Hatam-Mansim is a small language family of Western New Guinea consisting of two languages, Hatam and Mansim, also called Borai. Malcolm Ross tentatively classified Hatam as a branch of the West Papuan family based on pronoun similarities, but Glottolog continues to list Hatam-Mansim as an independent family, treating Mansim as a language distinct from Hatam on the strength of old wordlist comparisons.
Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language StatusRoss (2005) tentatively classified Hatam as part of the West Papuan family based on pronoun similarities, without considering Mansim. Glottolog continues to list Hatam-Mansim as an independent language family rather than accepting the West Papuan link. 1 Ross (2005) proposed a West Papuan affiliation for Hatam alone; Glottolog treats Hatam-Mansim as an independent family. Partially Attested
Speaker CountCombined estimate across the family's two languages: Hatam approximately 16,000 speakers (1993, cited here); Mansim approximately 50 speakers, uncertain (2010, Wikipedia Mansim language, not separately cited in this pass). RegionEastern Bird's Head, Indonesian Papua 1 In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Hatam-Mansim languages
WikipediaInfobox, region field
Eastern Bird's Head, Indonesian Papua
Classification section
Malcolm Ross tentatively classified Hatam as a branch of the West Papuan family based on pronoun similarities
View the Source 2. Wikipedia: Hatam language
WikipediaInfobox, Native speakers fieldQuote, Infobox, Native speakers field
(16,000 cited 1993)
Wikidata: Hatam-Mansim
Wikidata Q25040902, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.