Kogi language

Summary

Kogi (Cogui), or Kagaba (Cágaba) (Cogui: Kággaba), is a Chibchan language of Colombia. The Kogi people are almost entirely monolingual, and maintain the only unconquered Andean civilization.

Kogi
Kággaba
Native toColombia
RegionSierra Nevada de Santa Marta
EthnicityKogi
Native speakers
9,900 (2004)[1]
nearly all monolingual
Chibchan
  • Arwako–Chimila
    • Arwako
      • Kogi
Language codes
ISO 639-3kog
Glottologcogu1240
ELPCogui

Phonology edit

Vowels[2]
Front Central Back
Close i ĩ ɨ ɨ̃ u ũ
Mid e ʌ o
Open a ã
  • /e, ẽ/ can also be heard as [ɛ, ɛ̃] when in unstressed syllables.
Consonants
Bilabial Dental/Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain geminated plain geminated plain geminated
Plosive voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d g
Fricative voiceless s ʃ ⟨sh⟩ x ⟨j⟩ h
voiced z ʒ ⟨zh⟩
Lateral l
Nasal m n ŋ ⟨ñ⟩
Approximant w j ⟨y⟩
  • Affricate sounds [ts, dz, tʃ, dʒ] are heard when sibilant sounds /s, z, ʃ, ʒ/ precede /n/. If /t, d/ precede /i/ then they are realized as affricates [tʃ, dʒ].
  • /n/ before /i/ may be realized as a palatal [ɲ].[2]

References edit

  1. ^ Kogi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Gawthorne, Linda A.; Hensarling, Grace E. (1984). Fonología del cogui. Sistemas fonológicos de idiomas colombianos (V.G.Waterhouse, comp.): Lomalinda: Editorial Townsend.