Greater Binanderean languages


The Greater Binanderean or Guhu-Oro languages are a language family spoken along the northeast coast of the Papuan Peninsula – the "Bird's Tail" of New Guinea – and appear to be a recent expansion from the north. They were classified as a branch of the Trans–New Guinea languages by Stephen Wurm and Malcolm Ross, but removed by Timothy Usher. The Binandere family proper is transparently valid; Ross connected it to the Guhu-Semane isolate based on pronominal evidence, and this has been confirmed by Smallhorn. Proto-Binanderean has been reconstructed in Smallhorn. There is evidence that settlements of people speaking Oceanic languages along the Binanderean coast were gradually absorbed into inland communities speaking Binanderean languages.

Classification

Greater Binanderean consists of the Guhu-Samane language and the Binanderean languages proper.
Smallhorn provides the following classification:
However, Central Binanderean and Nuclear Binanderean are non-genealogical linkages.
Usher, who calls the Binanderean languages proper "Oro" after Oro Province, classifies them very similarly, apart from not reproducing the non-cladistic linkages:
Smallhorn provides population figures for the following Binanderean languages.
;Total: about 80,000

Pronouns

Ross reconstructs both independent pronouns and verbal person prefixes:
Only 1sg continues the TNG set.

Evolution

Greater Binanderean reflexes of proto-Trans-New Guinea etyma are:
Binandere language:
Korafe language:
Suena language:
Yega language:
Like the Koiarian languages, Binanderean languages only allow for open syllables and do not allow final CVC.