Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 8, 2026

Nabi language

Nabi (Nambi), a.k.a. Metan, is a Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea. It was assigned to the Maimai branch in Ross (2005).

Last revised
Aug 8, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
101 w
Citations
1
Source
Nabi
Metan
Native toPapua New Guinea
RegionSandaun Province
Native speakers
620 (2003)1
Language codes
ISO 639-3mty
Glottolognabi1239
ELPNambi

Nabi (Nambi), a.k.a. Metan, is a Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea. It was assigned to the Maimai branch in Ross (2005).

The language is spoken in three villages; according to Ethnologue, in two they prefer the name Nabi, and in the third Metan.

References

References

  1. Nabi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  • Ross, Malcolm (2005). "Pronouns as a preliminary diagnostic for grouping Papuan languages." In: Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Robin Hide and Jack Golson, eds, Papuan pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples, 15–66. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.