| Ok | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification: | Trans–New Guinea
|
| Subdivisions: |
Tangko
Western
Ngalum
Lowland
Mountain
|
The Ok languages are a family of a score of clearly related Trans–New Guinea languages spoken in a contiguous area of eastern Irian Jaya and western Papua New Guinea. They are:
Loughnane and Fedden (2011)[1] demonstrate that Oksapmin is related.
Alan Healey identified Ok in 1962. He later noted connections with the Asmat languages and Awyu–Dumut families (Healey 1970). Voorhoeve developed this into a Central and South New Guinea (CSNG) proposal. As part of CSNG, the Ok languages form part of the original proposal for Trans–New Guinea, a position tentatively maintained by Malcolm Ross, though reduced nearly to Healey's original conception. Ross states that he cannot tell if the similarities in CSNG are shared innovations or retentions from proto-TNG. Voorhoeve argues specifically for an Awyu–Ok relationship, and Foley believes that these two families may be closest to Asmat among the TNG languages.
The Ok languages have dyadic kinship terms.[2] The most numerous language is Ngalum, with some 20,000 speakers; the best known is probably Telefol.