| Ocaina | |
|---|---|
| Xáfahxajoh | |
 An Ocaina chief in 1924. | |
| Native to | Peru, Colombia |
Native speakers | 55 (2000–2012)[1] |
Bora–Huitoto
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | oca |
| Glottolog | ocai1244 |
| ELP | Ocaina |
 | |
Ocaina is an indigenous American language spoken in western South America.
Classification
Ocaina belongs to the Witotoan language family. It is its own group within the Huitoto-Ocaina sub-family.
Geographic distribution
Ocaina is spoken by 54 people in northeastern Peru and by 12 more in the Amazonas region of Colombia. Few children speak the language.
Dialects/Varieties
There are two dialects of Ocaina: Dukaiya and Ibo'tsa.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Postalveolar/ Palatal |
Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | lenis | m | n | ɲ | ||
| fortis | mː | nː | ɲː | |||
| Plosive | p b | t r | tʲ dʲ | k ɡ | ʔ | |
| Affricate | ts dz | tʃ dʒ | ||||
| Fricative | ɸ β | s | ʃ ʒ | x | h | |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i, ĩ | ɨ, ɨ̃ | |
| Low | e | a, ã | o, õ |
Tone
Syllables in Ocaina may be marked with one of two tones: high or low.
Syllables
Syllables in Ocaina consist of a vowel; single consonants may appear on either side of the vowel: (C)V(C).
Writing system
Ocaina is written using a Latin alphabet. A chart of symbols with the sounds they represent is as follows:
| Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA | Latin | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | b | /b/ | c | /k/ - /ts/ | ch | /tʃ/ | ds | /dz/ | dy | /dʲ/ | e | /e/ | f | /ɸ/ | g(u) | /ɡ/ - /h/ | h | /ʔ/ | i | /i/ |
| j | /h/ | k | /k/ | ll | /dʒ/ | m | /m/ | m̈ | /mː/ | n | /n/ | n̈ | /nː/ | ñ | /ɲ/ | ñ̈ | /ɲː/ | o | /o/ | p | /p/ |
| qu | /k/ | r | /r/ | s | /s/ | sh | /ʃ/ | t | /t/ | z | /ts/ | ty | /tʲ/ | u | /ɨ/ | v | /β/ | x | /x/ | y | /ʒ/ |
- Because the Ocaina alphabet is based on Spanish, c is used to indicate /k/ before a, o, and u, qu is used before e and i, and k is used in loan words, such as kerosene "kerosene".
- Nasalization is indicated by inserting n after a vowel. Compare: tya tyója [tʲa tʲóha] "hang it" vs. tya tyonjan [tʲa tʲṍhã] "clean it".
- High tone is indicated with the acute accent: á, é, í, ó, ú.
References
- ↑ Ocaina at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- Agnew, Arlene; Evelyn G. Pike (January 1957). "Phonemes of Ocaina (Huitoto)". International Journal of American Linguistics. 23 (1): 24–27. doi:10.1086/464385.
- Leach, Ilo M. (2008). Mary Ruth Wise (ed.). Vocabulario Ocaina (PDF). Serie Lingüística Peruana (in Spanish). Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano.
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