Torricelli is one of the world's primary language families, comprising about 50 languages spoken by roughly 80,000 people across the Torricelli Range and coast of northern Papua New Guinea's East Sepik, Sandaun and Madang provinces. Its eight primary divisions include Arapesh, whose roughly 30,000 speakers make it the family's largest and best-known branch, along with Urim, Maimai, Wapei, Palei, One, Monumbo and Tayap-Marienberg. Torricelli is not clearly related to any other Papuan language family, though the neighboring Sepik languages, which share reconstructed plural and dual pronoun suffixes, are its most promising proposed connection.
Facts
Partially Attested
Proto-Language StatusPronoun and subject-agreement-prefix systems for proto-Torricelli have been reconstructed by Ross (2005) and Foley (2018); a fuller lexical and phonological reconstruction has not been published 1 Confirmed: proto-Torricelli personal pronouns have been reconstructed by Ross (2005) and Foley (2018). Open: a fuller lexical and phonological reconstruction beyond pronouns and agreement prefixes is not described in this source. RegionNorthern coast of Papua New Guinea, around the Torricelli Mountains 1 Speaker Count Sources
1. Wikipedia: Torricelli Languages
WikipediaWikipedia, Torricelli languages, introduction, region clause
The Torricelli languages are a family of about fifty languages of the northern Papua New Guinea coast, spoken by about 80,000 people.
Wikipedia, Torricelli languages, introduction, speaker-count clause
The Torricelli languages are a family of about fifty languages of the northern Papua New Guinea coast, spoken by about 80,000 people.
Wikipedia, Torricelli languages, section Pronouns
Foley (2018) reconstructs the independent personal pronouns *ki 'I' and *(y)i 'thou', and *(y)ip 'you (pl)'.
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.