Mehek

A language of Papua New Guinea

ISO 639: nux
Alternate Names: Driafleisuma, Indinogosima, Me’ek, Mehek Suma, Nuku
Population: 6,300 (1994 SIL).
Location:: Sandaun province: Nuku district, Makru-Klaplei area, Torricelli mountains lower foothills, southeast of Siliput. 9 large villages.
Language Status: 6b (Threatened).
Classification: Sepik, Tama
Dialects: Two primary dialects, both which are mutually intelligible with each other (Hatfield 2016). Lexical similarity: 51% with Pahi [lgt] (most similar).
Language Use: Mixed use with Tok Pisin [tpi] by adults in the home and community (Hatfield 2016). Some young people, all adults. Tok Pisin [tpi] is the dominant language used by speakers under 20 years old (Hatfield 2016). Positive attitudes. All also use Tok Pisin [tpi] (Hatfield 2016).
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 50%–75%. Grammar.

Location: Sandaun province: Nuku district, Makru-Klaplei area, Torricelli mountains lower foothills, southeast of Siliput. 9 large villages.