Yei language

Yei
Yey
RegionSouth Papua
EthnicityYei
Native speakers
(2,400 cited 2001)
Dialects
  • Upper
  • Lower
Language codes
ISO 639-3jei
Glottologyeii1239

Yei (Yey, Jei, Je, Yei-Nan) is a Papuan language spoken along the upper reaches of the Maro River, in the Merauke, South Papua, Indonesia. The Upper and Lower Yey dialects are only mutually intelligible with difficulty.

Distribution

According to Merauke local government, Yei people live in multiple villages spread between four districts in eastern Merauke Regency, a finding corroborated by Evans (2018):

References

  1. ↑ Yei at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ KEPUTUSAN BUPATI MERAUKE NO 100-3-3-2-1413-TAHUN 2024 Tentang Pengakuan, Perlindungan, Penghormatan Hak Masyarakat Hukum Adat Dan Wilayah Adat Suku Yei (PDF). Merauke: Kabupaten Merauke. 2024.
  3. ↑ 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.