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
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
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
Vowels
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
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...
. A chart of symbols with the sounds they represent is as follows:
*Because the Ocaina alphabet is based on
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, c is used to indicate before a, o, and u, qu is used before e and i, and k is used in
loan word
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because the ...
s, such as "kerosene".
*Nasalization is indicated by inserting n after a vowel. Compare: "hang it" vs. "clean it".
*High tone is indicated with the acute accent: á, é, í, ó, ú.
References
*
*
{{Languages of Peru
Witotoan languages
Languages of Peru
Languages of Colombia
es:Ocaina