| Madang | |
|---|---|
| Madang–Adelbert Range | |
| Geographic distribution: |
New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification: | Trans–New Guinea
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| Subdivisions: |
Southern Adelbert Range–Kowan
Rai Coast–Kalam
Croisilles linkage
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Madang languages
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The Madang or Madang–Adelbert Range languages are the largest family of Trans–New Guinea languages (TNG) in the classification of Malcolm Ross. William Foley concurs that it is "highly likely" that the Madang languages are part of TNG. The family is named after Madang Province and the Adelbert Range.
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Sidney Herbert Ray identified the Rai Coast family in 1919. In 1951 these were linked with the Mabuso languages by Arthur Capell to create his Madang family. John Z'graggen (1971, 1975) expanded Madang to languages of the Adelbert Range and renamed the family Madang–Adelbert Range, and Wurm (1975)[1] adopted this as a branch of his Trans–New Guinea phylum. For the most part, Ross's (2005) Madang family includes the same languages as Z'graggen Madang–Adelbert Range, but the internal classification is different in several respects, such as the dissolution of the Brahman branch.
In the outline of the Ross (2000) classification below,[1] those nodes in bold are clearly valid families, consisting of closely related languages. The branches not in bold are likely subject to further revision.