The Meso-Melanesian languages are a linkage of

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 ...

spoken in the large Melanesian islands of New Ireland and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

east of New Guinea.

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

is one of the most conservative languages.

Composition

The languages group as follows: * Willaumez linkage: Bola, Bulu, Meramera, Nakanai *Bali–Vitu:

(Uneapa), Vitu (Muduapa) ay be a single language*New Ireland – Northwest Solomonic linkage New Ireland Languages

**Tungag–Nalik family: Tigak, Tungag, Nalik, Laxudumau,

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in ...

, Tiang **Tabar linkage: Madara (Tabar), Lihir, Notsi **Madak linkage: Barok, Lavatbura-Lamusong, Madak ** Tomoip **

St George linkage The St. George linkage links the Northwest Solomonic languages, North-West Solomonic and New ireland languages, New Ireland languages under the Meso-Melanesian languages. Members of the St George linkage are Niwer Mil language, Warwar Feni, Fana ...

*** Niwer Mil *** Warwar Feni *** Fanamaket *** Sursurunga *** Konomala ***Patpatar–Tolai: Patpatar, Lungalunga (Minigir), Tolai (Kuanua) ***Label–Bilur:

Label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, Bilur ***Kandas–Ramoaaina: Kandas, Ramoaaina *** Siar *** Northwest Solomonic linkage ''Ethnologue'' adds Guramalum to the St George linkage. The

Willaumez Peninsula The Willaumez Peninsula is located on the north coast of New Britain in the West New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea. It was named after Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez by Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. The peninsula extends into the Bism ...

on the north coast of

New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...

was evidently the center of dispersal. Johnston (1982) combines the Willaumez and Bali–Vitu branches into a single

Kimbe Kimbe is the capital of the province of West New Britain in Papua New Guinea, and the largest settlement on the island. The bustling town of Kimbe is the third largest port in Papua New Guinea and is the fastest growing city in the South Pacific. ...

branch, for which he reconstructs Proto-Kimbe.

Language contact

Lenition In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronically (within a language ...

in Lamasong, Madak, Barok, Nalik, and

may have diffused via influence from Kuot, the only non-Austronesian language spoken on New Ireland (Ross 1994: 566).Ross, Malcolm. 1994. Areal phonological features in north central New Ireland. In: Dutton and Tryon (eds.) Language contact and change in the Austronesian world, 551–572. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

References

{{Austronesian languages Western Oceanic languages