Proto-Hesperonesian

Western Malayo-Polynesian languages

Western Malayo-Polynesian languages

Paraphyletic grouping of Austronesian languages

The Western Malayo-Polynesian (WMP) languages, also known as the Hesperonesian languages, are a paraphyletic grouping of Austronesian languages that includes those Malayo-Polynesian languages that do not belong to the Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian (CEMP) branch. This includes all Austronesian languages spoken in Madagascar, Mainland Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the Greater Sunda Islands (including smaller neighboring islands), Bali, Lombok, the western half of Sumbawa, Palau and the Mariana Islands.

Quick Facts Geographic distribution, Linguistic classification ...

Western Malayo-Polynesian was originally proposed by Robert Blust as a sister branch within Malayo-Polynesian coordinate to the CEMP branch.[1] Because there are no features that define the WMP languages positively as a subgroup, recent classifications have abandoned it.[2][3]

References

  1. [1]
    Blust, Robert. 1980. Austronesian Etymologies. Oceanic Linguistics 19, pp. 1-189
  2. [2]
    K. Alexander Adelaar & Nikolaus Himmelmann. 2005. The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar: A historical perspective, pp. 1-42, London, Routledge ISBN 0-7007-1286-0
  3. [3]
    Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "The Western Malayo-Polynesian Problem". Oceanic Linguistics. 56 (2): 435–490. doi:10.1353/ol.2017.0021. S2CID 149377092.
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