| Markham languages | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Madang and Morobe Provinces, Papua New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification: | Austronesian
|
| Subdivisions: | |
The family of Markham languages is a subgroup of the Huon Gulf languages. It consists of 13 languages spoken in the Ramu Valley, Markham Valley and associated valley systems in the lowlands of the Madang and Morobe Provinces of Papua New Guinea.[1]
The most definitive work on the Markham languages is The Markham Languages of Papua New Guinea by Susanne Holzknecht, which established a common descent from Proto Huon Gulf. It did so on the basis of shared phonological, morphosyntactic and lexicosemantic innovations.
Although the Markham languages are Austronesian, they have had much contact with neighbouring Papuan languages.