| Yapen | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Yapen Island, Western New Guinea, Indonesia |
| Linguistic classification | Austronesian |
| Proto-language | Proto-Yapen |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | yape1249 |
 | |
The Yapen languages are the branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages spoken on Yapen Island and the nearby isle of Cenderawasih Bay, both in Papua province of northeastern Indonesia.
They share Yapen Ιsland with the Papuan Yawa languages.
Reconstructions of subject markers and inalienable possessive markers for Yapen proto-languages according to Kamholz (2015). Note that V = vocalic conjugation, C = consonantal conjugation:
Proto-Yapen:
| 1sg. | *y- (V), *ya- (C) | 1pl. | *t- (incl.), *am- (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *bu- (V), *-u- (C) | 2pl. | *m- |
| 3sg. | *dy- (V), *-i- (C) | 3pl. | *si- |
| 1sg. | *-ku, *-ni | 1pl. | *ta-...-mi (incl.), *ama-...-mi (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *-mu | 2pl. | *mi-...-mi |
| 3sg. | *-n-pai | 3pl. | *si-...-mi |
Proto-Western Yapen (Proto-Central–Western Yapen):
| 1sg. | *y- (V), *ya- (C) | 1pl. | *tat- (incl.), *amat- (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *bu- (V), *-u- (C) | 2pl. | *met- |
| 3sg. | *dy- (V), *-i- (C) | 3pl. | *set- |
| 1sg. | *-ku, *-ni | 1pl. | *ta-...-mi (incl.), *ama-...-mi (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *-mu | 2pl. | *me-...-mi |
| 3sg. | *-n-pai, *-na-ni | 3pl. | *se-...-mi |
Proto-Central Yapen:
| 1sg. | *y- (V), *ya- (C) | 1pl. | *tat- (incl.), *amat- (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *w- (V), *-u- (C) | 2pl. | *met- |
| 3sg. | *dy- (V), *-i- (C) | 3pl. | *et- |
| 1sg. | *-u, *-ni | 1pl. | *ta-...-mi (incl.), *ama-...-mi (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *-mu | 2pl. | *me-...-mi |
| 3sg. | *-nempai, *-na-ni | 3pl. | *se-...-mi |
Proto-Eastern Yapen:
| 1sg. | *ay- (V), *a- (C) | 1pl. | *t- (incl.), *nam- (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *b- (V), *-u- (C) | 2pl. | *mi- |
| 3sg. | *d- (V), *-i- (C) | 3pl. | *si- |
| 1sg. | *ai- | 1pl. | *ta- (incl.), *na- (excl.) |
| 2sg. | *me- | 2pl. | *mi- |
| 3sg. | *ne- | 3pl. | *si- |
From Kamholz (2024):