Keram languages

(Redirected from Keram language)

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 classificationRamu–Keram
  • Keram
Subdivisions
Language codes
GlottologNone

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

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Pronouns

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Usher (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

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ West Keram River – NewGuineaWorld
  3. ^ East Keram River, West Keram River
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