hypothetical language superfamily that includes the Austroasiatic (Austroasiatic languages) and Austronesian (Austronesian languages) (Malayo-Polynesian) language families. The languages of these two families are spoken in an area extending from the island of Madagascar in the west to Easter Island in the east and as far northward as the Himalayas. This classification scheme, proposed in 1906 by the German priest and anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt, is not generally accepted.