Meriam was classified in the Eastern Trans-Fly family of the Trans–New Guinea Phylum by Stephen Wurm, who however felt that these have retained remnants of pre-Trans–New Guinea languages; this is followed by Ethnologue (2005).
mˈɪɹiˌæm wʌz klˈæsᵻfˌaɪd ɪnðɪ ˈiːstɚn tɹˈænzflˈaɪ fˈæmɪli ʌvðə tɹˈænz nˈuː ɡˈɪni fˈaɪləm baɪ stˈiːvən wˈɜːm, hˌuː haʊˈɛvɚ fˈɛlt ðæt ðiːz hæv ɹᵻtˈeɪnd ɹˈɛmnənts ʌv pɹˈiːtɹˈænz nˈuː ɡˈɪni lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz; ðɪs ɪz fˈɑːloʊd baɪ ˈɛθnəlˌɑːɡ tˈuː θˈaʊzənd fˈaɪv.