Achawa language

Last updated
Achagua
Achawa
Native to Colombia
Region Meta Department
Ethnicity Achagua people
Native speakers
(250 cited 2000) [1]
Arawakan
Language codes
ISO 639-3 aca Achagua
Glottolog acha1250   Achagua
pona1251   Ponares
ELP Achagua
Achagua.png

Achagua, or Achawa (Achagua : Achawa), is an Arawakan language spoken in the Meta Department of Colombia, similar to Piapoco. It is estimated that 250 individuals speak the language, many of whom also speak Piapoco or Spanish. [1]

Contents

"Achagua is a language of the Maipurean Arawakan group traditionally spoken by the Achagua people of Venezuela and east-central Colombia." [2]

A "Ponares" language is inferred from surnames, and may have been Achawa or Piapoco.

There is 1 to 5% literacy in Achagua. [1]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p t k
voiced b d
Nasal m n
Fricative ʝ h
Trill r
Approximant w ɭ

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Achagua at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Neira, Alonso de. "The Art and Vocabulary of the Achagua Language". World Digital Library. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  3. Lozano, Miguel Ángel Meléndez (2000). Esbozo grammatical de la lengua achagua. Lenguas indígenas de Colombia: una visión descriptiva: Santafé de Bogotá: Instituto Caro y Cuervo. pp. 625–640.


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