Like the Lakes Plain languages, Kaure is a tonal language. There are two tones, namely high and low.[6]: 456
Monosyllabic minimal pairs showing phonemic tone contrast include:
tái ‘footprint’, tài ‘sago’
pí ‘boil’, pì ‘pig’
hín ‘limbum wood’, hìn ‘blood’
héik ‘flower’, hèik ‘snake’
In multisyllabic words, only one stressed syllable carries full tone contrasts, while the other syllables are "neutral" or toneless.[6]: 456
Multisyllabic minimal sets include:
káteil ‘toss it’, katéil ‘dry’, katèil ‘dry’
nálain ‘female animal’, naláin ‘kind of root’, nalàin ‘to run off’
Pronouns
Attested pronouns are 1sg wẽ, 2sg hane, 1pl nene. The 2sg form resembles Mek *ka-n, and 1pl resembles Pauwasinumu~nin, but apart from that little can be said.
Kaure pronouns are not specified for number, just like in Nimboran.[6]
Kaure–Kapori hypothesis
Voorhoeve (1975) suggested that Kaure was related to Kapori and Kosare, two otherwise unclassified languages. However, subsequent evaluations have not found any significant connections (Rumaropen 2006, Wambaliau 2006).
^Giël, R. 1959. Exploratie Oost-Meervlakte [Exploration of the Eastern Lakes Plain Area]. Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Ministerie van Koloniën: Kantoor Bevolkingszaken Nieuw-Guinea te Hollandia: Rapportenarchief, 1950–1962, nummer toegang 2.10.25, inventarisnummer 13.
^Auri, Piter, Peter R. Dommel and Markus Pokoko. 1991. Kaureki a Opoksel (Percakapan-percakapan Dalam Bahasa Kaure: Kaure Conversations). Jayapura: University of Cenderawasih and Summer Institute of Linguistics.
^ abcdefFoley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 433–568. ISBN978-3-11-028642-7.
Benny Rumaropen (2006). Draft Survey Report on the Kapauri Language of Papua. SIL Electronic Survey Reports.
Theresia Wambaliau (2006). Draft Laporan Survei pada Bahasa Kosare di Papua, Indonesia. SIL Electronic Survey Reports.
Dommel, Peter R., Gudrun E. Dommel, Pieter Auri and Markus Pokoko. 1991. Kaure Vocabulary. Jayapura: Cooperative Program of the University of Cenderawasih and the Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Dommel, Peter R. and Gudrun Dommel. 1993. Orang Kaure. In: Etnografi Irian Jaya: panduan sosial budaya (buku satu). 21–75. [Jayapura]: Kelompok Peneliti Etnografi Irian Jaya.
Giël, R. 1959. Exploratie Oost-Meervlakte [Exploration of the Eastern Lakes Plain Area]. Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Ministerie van Koloniën: Kantoor Bevolkingszaken Nieuw-Guinea te Hollandia: Rapportenarchief, 1950–1962, nummer toegang 2.10.25, inventarisnummer 13. (Contains word lists of Taworta, Taria, Airo, Kaowera, Manowa (Boromesso), and Narau)
