Kogi language

Kogi (Cogui), or Kagaba (Cágaba) (Cogui: Kággaba), is a Chibchan language of Colombia. It forms a separate Arwako branch along with the Iku and Damana languages.^[2] The Kogi people are almost entirely monolingual, and maintain the only unconquered Andean civilization.

Kogi
Kággaba
Native to	Colombia
Region	Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Ethnicity	Kogi
Native speakers	9,900 (2004)[1] nearly all monolingual
Language family	Chibchan Arwako–Chimila Arwako Kogi
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kog
Glottolog	cogu1240
ELP	Cogui

Phonology

Vowels^[3]

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i ĩ	ɨ ɨ̃	u ũ
Mid	e ẽ	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	tː		k	kː	ʔ
	voiced	b	bː	d	dː		g	gː
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].^[3]

Grammar

The language is mostly verb-final, with the dominant word order subject–object–verb. Adjectives follow the nouns they modify. Verbs are inflected for subject (either a prefix or a suffix) and for object (a prefix). Non-subject personal reference can also express a beneficiary, as illustrated in the following example:^[2]

bigíʒa

pineapple

na-k-lúni

1O.SG-DAT-want

bigíʒa na-k-lúni

pineapple 1O.SG-DAT-want

‘I want a pineapple.’

Nouns and nominals can receive case markers; however, the nominative or subject suffix -hã is not obligatory and cannot be attached to personal pronouns. Other four cases are: dative – alative (-k), accusative (-ø), genitive (-ti), locative (-li). Possession can be expressed either through a genitive construction or by using possessive prefixes. Possessive pronouns distinguish between inclusive and exclusive plural.^[4]