Karuk language

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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