Social:Karas language

From HandWiki
Short description: Berau Gulf language spoken in Indonesia
Karas
Kalamang
RegionWest Papua
Native speakers
100 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3kgv
Glottologkara1499[2]
Lang Status 40-SE.svg
Karas is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
Approximate location where Karas is spoken
Approximate location where Karas is spoken
Karas
Approximate location where Karas is spoken
Approximate location where Karas is spoken
Karas
Approximate location where Karas is spoken
Approximate location where Karas is spoken
Karas
Coordinates: [ ⚑ ] 3°28′S 132°41′E / 3.47°S 132.68°E / -3.47; 132.68

Karas is a divergent Trans–New Guinea language spoken on the biggest of the Karas Islands off the Bomberai Peninsula, that appears to be most closely related to the West Bomberai languages. It is spoken in Antalisa and Mas villages on Karas Island.[3]

Phonology

Consonants[4]
Labial Alveolar Dorsal
Plosive p b t d k g
Fricative (f) s (h)
Nasal m n ŋ
Approximant w r, l j
  • The consonants /f/ and /h/ are marginal.
Vowels[4]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a
  • The vowels /a e i/ are reduced to [ə] in unstressed syllables in fast or casual speech.

Additionally, the following diphthongs are present: /ei/, /oi/, /ou/, /ui/.

Pronouns

Cowan (1953) records the following pronouns for Karas.

singular dual plural
1st
person
exclusive aan inir piridok
inclusive aantemu (?)
2nd person kame ? kijumene
3rd person mame mjeir mubameir

Visser (2020) records the following pronouns for Karas of Maas village:

Free nominative
singular dual plural
1st
person
exclusive an in-ier in
inclusive pi-er pi
2nd person ka ki-er ki
3rd person ma m-ier mu
  
Free possessive
singular plural
1st
person
exclusive aŋ-gon pi-n
inclusive iŋ-gon
2nd person ka-in ki-n
3rd person ma-in mu-in
  
Possessive suffix
singular plural
1st
person
exclusive -an -pe, -p-in
inclusive -un
2nd person -tʃa -tʃe
3rd person -un -un

The free possessives and possessive suffixes can occur together.[5]

References

  1. "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger" (in en). http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-2539.html. 
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds (2017). "Kalamang". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/kara1499. 
  3. Karas language at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) closed access
  4. 4.0 4.1 Visser, Eline (2016). A Grammar Sketch of Kalamang with a Focus on Phonetics and Phonology (Master thesis). University of Oslo. urn:nbn:no-54973.
  5. Visser, Eline (2020). A Grammar of Kalamang: The Papuan Language of the Karas Islands (PhD thesis). Lund University.

Sources

External links

  • Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Kalamang