The majority of the Papuan languages are spoken on the island of New Guinea ( which is divided between the country of Papua New Guinea and Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya ) , with a number spoken in the Bismarck Archipelago , Bougainville Island , and the Solomon Islands to the east , and in Halmahera , Timor , and the Alor archipelago to the west . The majority of the Papuan languages are spoken on the island of New Guinea , with a number spoken in the Bismarck Archipelago , Bougainville Island , and the Solomon Islands to the east , and in Halmahera , Timor , and the Alor archipelago to the west .