Endangered Languages Project

Krim is linguistically the same language as Bom, though their speakers may consider them distinct (Childs 2012).

ALSO KNOWN AS		Kim, Kittim, Kirim, Kimi
CLASSIFICATION		Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Mel
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		krm
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “One or two? Bom and Kim, two highly endangered South Atlantic “languages” of Sierra Leone” . G. Tucker Childs (2012)

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
a few hundred
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Speaker number combine both Bom and Krim.

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"There are only a few hundred, all elderly speakers today. No one under fifty speaks the language."

PLACES: Sierra Leone

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Villages in the vicinity of Lake Kwako, Lake Baima, and Lame Kamasun.

Severely endangered

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

DATE OF INFO: 2008

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<100
Native speakers worldwide

MORE ON VITALITY

"Seriously threatened and doomed to extinction in the near future."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Mende

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"The more prosaic story is that the Krim have assimilated completely to the Mende by whom they are surrounded – Krim-speaking mothers even speak to their infants in Mende. One mother commented that they speak Mende to their children so that they can suck it down with their milk (Bete Masale 2006 p.c.)."

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Today Krim speakers number only a few score, living in isolated hamlets along the tidal estuary of the Waanje, well protected from imposition, at least by land. No roads reach these villages."

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
A few dozen
Native speakers worldwide

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

PLACES: southeastern Sierra Leone

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Coastal tidelands of south-eastern Sierra Leone... tiny fishing villages along a remote tidal estuary."

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~500
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
10,000

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<500
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
10000

DATE OF INFO: 1990

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

			2007	"Documenting the Krim and Bom Languages of Sierre Leone (DKB)" HRELP Abstract									http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=190	Childs, Tucker	Childs, Tucker. 2007. ""Documenting the Krim and Bom Languages of Sierre Leone (DKB)" HRELP Abstract." Online: http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=190.			A few dozen		10-99		Mende		All	Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)			southeastern Sierra Leone	"Coastal tidelands of south-eastern Sierra Leone... tiny fishing villages along a remote tidal estuary."
9783110170498	Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs		2007	Endangered Languages in West Africa	Language Diversity Endangered	140-162	Matthias Brenzinger		Mouton de Gruyter	Berlin	7			Roger Blench	Blench, R. (2007). Endangered Languages in West Africa. In M. Brenzinger (Ed.), Language Diversity Endangered, 140-162. Mouton de Gruyter.		10000	<500	1990	100-999		Sherbro, Temne			Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
		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		20	2008	10-99					Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					7.2425,-11.9476
			2012	One or two? Bom and Kim, two highly endangered South Atlantic “languages” of Sierra Leone	World Congress on African Linguistics (WOCAL 7)			Conference paper		Buea, Cameroon				G. Tucker Childs	G. Tucker Childs. 2012. "One or Two? Bom and Kim, Two Highly Endangered South Atlantic “languages” of Sierra Leone." In World Congress on African Linguistics (WOCAL 7), Buea, Cameroon,			a few hundred		100-999	Speaker number combine both Bom and Krim.				Critically Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	"There are only a few hundred, all elderly speakers today. No one under fifty speaks the language."	Sierra Leone	Villages in the vicinity of Lake Kwako, Lake Baima, and Lame Kamasun.	7.302792, -11.985668
			2006	Language Endangerment in West Africa: Its Victims and Causes	The Joy of Language: Proceedings of a symposium honoring the colleagues of David Dwyer on the occasion of his retirement							Michigan State University	https://www.msu.edu/~dwyer/16-Childs.doc	G. Tucker Childs	G. Tucker Childs. 2006. "Language Endangerment in West Africa: Its Victims and Causes." In The Joy of Language: Proceedings of a symposium honoring the colleagues of David Dwyer on the occasion of his retirement, Online: https://www.msu.edu/~dwyer/16-Childs.doc.			<100		10-99		Mende	"The more prosaic story is that the Krim have assimilated completely to the Mende by whom they are surrounded – Krim-speaking mothers even speak to their infants in Mende. One mother commented that they speak Mende to their children so that they can suck it down with their milk (Bete Masale 2006 p.c.)."		Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		"Seriously threatened and doomed to extinction in the near future."		"Today Krim speakers number only a few score, living in isolated hamlets along the tidal estuary of the Waanje, well protected from imposition, at least by land. No roads reach these villages."
9780700711970			2007	Africa	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages		Christopher Moseley		Routledge		7			Gerrit J. Dimmendaal and F. K. Erhard Voeltz	Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. and F. K. Erhard Voeltz. 2007. "Africa." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by Christopher Moseley. Routledge.		10,000	~500		100-999		Mende			Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Krim

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

a few hundred

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<100

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

A few dozen

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~500

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<500

Discussion

Krim

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

a few hundred

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<100

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

A few dozen

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~500

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<500

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

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