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Dani languages

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Ethnicity:
  
Dani, Lani, Yali, etc

Glottolog:
  
dani1287

Geographic distribution:
  
Highlands of Papua Province

Linguistic classification:
  
Trans–New Guinea West Trans–New Guinea Irian Highlands ? Dani

Subdivisions:
  
Wano Dani proper ?Ngalik

The Dani languages are a family of clearly related Trans–New Guinea languages spoken by the Dani and related peoples in the highlands of Papua Province, Indonesia. Foley (2003) considers their TNG status to be established. They may be most closely related to the languages of Paniai Lakes, but this is not yet clear. Capell (1962) had posited that their closest relatives were the Kwerba languages, which Ross (2005) rejects.

Languages

Larson (1977) divided the family into three branches based on lexicostatistics, and Nggem was later added as a fourth. The Ngalik languages are very poorly attested.

  • Dani family
  • Wano
  • Nggem
  • Central Dani: Hupla, Upper Grand Valley Dani, Lower Grand Valley Dani, Mid Grand Valley Dani, Western Dani–Walak
  • Ngalik: Nduga, Silimo, Yali (dialect cluster)

    • The independent pronouns and possessive/object prefixes of Central Dani are:

    References

    Dani languages Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA