Endangered Languages Project

CLASSIFICATION		Lower Sepik-Ramu, Lower Sepik
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		yee
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (7)

Information from: “The Yimas Language of Papua New Guinea” . Foley, William A. (1991) Stanford University Press

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
250
Native speakers worldwide

TRANSMISSION
OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Tok Pisin is the "prestige language".

PLACES: Papua New Guinea

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Sepik river basin area: "two villages along the lower reaches of the Arafundi river, a tributary of the Karawari river, which in turn is a tributary of the main Sepik river"

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
200
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1970

PLACES: Papua New Guinea

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Yimas village

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
300
Native speakers worldwide

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~300
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
In 1981, 350 speakers were reported. Now there are about 300.

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

The language is under pressure from larger related languages such as Tabriak (or Karawari), its northern neighbour, and of Tok Pisin which the young speakers tend to prefer.

More on Orthography

No literacy

PLACES: Papua New Guinea

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: East Sepik Province. Spoken in the southeastern part of the East Sepik Province on the lower Arafundi River, a southern tributary of the middle Karawari River, itself a southern tributary of the middle Sepik River.

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
300
Native speakers worldwide

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
300
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
(Wurm 2000)

DATE OF INFO: 2000

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: Papua New Guinea

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "East Sepik Province, near Chambri, Arafundi and middle Karawari rivers."

0199255911				2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press	New York			2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.														-4.66666666667, 143.55
				1991	The Yimas Language of Papua New Guinea				Stanford University Press	Stanford		Foley, William A.	Foley, William A. 1991. "The Yimas Language of Papua New Guinea." Stanford University Press.	WALS	250		100-999		Tok Pisin	Tok Pisin is the "prestige language".	Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12			Papua New Guinea	Sepik river basin area: "two villages along the lower reaches of the Arafundi river, a tributary of the Karawari river, which in turn is a tributary of the main Sepik river"
		3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing	Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub	300		100-999				Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						-4.6038, 143.6077
	Pacific Linguistics		B 25	1973	Sepik languages: checklist and preliminary classification			Wurm, Stephen A.	Australian National University, Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Linguistics	Canberra		Laycock, Donald C.			200	1970	100-999				Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Papua New Guinea	Yimas village
					World Oral Literature Project						http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.		300		100-999				Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
		18th		2015	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 18th Edition			Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig	SIL International	Dallas, Texas	http://www.ethnologue.com		Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2015. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Eighteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.		300	2000	100-999	(Wurm 2000)	Tok Pisin [tpi]		Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Papua New Guinea	"East Sepik Province, near Chambri, Arafundi and middle Karawari rivers."
				2007	Australasia and the Pacific	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	425-577	Christopher Moseley	Routledge	London and New York		Stephen Wurm	Stephen Wurm. 2007. "Australasia and the Pacific." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by Christopher Moseley. 425-577. Routledge.		~300		100-999	In 1981, 350 speakers were reported. Now there are about 300.			Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12	The language is under pressure from larger related languages such as Tabriak (or Karawari), its northern neighbour, and of Tok Pisin which the young speakers tend to prefer.	12	Papua New Guinea	East Sepik Province. Spoken in the southeastern part of the East Sepik Province on the lower Arafundi River, a southern tributary of the middle Karawari River, itself a southern tributary of the middle Sepik River.

Yimas

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

250

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

200

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Discussion

Yimas

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

250

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

200

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

300

Discussion

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