The Keram languages of New Guinea are part of the Ramu family. They are the Mongol–Langam languages and a pair of languages sometimes thought to belong to the Grass family. (See Grass languages for the history of classification.)
| Keram | |
|---|---|
| Keram River | |
| Geographic distribution | Keram River watershed, Papua New Guinea |
| Linguistic classification | Ramu–Keram
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None |
Foley (2018) classifies most of them in the Grass branch of the Ramu family,[1] while Usher classifies them as coordinate with the Ramu family, leaving a reduced number of languages in the Grass branch.[2]
They are named for the Keram River.
Languages
edit- East Keram River
- West Keram River (Mongol–Langam)
Pronouns
editUsher (2020) reconstructs the pronouns of East Keram and West Keram as follows:[3]
East Keram West Keram sg pl sg pl 1 *ni *anɨ *ni *an 2 *[o/u] *[o/u]nɨ *u *un 3 *ma *aLɨ *mɨ, *ma- *ndɨ
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
- ^ West Keram River – NewGuineaWorld
- ^ East Keram River, West Keram River
External links
edit- Timothy Usher, New Guinea World, Proto–East Keram River
- (ibid) Proto–West Keram River