| Palei | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | eastern Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification | Torricelli
|
| Glottolog | nucl1722 (Nuclear Palai) wana1269 (Wanap) west2788 (West Palai) |
 The Torricelli languages as classified by Foley (2018). Palei and Wapei languages are yellow. | |
The Palei languages constitute a branch of the Torricelli language family according to Laycock (1975) (quoted from Foley 2018). They are spoken in mountainous regions of eastern Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.
Languages are:[ citation needed ]
Nambi (Nabi) = Metan may also belong here, or may be one of the Maimai languages, or separate within the Torricelli languages.
Pronouns in Palei languages are: [1]
The following basic vocabulary words are from Laycock (1968), [2] as cited in the Trans-New Guinea database. [3] Nabi words are from Laycock (1968) and Voorhoeve (1971, 1975). [4] [5]
The words cited constitute translation equivalents, whether they are cognate (e.g. yimunə, yimukun for “louse”) or not (e.g. muᶇkwalnta, yaŋkole for “ear”).
| gloss | Agi | Aruop | Amol | Nabi | Wanap | Yangum Mon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| head | paikwa | wantu | wotuf | peləf | wah | |
| ear | muᶇkwalnta | yaŋkole | taŋkən | kik | nuŋkul | yiŋkuːl |
| eye | juwol | yolta | nəmalal | nampəkat | yilp | yilkŋum |
| nose | tuwarka | mup | mipan | minif | təlom | yimwar |
| tooth | nai | na | owayen | naf | nef | awak |
| tongue | naliya | aləta | akaŋ | wulaf | kəːləp | yalip |
| leg | safiel | ala | aŋ | tip | kelfek | rak |
| louse | watokəl | yimunə | yimukun | kakyerk | yiməl | yimul |
| dog | nəmpo | yimpa | yimpan | pat | yimpa | yimpak |
| pig | bene | |||||
| bird | nol | ali | alin | napet | kal | al |
| egg | nəŋkoi | yoltə | yinalən | ponorire; yufəlip | yiplop | yulp |
| blood | xaməŋka | səna | səneimpən | amk | komkok | yuwanip |
| bone | kamənaŋkil | pəniŋki | lapən | lə | lekəl | yiklia |
| skin | jiwota | wiye | yakən | wiyírk | saf | yikisiw |
| breast | nəmai | yimá | yimawoŋ | nəmap | yimaŋkəf | yimán |
| tree | numwol | nəmpə | nimpən | nip | nimp | nim |
| man | kamwol | makenti | maikən | məsəmiyen | nyiŋkilpən | almias |
| woman | wukora | simi | asək | ri | kekəntə | wasi |
| sun | wota | wa | wan | waf | kentief | təkŋan |
| moon | uni | anyə | ayen | wunɨ | keːnyif | mərəŋkil |
| water | wul | suku | səpən | sup; wer | kuː | sulp |
| fire | ni | yimpu | niŋ | nɨ; wetai | nif | niw |
| stone | atauka | səmpeiken | et; rubukia | kipru | pikiyap | |
| one | eso | |||||
| two | piyami | piya | nantiyou | mantio; ru | poyomp | piyak |
The Sko or Skou languages are a small language family spoken by about 7000 people, mainly along the Vanimo coast of Sandaun Province in Papua New Guinea, with a few being inland from this area and at least one just across the border in the Indonesian province of Papua.
The Torricelli languages are a family of about fifty languages of the northern Papua New Guinea coast, spoken by about 80,000 people. They are named after the Torricelli Mountains. The most populous and best known Torricelli language is Arapesh, with about 30,000 speakers.
The Border or Upper Tami languages are an independent family of Papuan languages in Malcolm Ross's version of the Trans–New Guinea proposal.
The Sepik or Sepik River languages are a family of some 50 Papuan languages spoken in the Sepik river basin of northern Papua New Guinea, proposed by Donald Laycock in 1965 in a somewhat more limited form than presented here. They tend to have simple phonologies, with few consonants or vowels and usually no tones.
The Busa language, also known as Odiai (Uriai), is spoken in three hamlets of northwestern Papua New Guinea. There were 244 speakers at the time of the 2000 census. One of the hamlets where Busa is spoken is Busa in Rawei ward, Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province.
Amal is a language spoken along the border of Sandaun Province and East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, along the Wagana River near the confluence with Wanibe Creek. Foley (2018) classifies Amal as a primary branch of the Sepik languages, though it is quite close to Kalou.
The Pauwasi languages are a likely family of Papuan languages, mostly in Indonesia. The subfamilies are at best only distantly related. The best described Pauwasi language is Karkar, across the border in Papua New Guinea. They are spoken around the headwaters of the Pauwasi River in the Indonesian-PNG border region.
The Maimai languages constitute a branch of the Torricelli language family. They are spoken just to the west of Nuku town in eastern Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Wapei languages constitute a branch of the Torricelli language family according to Laycock (1975). Glottolog does not accept this grouping. They are spoken in mountainous regions of eastern Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.
Pyu is a language isolate spoken in Papua New Guinea. As of 2000, the language had about 100 speakers. It is spoken in Biake No. 2 village of Biake ward, Green River Rural LLG in Sandaun Province.
The Nukuma languages are a small family of three clearly related languages:
Yetfa and Biksi are dialects of a language spoken in Jetfa District, Pegunungan Bintang Regency, Highland Papua, Indonesia, and across the border in Papua New Guinea. It is a trade language spoken in Western New Guinea up to the PNG border.
Yahang (Ya’unk) a.k.a. Ruruhip (Ruruhi’ip) is a Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea. It shares the name Ruruhip with Heyo, which is closely related.
The Leonhard Schultze or Walio–Papi languages are a proposed family of about 6 Papuan languages spoken in the Sepik river basin of northern Papua New Guinea. They are spoken along the border region of East Sepik Province and Sandaun Province, just to the south of the Iwam languages.
The Marienberg or Marienberg Hills languages are a branch of the Torricelli language family. They are spoken in a mountainous stretch of region located between the towns of Wewak and Angoram in the Marienberg Hills of East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Kombio-Arapeshan languages constitute a branch of the Torricelli language family according to Laycock (1975), but this is doubted by Foley (2018).
The Wapei–Palei languages are spoken in mountainous regions of eastern Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. The Wapei languages and Palei languages together constitute a branch of the Torricelli language family according to Laycock (1975).
The One or West Wapei languages constitute a branch of the Torricelli language family. They are spoken in north-central Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Urim languages constitute a branch of the Torricelli language family. They are spoken in East Sepik Province, in areas bordering the northeastern corner of Sandaun Province.
The East Pauwasi languages are a family of Papuan languages spoken in north-central New Guinea, on both sides of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border. They may either form part of a larger Pauwasi language family along with the Western Pauwasi languages, or they could form an independent language family.