Indo-Pacific Languages - External Classification

External Classification

See also: Bea language, Cari language, Kede language, and Juwoi language

Merritt Ruhlen comments that, "At the present time the evidence connecting Indo-Pacific to the world's other language families is sparse, comparable perhaps to the relatively weak links between Khoisan and other families", but adds that "...there do appear to be some threads connecting Indo-Pacific with the world's other language families, threads that further research can be expected to strengthen." He sees this lack of evidence as the result partly of our general lack of knowledge of these languages and the almost complete lack of meaningful historical studies of them, and partly of the great linguistic diversity of New Guinea. Ruhlen gives the Southern Tasmanian mo-took (forefinger), the Southeastern Tasmanian togue (hand), the Proto-Karonan *dik (one), the Boven Mbian tek (fingernail), and the Digul tuk (fingernail) as examples of forms that may be related to tik, a widespread root "whose original meaning was probably 'finger'." According to him, the root can also be found in Nilo-Saharan, Niger–Kordofanian, Afroasiatic, Eurasiatic, Dené–Caucasian, Austric, and Amerind.

Ruhlen regards pal, meaning two, as another common root in the world's languages; within Indo-Pacific, related forms with the same meaning in the Andamanese languages include Biada's (ik)pāūr(-da), Kede's (ír-)pōl, Chariar's (nér-)pól, and Juwoi's (ró-)pāūr, related forms with the same meaning in Tasmania include Southeastern Tasmanian's boula ~ bura and Southern Tasmanian's pooalih, and related forms with the same meaning in New Guinea include Ndani's bere and Sauweri's pere. According to him, similar forms can also be found outside Indo-Pacific in Australian, Nilo-Saharan, Niger–Kordofanian, Afroasiatic, Eurasiatic, Dravidian, Austric, and Amerind, although its meaning has changed significantly in some of these families.