Classification
The proposed classification of the languages is as follows; the unity of Sarmi and Jayapura Bay is uncertain:
- ? Sarmi–Jayapura family
- Schouten linkage
- Huon Gulf family
- Ngero–Vitiaz linkage
A 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database supported the unity of the Ngero–Vitiaz branch, including Numbami of the Huon Gulf branch, with 85% confidence; the other Huon Gulf languages were not considered. The Schouten languages were not supported as North New Guinea, but rather as part of a (reduced) Western Oceanic, and the Sarmi–Jayapura languages were not investigated.
Read more about this topic: North New Guinea Languages