Trans-Fly

The Trans-Fly languages form a small family of Papuan languages spoken around the lower Fly River of southern New Guinea, on the Oriomo Plateau and along the Paho River. Its two main branches are the Oriomo, or Eastern Trans-Fly, group, whose Meriam speech also extends into the Torres Strait islands, and the Pahoturi group, a chain of about eight closely related village varieties.

The Spanish navigator Luís Vaz de Torres was the first recorded European visitor to the adjacent waters; his expedition sailed through the Torres Strait in 1606. Pahoturi-speaking communities originally lived by hunting and gathering before turning to gardening. Linguists have differed over whether the family belongs to Trans–New Guinea or stands on its own.