Tonda
West Morehead River
Geographic distribution	SouthernNew Guinea
Linguistic classification	Yam Tonda
Language codes
Glottolog	tond1250
Map: The Yam languages of New Guinea   Yam languages   Trans–New Guinea languages   Other Papuan languages   Austronesian languages   Australian languages   Uninhabited

TheTonda languages form a branch of theYam language family of southernNew Guinea. There are over 10 languages.^[1]

Tonda languages share some areal features are shared with theKolopom languages.^[2]

The Tonda languages are:^[1][3]

Tonda / West Morehead River

• Arammba
• Central Morehead River:Anta,Kómnzo,Wára,Wérè,Kémä,Kánchá
• Warta Thuntai
• Bensbach River
  • Upper Bensbach River
    • Mblafe–Ránmo
    • Ngarna–Rema
      • Nggarna (Sota)
      • Rema
  • Kanum
    • Ngkolmpu:Ngkâlmpw/Ngkontar,Bädi
    • South Kanum:Bârkâli-Smärki,Tämer

Notes (see Evans 2018: 681):

• Each terminal bullet point lists a differentdialect chain.
• Ránmo is linguistically a dialect ofMblafe, but Ránmo speakers consider their language to be a separate, distinct language.
• Wérè is linguistically a dialect ofWára, but Wèré speakers consider their language to be a separate, distinct language.

Tonda languages are unique for theirbase-6 numeral systems, which likely originated from counting yams (rather than fingers or body parts as with most other languages).^[2]

• Evans, Nicholas (2018). "The languages of Southern New Guinea". In Palmer, Bill (ed.).The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 641–774.ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

• Timothy Usher, New Guinea World,Proto–West Morehead River (under construction 2020)

• Grummitt, John and Janell Masters. 2012.A Survey of the Tonda Sub-Group of Languages. SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2012-018.

• Tonda languages
• Western Yam languages

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata