Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Ocaina language

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Native to
  
Peru, Colombia

ISO 639-3
  
oca

Native speakers
  
190 (1998–2000)

Glottolog
  
ocai1244

Language family
  
Bora–Huitoto Huitoto–Ocaina Ocaina

Ocaina is an indigenous American language spoken in western South America.

Contents

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.

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 as is follows:

  • 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 language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA