Usku, also known as Afra, is a nearly extinct and poorly documented Papuan language spoken by as few as 20 and as many as 160 people, mostly adults, in Usku village of Senggi District, Keerom Regency, in Indonesia's Papua province, and is rated critically endangered by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. Its classification has shifted repeatedly: Stephen Wurm in 1975 placed it as an independent branch of Trans-New Guinea, Malcolm Ross in 2005 found insufficient evidence to classify it, William Foley in 2018 treats it as a language isolate, and Timothy Usher in 2020 places it within the West Pauwasi languages while noting it is markedly divergent from that group's other members.
Facts
RegionUsku village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency, Papua, Indonesia 1 Speaker Count Proto-Language StatusNo proto-language has been reconstructed for Usku. Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent Trans-New Guinea branch; Ross (2005) found insufficient evidence to classify it; Foley (2018) treats it as a language isolate, while Usher (2020) places it among the West Pauwasi languages, divergent from the other two branches of that family. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Usku Language
Wikimedia Foundationlead sentenceQuote, lead sentence
Usku, or Afra, is a nearly extinct and poorly documented Papuan language spoken by 20 or more people, mostly adults, in Usku village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency, Papua, Indonesia.
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