Kakwa language
| Kakwa | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Colombia (Vaupés), Brazil (Amazonas) |
Native speakers | 400 (2010)[1] |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
cbv |
| Glottolog |
cacu1241[2] |
The Kakwa or Cacua language is an indigenous language spoken by a few hundred people in Colombia and Brazil. There are many monolinguals, especially children.[1] Apart from being close to or a dialect of Nukak, its classification is uncertain.
Overview
The language is spoken by indigenous American Cacua people that live in Colombian and Brazilian[3] interfluvial tropical forests higher than 200 metres (660 ft) in elevation. The people have traditional livelihoods such as nomadic hunting-gathering and swidden agriculture.[1] There are some non-native speakers of Cacua that are predominantly missionary workers. Their presence has resulted in the translation of religious Christian texts, notably the Christian Bible.[4]
Bilingualism and literacy
Reports gathered by SIL in 1982 stated that many speakers are monolingual, particularly children.[1] Another promising aspect is that even though literacy is low by international standards, it is higher in the aboriginal language, at around 10%, compared to 5% in Spanish, the opposite situation of most indigenous languages of the Americas.[1] Cacua uses a Latin alphabet.[1]
Range
The speakers are located in Wacara (In Cacua: Wacará) which is 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Mitu (In Cacua and Spanish: Mitú) in the lower Vaupes Region.[1] (In Spanish: Departamento del Vaupés).
Grammar
The language uses both subject-object-verb and object-verb-subject word order.[1]
Sample text in Cacua
Ded pah jwiít jwĩ jwíih cãac cha pahatji naáwát[5]
Classification
There are two dialects: Vaupés Cacua and Macú-Paraná Cacua. Cacua is mutually intelligible with Nukak,[1] and is considered a dialect of the latter by Martins (1999). See that article for further classification.
Other names for this language include: Macu de Cubeo, Macu de Guanano, Macu de Desano, Báda.[1]
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kakwa at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Cacua". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Cacua entry, Global Recordings
- ↑ Bogota Explosion!, Kids Ministry International
- ↑ (Cacua) Ded pah jwiít jwĩ jw... 1997, Ethnologue
Recordings
- Colombian Languages Collection of Katherine Bolaños Quiñonez at the Archive of the indigenous Languages of Latin America. Contains 43 archival recordings of over 1 hour of spoken Kakwa.
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