Evidence of Contact between Binanderean and Oceanic Languages

Abstract

The Binanderean languages extend from southern Morobe Province into most of Oro Province, occupying 270 km of Papua New Guinea coastline that now lacks any Austronesian languages. Nevertheless, traces of contact with Oceanic languages can be found among Binanderean languages, even in a few Proto-Binan-derean reconstructions. Binanderean influence also shows up in the Oceanic languages at either end of that coastline. This work presents linguistic and recent ethnohistorical evidence of Oceanic-Binanderean contact. In Oro Province, Oceanic Maisin has been so heavily affected that scholars once argued about whether it was basically Austronesian or Papuan. The word order of Oceanic Papuan Tip languages has also been influenced by Binanderean word order, while Binanderean Korafe shows evidence of close contact with Oceanic neighbors. In Morobe Province, Oceanic Numbami has been in close contact with neighboring Guhu-Samane, which forms a very divergent relative of Binanderean. Guhu-Samane may owe some of its divergent features to extended contact with Oceanic languages like Numbami (and perhaps now-extinct dialects of Numbami).