| Torricelli | |
|---|---|
| Torricelli Range – Sepik Coast | |
| Geographic distribution | Torricelli Range and coast, northern Papua New Guinea (East Sepik, Sandaun, and Madang provinces) |
| Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families |
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | nucl1708 (Nuclear Torricelli) |
 The Torricelli languages as classified by Foley (2018) | |
The Torricelli languages are a family of about fifty languages of the northern Papua New Guinea coast, spoken by about 80,000 people. They are named after the Torricelli Mountains. The most populous and best known Torricelli language is Arapesh, with about 30,000 speakers.
They are not clearly related to other Papuan language families; however, attempts have been made to establish external links.[1] The most promising[clarification needed] external relationship for the Torricelli family is the Sepik languages. (In reconstructions of both families, the pronouns have a plural suffix *-m and a dual suffix *-p.)
C.L. Voorhoeve (1987) has proposed that they are related to the North Halmahera languages and most of the languages of the Bird’s Head Peninsula, thus forming the easternmost extension of the postulated West Papuan family.[2]
- ^ Wurm, Stephen A. (2007). "Australasia and the Pacific". In Moseley, Christopher (ed.). Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages. Abingdon–New York: Routledge. pp. 425–577. doi:10.4324/9780203645659. ISBN 9780203645659.
- ^ Voorhoeve, C.L. (1987). "Worming one's way through New Guinea : The chase of the peripatetic pronouns". In Laycock, Donald L.; Winter, Werner (eds.). A world of language: papers presented to Professor S.A. Wurm on his 65th birthday. Pacific Linguistics C-100. Canberra: Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. pp. 709–727. ISBN 0-85883-357-3.