Karuk language

Karuk
Region	Northwestern California, USA
Native speakers	12  (2007)[1] 30 L2 speakers
Language family	Hokan ? Karuk
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kyh
Glottolog	karo1304[2]

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. The name is derived from the word Káruk, which means 'upriver'.^[3]:397

Use

Linguist William Bright documented the Karuk language and produced a grammar of it in 1957. When Bright began his studies in 1949 there were "a couple of hundred fluent speakers," but by 2011, there were fewer than a dozen fluent elders.^[4] A standardized system for writing the languages was adopted in the 1980s.^[1]

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 although little evidence supports this proposal.^[3] As Bright wrote, "The Karok language is not closely or obviously related to any other (in the area), but has been classified as a member of the northern group of Hokan languages, in a subgroup which includes Chimariko and the Shasta languages, spoken in the same general part of California as Karok itself."^[5]

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Grammar

Karuk is a polysynthetic language known for its method of arranging old and new information: "... skilled Karuk speakers use separate words to communicate new, salient detail, or to underscore known detail; and they use affixes for background details so that a listener's attention is not diverted."^[6]:41

References

Additional reading

• Philip Drucker (1965). Cultures of the north Pacific coast. Chandler Pub. Co. 
• Nancy Richardson (1993). Now you're speaking - Karuk!: Araráhih, the people's language. Center for Indian Community Development, Humboldt State University. 

External links

• Karuk Language Resources
• Karuk Dictionary and Texts

• Efforts Under Way to Preserve Karuk Language
• Traditional Karuk Songs Audio Gallery
• Karuk language overview at the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
• Karok language dictionary online from IDS (select simple or advanced browsing)
• Karuk basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
• Live Your Language Alliance (LYLA) Working to speak and hear traditional languages of the Tolowa, Karuk, Yurok, Hupa, Tsnungwe, Wiyot, Mattole, and Wailaki.
• OLAC resources in and about the Karok language

Languages of California Italics indicate extinct languages Algic Wiyot Yurok Athabascan Tolowa Hupa Mattole Kato Wailaki Chumashan Obispeño Island Chumash Purisimeño Ineseño Barbareño Ventureño Ohlone Karkin Chochenyo Ramaytush Tamyen Awaswas Mutsun Rumsen Chalon Hokan Chimariko Karuk Achomawi Atsugewi Northeastern Pomo Eastern Pomo Southeastern Pomo Northern Pomo Central Pomo Southern Pomo Kashaya Washo Mojave Kumeyaay Yana Yahi Penutian Klamath-Mudoc Yokuts Wintu Bay Miwok Coast Miwok Lake Miwok Plains Miwok Central Sierra Miwok Northern Sierra Miwok Southern Sierra Miwok Valley Maidu Northeast Maidu Northwest Maidu Nisenan Shastan Konomihu New River Shasta Okwanuchu Shasta Uto Aztecan Cahuilla Cupeño Kawaiisu Kitanemuk Luiseño-Juaneño Mono Northern Paiute Panamint Serrano Tataviam Tongva Ute Wintuan Nomlaki Patwin Southern Patwin Wintu Yokutsan Buena Vista Yokuts, Chukchansi, Gashowu Yokuts, Kings River Yokuts, Palewyami, Tule-Kaweah Yokuts, Valley Yokuts Yukian Yuki, Wappo Language isolates Esselen, Chimariko, Karuk, Salinan, Takelma Mesoamerican Amuzgo Chatino Chontal Maya Chinanteco Ch’ol Huichol K'iche' Mam Mazateco Mixe Mixtec Nahuatl Otomi Purépecha Tacuate Tarahumara Tlapaneco Tojolab'al Trique Tzeltal Tzotzil Uspanteko Yucatec Maya Zapoteco Zoogocho Zapotec Zoque Asian Chinese Korean Tagalog Vietnamese Indo-European American English California English Chicano English Spanish Armenian Punjabi Russian