The earliest written texts in Karbi were produced by Christian missionaries, in Roman script, especially by the American Baptist Mission and the Catholic Church.

The missionaries brought out a newspaper in Karbi titled Birta in the year 1903, Rev.

Neighbor's 'Vocabulary of English and Mikir, with Illustrative Sentences' published in 1878, which can be called the first Karbi dictionary.

The Mosera (recalling the past), a lengthy folk narrative that describes the origin and migration ordeal of the Karbis, is one such example.

Possible onset consonant cluster combinations are as follows: /pl pr pʰl pʰr tʰr kl kr kʰr/.

pinì-ketoday-TOPnè1SG.EXCLe-sònone-CLF:thinga-khobórPOSS-news(IND)mẽ-sénbe-good-INTarjū-lōnghear-getpinì-ke nè e-sòn a-khobór mẽ-sén arjū-lōngtoday-TOP 1SG.EXCL one-CLF:thing POSS-news(IND) be-good-INT hear-get'Today I got good news'Role-marking has three classes: unmarked NPs, marked with -phān (non-subject) and lōng (locative).

nang-pō-le2SG-father-FOC.IRRhēmtāptree.housea-ngsóngPOSS-high.upchō-tēeat-ifnang-tūm-ke2SG-PL-TOPmandú-lefield.hut-FOC.IRRchōeatnang-pō-le hēmtāp a-ngsóng chō-tē nang-tūm-ke mandú-le chō2SG-father-FOC.IRR tree.house POSS-high.up eat-if 2SG-PL-TOP field.hut-FOC.IRR eat'If your father takes his meal in the tree house, you eat in the field hut'Core arguments marked with -phān are syntactically participants with the O and R roles in clause.

a-phìPOSS-grandmotheralòngLOCthòn-dām-kòk-lòdrop-go-in.a.fixed.place-RELa-phì alòng thòn-dām-kòk-lòPOSS-grandmother LOC drop-go-in.a.fixed.place-REL'and she left (the child) with the grandmother'lasōthisa-bamón-pīPOSS-wise.person(IND)-femalealòngLOCdùn-krì-lòjoin-follow.closely-RELlasō a-bamón-pī alòng dùn-krì-lòthis POSS-wise.person(IND)-female LOC join-follow.closely-REL'he followed his wife closely, he followed this bamónpī closely'Clauses can combine together into a long chain of clauses by suffixing -si (non-final.realis), -ra (non-final.irrealis), -pen (non-final.with).