Group of about 750 languages spoken by indigenous peoples of New Guinea and parts of some neighbouring islands, including Alor, Bougainville, Halmahera, New Britain, New Ireland, and Timor.
Spoken by perhaps five million people, Papuan languages belong to about 60 families, the higher genetic relationships of which are still uncertain. This diversity, conjoined with the numerous Austronesian languages spoken on smaller parts of New Guinea and on adjacent islands, makes the region the most linguistically heterogeneous area of the world. The vast majority of Papuan languages have fewer than 100,000 speakers; among those with more are Chimbu and Enga, spoken in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.