The Yawa-Saweru, or Yapen, languages (Wikipedia titles the article Yawa languages) are a small family of two closely related Papuan languages, Yawa and Saweru, spoken on central Yapen Island and nearby islets in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua. Because of their strong similarity the two are sometimes considered divergent dialects of a single language rather than separate members of a family. Yawa proper had about 6,000 speakers in 1987, while Saweru is moribund, spoken by roughly 150 people of an ethnic population of 300.
Facts
RegionSpoken on central Yapen Island and nearby islets in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua. 1 Proto-Language StatusFoley (2018) classifies Yawa as an independent language family rather than part of West Papuan. Yawa and Saweru are similar enough that some treat them as dialects of a single language, which would then be a language isolate. 1 Partially Attested
Speaker CountYawa proper had 6000 speakers in 1987; Saweru, the family's other member, is separately reported as moribund with about 150 speakers out of an ethnic group of 300, not included in this figure. Sources
1. Wikipedia: Yawa Languages (Family Article)
WikipediaLead section, second paragraph
They are spoken on central Yapen Island and nearby islets, in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua, which they share with the Austronesian Yapen languages.
Classification section, final paragraph
Foley (2018) classifies Yawa separately as an independent language family.
Third paragraph, speaker population statement
Yawa proper had 6000 speakers in 1987.
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