Western Malayo-Polynesian languages
Quick Summary
Western Malayo-Polynesian (WMP) is a broad classification for Austronesian languages found in the Philippines, western Indonesia, mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and parts of western Micronesia like Chamorro and Palauan. It functions as a catch-all category for languages that don't share the innovations found in Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages. Many well-known languages, such as Tagalog, Malay, Javanese, and Malagasy, fall under the WMP classification. The term "Malayo-Polynesian" was coined by Wilhelm von Humboldt and later adapted by Wilhelm Schmidt to "Austronesian".12
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.