The family of Northwest Solomonic languages is a branch of the

Oceanic languages The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...

. It includes the Austronesian languages of Bougainville and Buka in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, and of Choiseul,

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of ...

, and Santa Isabel (excluding Bugotu) in

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. The unity of Northwest Solomonic and the number and composition of its subgroups, along with its relationship to other Oceanic groups, was established in pioneering work by Malcolm Ross.

Languages

Northwest Solomonic languages group as follows: * Nehan – North Bougainville

linkage Linkage may refer to: * ''Linkage'' (album), by J-pop singer Mami Kawada, released in 2010 *Linkage (graph theory), the maximum min-degree of any of its subgraphs *Linkage (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * Linkage (hierarchical cluster ...

** Nehan (Nissan) **Saposa–Tinputz: Hahon, Ratsua, Saposa (Taiof)– Teop, Tinputz **Buka:

Halia Halie or Halia (Ancient Greek: Ἁλίη or Ἁλία ''Haliê'' means 'the dweller in the sea' or 'the briney'Banep. 172/ref>) is the name of the following characters in Greek mythology: * Halie, the "ox-eyed" Nereid, sea-nymph daughter of the ' ...

– Hakö, Petats ** Papapana ** Solos * Piva–Bannoni family:

Piva Piva may refer to: * Piva (river), a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina * Piva, Montenegro, a region in Montenegro and tribe * Piva River, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea * Piva Trail, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea ** Battle for Piva Tr ...

(Lawunuia), Bannoni * Mono–Uruavan family: Mono-Alu, Torau, Uruava *Choiseul linkage: Babatana (including Sisingga)– Ririo, Vaghua– Varisi *New Georgia – Ysabel family **

linkage:

Simbo Simbo is an island in Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province. It was known to early Europeans as Eddystone Island. Geography Simbo is actually two main islands, one small island called Nusa Simbo separated by a saltwater lagoon f ...

(Simbo Island),

Roviana Roviana is a member of the North West Solomonic branch of Oceanic languages. It is spoken around Roviana and Vonavona lagoons at the north central New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. It has 10,000 first-language speakers and an additional 16,000 ...

– Kusaghe, Marovo, Hoava,

Vangunu Vangunu is an island, part of the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is located between New Georgia and Nggatokae Island. To the north and east of the island is Marovo Lagoon. The island has an area of . There are a small number of ...

(

Vangunu Island Vangunu is an island, part of the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is located between New Georgia and Nggatokae Island. To the north and east of the island is Marovo Lagoon. The island has an area of . There are a small number of ...

), Nduke (

Kolombangara Island Kolombangara (sometimes spelled ''Kulambangara'') is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the nation state of Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The name is from a local language, a rough translation of its meaning is ...

), Ghanongga ( Ranongga Island), Lungga ( Ranongga Island), Ughele (North

Rendova Island Rendova is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea. Geography Rendova Island is a roughly rectangularly-shaped island, located in the South Pacific in the New Georgia Islands. The ...

) **Ysabel linkage: Zabana (Kia)– Laghu^†,

Kokota Kokota is a town and sub-prefecture in the Lola Prefecture in the Nzérékoré Region of south-eastern Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of G ...

– Zazao (Kilokaka)– Blablanga,

Gao Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impor ...

– Cheke Holo (Maringe, Hograno) In addition, the extinct

Kazukuru language Kazukuru is an extinct language that was once spoken in New Georgia, Solomon Islands. The Dororo and Guliguli languages (if they even existed) were transcriptional variants, dialects, or closely related. The speakers of Kazukuru gradually merged ...

was probably one of the New Georgia languages. The unclassified extinct language

Tetepare Tetepare Island is the largest uninhabited island in the South Pacific, located at . It is a part of Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It covers approximately . Tetepare supports pristine lowland rainforest and a rich inshore marine area ...

might have also been one of the New Georgia languages, if it was Austronesian at all.

Basic vocabulary

Basic vocabulary in many Northwest Solomonic languages is aberrant, and many forms do not have

Proto-Oceanic Proto-Oceanic (abbr. ''POc'') is a proto-language that historical linguists since Otto Dempwolff have reconstructed as the hypothetical common ancestor of the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Oceanic is a descendant ...

cognates.Pawley, Andrew. Explaining the Aberrant Austronesian Languages of Southeast Melanesia: 150 Years of Debate. ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'', The, Vol. 115, No. 3, Sept 2006: 215-258. Below, Ririo, Zabana, and Maringe are compared with two

Southeast Solomonic languages The family of Southeast Solomonic languages forms a branch of the Oceanic languages. It consists of some 26 languages covering the South East Solomon Islands, from the tip of Santa Isabel to Makira. The fact that there is little diversity amongs ...

. Aberrant forms are in ''italics''. :

Languages

Basic vocabulary

Notes

References

Further reading