Kerek language

Kerek is a language of Russia that belongs to the northern branch of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages. On historical linguistic grounds it is most closely related to Koryak (both language have a merger of the proto-Chuktotian phonemes /*ð/ and /*r/ with /*j/). The next closest relative is Chukchi (/*ð/ and /*r/ are merged, but not /*j/).

In 1997 there were still two speakers remaining, but now the language is extinct (Fortescue 2005:1). Over the 20th century many members of the Kerek ethnic group shifted to Chukchi, the language of the majority ethnic group in the area, but now most Chukchis and Kereks speak Russian.

External links

• Ethnologue report
• Bibliography

References

Fortescue, Michael 2005. Comparative Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dictionary. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

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Last updated on Thursday December 20, 2007 at 14:06:24 PST (GMT -0800)
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