Kerek (russian: link=no, Керекский язык) is an extinct language of Russia of the northern branch of the

Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages The Chukotko-Kamchatkan or Chukchi–Kamchatkan languages are a language family of extreme northeastern Siberia. Its speakers traditionally were indigenous hunter-gatherers and reindeer-herders. Chukotko-Kamchatkan is endangered. The Kamchatkan ...

. On historical linguistic grounds it is most closely related to Koryak (both languages have a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

of the proto-Chuktotian

phonemes In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...

/*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 by 2005 the language was considered extinct. According to the 2010 census, there were 10 people claiming Kerek as their native language, a number which may include partial speakers and non-speakers who claim the language as part of their ethnic heritage. 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 The Chukchi, or Chukchee ( ckt, Ԓыгъоравэтԓьэт, О'равэтԓьэт, ''Ḷygʺoravètḷʹèt, O'ravètḷʹèt''), are a Siberian indigenous people native to the Chukchi Peninsula, the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Berin ...

and

Kereks Kereks (autonym aӈӄalҕakku, ''angqalghakku'', "seaside people"; ) are an ethnic group of people in Russia. In the 2021 census, only 23 people registered as ethnic Kereks in Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were only 4, and according ...

speak Russian. Kerek is an agglutinative language, meaning that the morphemes build on each other to have different meanings.

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Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerek Language Agglutinative languages Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages Languages of Russia Extinct languages of Asia