." Linguists try to figure out what the original pronouns might have sounded like in the very old form of a language family.

Here are some pronouns that linguists believe existed in the early Eastern Trans-Fly languages:

Some linguists think there might be a link between these pronouns and those in the Trans–New Guinea languages. This is because of a pattern where the vowel changes (like 'a' to 'i') when a word becomes plural. This pattern is also seen in Trans–New Guinea languages.

There is also some evidence that people from Austronesian cultures (who speak different languages) might have lived in or visited this area a long time ago. This could have influenced the languages.

Comparing Words

It's interesting to compare basic words across different languages in the same family. This helps linguists see how languages have changed over time.

Here are some common words in Bine, Gizra, Wipi, and Meriam Mir:

See also

In Spanish: Lenguas trans-Fly orientales para niños