Central Pacific languages
Branch of the Oceanic languages
title: "Central Pacific languages" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["central-pacific-languages", "languages-of-oceania", "central–eastern-oceanic-languages"] description: "Branch of the Oceanic languages" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Pacific_languages" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Branch of the Oceanic languages ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language family"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Central Pacific |
| altname | Fijian–Polynesian |
| region | Fiji and Polynesia |
| familycolor | Austronesian |
| fam2 | Malayo-Polynesian |
| fam3 | Oceanic |
| fam4 | Central–Eastern Oceanic |
| protoname | Proto-Central Pacific |
| child1 | West Fijian – Rotuman |
| child2 | East Fijian – Polynesian |
| glotto | cent2060 |
| glottorefname | Central Pacific linkage |
| map | Fijian-Polynesian.svg |
| mapcaption | The Central Pacific languages |
| Pink is Western Fijian – Rotuman; ocher East Fijian – Polynesian (not shown: Rapa Nui) | |
| :: |
|name=Central Pacific |altname=Fijian–Polynesian |region=Fiji and Polynesia |familycolor=Austronesian |fam2=Malayo-Polynesian |fam3=Oceanic |fam4=Central–Eastern Oceanic |protoname=Proto-Central Pacific |child1=West Fijian – Rotuman |child2=East Fijian – Polynesian |glotto=cent2060 |glottorefname=Central Pacific linkage |map=Fijian-Polynesian.svg |mapcaption=The Central Pacific languages Pink is Western Fijian – Rotuman; ocher East Fijian – Polynesian (not shown: Rapa Nui)
The Central Pacific languages, also known as Fijian–Polynesian languages, are a branch of the Oceanic languages spoken in Fiji and Polynesia.
Classification
Ross et al. (2002) classify the languages as a linkage.
- Central Pacific
- Western
- Rotuman
- Western Fijian linkage
- Namosi-Naitasiri-Serua
- Western Fijian (Nadroga, Waya)
- East Central Pacific linkage
- Eastern Fijian linkage
- Polynesian family
- Western
The West Fijian languages are more closely related to Rotuman, and East Fijian to Polynesian, than they are to each other, but subsequent contact has caused them to reconverge. Rotuman has been influenced by Polynesian languages, evident today by the presence of two reflex sets (one inherited, one from Polynesian).
References
References
- [[John Lynch (linguist). Lynch, John]], [[Malcolm Ross (linguist). Malcolm Ross]] & [[Terry Crowley (linguist). Terry Crowley]]. 2002. ''The Oceanic languages.'' Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press.
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