Karkar

The Karkar language, 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. Writing system Dialects Dialects are: North Central Yuri dialect, spoken in Yuri village, Abaru ward, Green River Rural LLG Auia-Tarauwi dialect, spoken in Auia (Auiya) village, Auiya 1 ward, Green River Rural LLG; and in Tarauwi (Trowari) village, Kambriap ward, Green River Rural LLG Usari dialect, spoken in Usari village, Auiya 1 ward, Green River Rural LLG 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, and the anthropologist Hanns Peter knew that the Karkar dialect continuum continued across the border into Emem territory.