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Achawa language

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Achagua
Achawa
Native toColombia
RegionMeta Department
EthnicityAchagua people
Native speakers
(250 cited 2000)[1]
Arawakan
Dialects
  • ?Ponares
Language codes
ISO 639-3aca – inclusive code Achagua
Individual code:
pod – Ponares (retired)
Glottologacha1250  Achagua
pona1251  Ponares
ELPAchagua

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]

"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

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Consonants

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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
  • /n/ is realized as [ɲ] when preceding palatal consonants.
  • /k/ is palatalized [] when preceding /i/.
  • Sounds /b, d/ are preglottalized [ˀb, ˀd] within accented syllables or after accented syllables.
  • /b/ is realized as [β] when occurring intervocalically.
  • /w/ is realized as [β] when preceding /i/.
  • /s̪/ is realized as [ʃ] when preceding /i/.
  • /ʝ/ is heard as an affricate [] in word-initial positions. It can also be realized as a glide [j] freely in intervocalic positions.
  • /ɭ/ can be heard as a flap [ɾ] in free variation before /i/.[3]

Vowels

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Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

List of words

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English Spanish Achagua Ref.
One Uno Báque [4]
Two Dos Chámai
Three Tres Matálii
Four Cuatro Kuátru
Five Cinco Abakáahi
Black Negro Kachajulai
Canoe Canoa Íida
Dog Perro Áuli
Father Padre Nusálihina
Man Hombre Washiaáli
Moon Luna Quéerri
Mother Madre Nutúwa
Sun Sol Cáiwia
Water Agua Shiátai
White Blanco Kabalai

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Achagua at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Ponares (retired) 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.
  4. ^ "Achagua Words". native-languages.org. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
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