Karuk or
Karok is an
endangered language of northwestern
California. It is the traditional language of the
Karuk people, most of whom now speak
English.
William Bright documented the Karuk language and produced a grammar of it in 1957. Revitalization of the language followed. According to Census 2000, there are 55 people between the ages of 5 and 17 who can speak Karuk, including 10 with limited English proficiency.
Classification
Karuk is a language isolate, sharing few if any similarities with other nearby languages. Historically, the American linguist
Edward Sapir proposed it be classified as part of the
Hokan family he hypothesized. However, little evidence supports this proposal.Campbell, Lyle. 2000.
American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America.
Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics. USA: Oxford University Press.Bright, William.
The Karok Language, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1957.
Phonology
Vowels
Consonants
Grammar
Karuk is a
polysynthetic language known for its method of arranging old and new information: "...skilled Karuk...
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