Karkar language

Eastern Pauwasi language of Papua New Guinea KarkarYuri, Karkar-YuriNative toPapua New GuineaRegionGreen River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province: along the PNG-Indonesia border.Native speakers(1,100 cited 1994)Language familyPauwasi East PauwasiEmem–KarkarKarkarDialects North-Central Aula-Tarauwi Usari Language codesISO 639-3yujGlottologkark1258ELPKarkar-YuriCoordinates: 3°44′S 141°5′E / 3.733°S 141.083°E / -3.733; 141.083 Karkar, also known as Yuri, is the sole Eastern Pauwasi language of Papua New Guinea. There are about a thousand speakers along the Indonesian border spoken in Green River Rural LLG, Sandaun Province. Classification Karkar-Yuri is not related to any other language in Papua New Guinea, and was therefore long thought to be a language isolate. This is the position of Wurm (1983), Foley (1986), and Ross (2005). However, Timothy Usher noticed that it is transparently related to the Pauwasi languages across the border in Indonesia. Indeed, it may even form a dialect continuum with the Eastern Pauwasi language Emem. This was foreshadowed in non-linguistic literature: a 1940 map shows the 'Enam' (Emem)–speaking area as including the Karkar territory in PNG