Karami language


Karami is an extinct and unclassified Papuan language of southern Papua New Guinea. It is attested from only a short word list, which include many loans from Foia Foia.

Locations

According to Flint, from which the only existing word list of Karami is available, Karami was spoken in the villages of Kikimairi and Aduahai, both located near Daru Station, "on the right-hand side of left branch of the Turama River, Western Division, Papua."

Classification

Although Franklin classifies Karami as an Inland Gulf language, Usher and Suter do not consider it to be part of the Anim languages, noting that there are many loanwords from Foia Foia.
Pawley and Hammarström treat Karami as a 'language isolate', though this is the wording used for languages that are not easily classified.

Vocabulary

Below is the word list of Karami from Flint, which was recorded on October 12, 1917.