Upper Yuat languages


The Upper Yuat languages consist of two small language families, namely Arafundi and Piawi, spoken in the region of the upper Yuat River of New Guinea. The connection was first suggested by William A. Foley and confirmed by Timothy Usher, who further links them to the Madang languages.
Upper Yuat languages display more typological similarities with Trans-New Guinea than the other neighboring language families of the Sepik-Ramu basin. The Madang languages are frequently included in Trans–New Guinea classifications, but the connection is not yet demonstrated.
The Piawi languages are morphologically much simpler than the Arafundi languages.

Pronouns

Pronouns are:
The individual languages are as follows:
3rd-person *nu corresponds to Piawi 3 singular and Arafundi 2/3 plural, *ne to Piawi 2/3 plural and Arafundi 2/3 dual.

Phonology

Upper Yuat languages typically have 7 vowels: