Mek languages

The Mek languages are a well established family of Papuan languages spoken by the Mek peoples. They form a branch of the Trans–New Guinea languages in the classifications of Stephen Wurm (1975) and of Malcolm Ross (2005).

The Mek languages form three dialect chains (Heeschen 1998):

• Ketengban (including Okbap, Omban, Bime, Onya), Una (Goliath), Eipomek
• Kosarek Yale, Nipsan, Nalca
• Korupun-Sela (including Dagi, Sisibna, Deibula)

Mek, then called Goliath, was identified by M. Bromley in 1967. It was placed in TNG by Wurm (1975).

References

• Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages". In Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Robin Hide, Jack Golson, eds. Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 15–66. ISBN 0858835622. OCLC 67292782.