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The Sarmi-Jayapura Bay languages consist of half a dozen languages spoken on the northern coast of Papua province of Indonesia:[1]

Sobei, Bonggo, Tarpia (Sarmi), Kayupulau, Ormu, Tobati (Jayapura Bay)

Sarmi-Jayapura
Sarmi-Jayapura Bay
Geographic distribution	Northern Papua
Linguistic classification	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Western Oceanic North New Guinea ? Sarmi-Jayapura
Proto-language	Proto-Sarmi–Jayapura
Glottolog	sarm1241

Ross (1988) had considered Sarmi and Jayapura Bay (Kayapulau, Orma and Tobati) to be separate but related groups. Ross (1988) listed several additional Sarmi languages:

Anus (Korur) and Podena, Liki and Wakde (close to Sobei), Masimasi, Kaptiau, and Yamna.

The inclusion of a supposed Yarsun language[2] appears to be due to confusion of language names with island names. No such language is attested; the island is located between that of the Anus and Podena languages, and all three islands are reported to speak dialects of a single language according to the first source to mention it.[3]

With the exception of certain Micronesian languages, the Sarmi-Jayapura languages have the westernmost distribution out of all Oceanic languages.[4]

Sound correspondences

Grace (1971:34-37) published a table of sound correspondences for the Sarmi languages, from which the following forms are gleaned. The languages are arranged from west to east.

Proto-Oceanic	Sobei	Wakde	Masimasi	Anus	Bonggo	Tarpia
*api 'fire'	yafu	yafu		yeif	af	yap
*isuŋ 'nose'	su-	hiu-	si-	su-	sua-	siwi-
*susu 'breast'	sisu-	ihi-			su-	su-
*ranum 'water'	rani	ranu	ranu	dein	dan	dan
*raun 'leaf'	rau	rau	rou	dau	dau	dau
*mapine 'woman'	mefne	mafani		mofin	mofin	mupin
*manuk 'bird'	maninetio	mani	mani	mein	man	man
*pulu 'feather'	fido	firu		firo	fru	puru
*puaq 'fruit'	afo	afu	afo	fowo	fukwa	pawa
*paqoRu 'new'	fefou	afafu		fofou	fieu	pipiu
*patu 'stone'	fati	fati	fati	feit	fiat	payaʔ
*pat 'four'	fau	fau		fau	fau	pau
*tolu 'three'	tou	tou	tour	tou	tor	tor
*taliŋa 'ear'	tidi-	tiri-	tira-	terne-	təren-	tarni-
*taŋis 'cry'	-tan	-tan	-tan	-tein	tənian	-nsin
*taumataq 'person'	temto	tamturi		timot	tumuat	tamuʔ
*kutu 'louse'	kute	witi		kut	kut	kuʔ
*kulit 'skin'	wadi	wari	wiri	keri	kru	kuru
*qone 'sand'	wane	wane	wane	wen	wen	wen
*qasawa 'spouse'	eson	ahun		sawe	sua	tawa

References

• Grace, George W. (1971). Notes on the phonological history of the Austronesian languages of the Sarmi Coast. Oceanic Linguistics 10:11-37.
• Ross, Malcolm (1988). Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian languages of western Melanesia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
• Proto Oceanic basic vocabulary database

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