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Ocaina language
Bora–Huitoto language spoken in South America From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ocaina is an indigenous American language spoken in western South America.
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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 and by 12 more in the Amazonas region of Colombia. Few children speak the language.[citation needed]
Dialects
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).
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Writing system
Ocaina is written using a Latin alphabet. A chart of symbols with the sounds they represent is as follows:[3]
- Because the Ocaina alphabet is based on Spanish, c is used to indicate /k/ before a, o, and u, qu is used before e and i, and k is used in loan words, such as kerosene "kerosene".
- Nasalization is indicated by inserting n after a vowel. Compare: tya tyója [tʲa tʲóha] "hang it" vs. tya tyonjan [tʲa tʲṍhã] "clean it".
- High tone is indicated with the acute accent: á, é, í, ó, ú.
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References
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