The Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages comprising some 450 languages spoken across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, though the branch is estimated to have only two million native speakers in total. Its largest individual languages are Eastern Fijian, with over 600,000 speakers, and Samoan, with an estimated 400,000; Gilbertese, Tongan, Tahitian, Maori and Tolai each have over 100,000 speakers. The reconstructed common ancestor of the group is called Proto-Oceanic.
Facts
RegionPolynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia 1 Speaker Count Proto-Language StatusReconstructed; the common ancestor of the Oceanic languages is called Proto-Oceanic. 1 Sources
1. Oceanic languages, Wikipedia
Introduction, sentence 1
comprising some 450 languages spoken in Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia
Introduction, sentence 1, clause 2
estimated to have only two million native speakers
Introduction, sentence 3
The common ancestor which is reconstructed for this group of languages is called Proto-Oceanic
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