Papuan languages facts for kids

Papuan languages are a group of languages spoken in the western Pacific Ocean. They are called "Papuan" because they are not part of the Austronesian or Australian language families. This means the name describes where they are found and what they are not, rather than showing they are all related to each other.

Where Papuan Languages Are Spoken

Most Papuan languages are spoken on the island of New Guinea. This island is divided between the country of Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya.

You can also find these languages in other places:

• The Bismarck Archipelago
• Bougainville Island
• The Solomon Islands to the east
• Halmahera, Timor, and the Alor archipelago to the west

One Papuan language, called Meriam Mir, is even spoken in Australia. It is found in the eastern Torres Strait. Only the Papuan languages in East Timor are officially recognized by a government.

New Guinea: A Language Hotspot

New Guinea is one of the most linguistically diverse places on Earth. Besides the Austronesian languages, there are about 800 other languages spoken there. These languages are grouped into around sixty smaller language families. Scientists are still working to understand how these families are related to each other. Many of these languages are also language isolates, meaning they don't seem to be related to any other known language family.

Images for kids

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  Language families of New Guinea, the North Moluccas, and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

See also

In Spanish: Lenguas papúes para niños