Papuan Gulf

The Papuan Gulf languages form a proposed family of Papuan languages spoken in the swampy lowlands inland from the Gulf of Papua, in southern Papua New Guinea. Its members are each confined to a river or lake district: Rumu lies near the Kikori and Turama rivers, the Kutubuan group takes its name from Lake Kutubu, and Gogodala is spoken on the Fly and Aramia River floodplains, where dugout canoes traditionally served as the main means of transport.

The Spanish expedition of Luís Vaz de Torres passed through the nearby Torres Strait in 1606. Linguists have assigned the branches to the Trans–New Guinea family or treated them as a distinct Papuan Gulf stock, and their mutual relationship remains debated.