Ocaina language

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 and by 12 more in the Amazonas region of Colombia. Few children speak the language.

Dialects

There are two dialects of Ocaina: Dukaiya and Ibo'tsa.

Phonology

Consonants

Ocaina consonant phonemesTemplate:Sfn

		Bilabial	Alveolar	Postalveolar/ Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	lenis	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
	fortis	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Plosive		Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Affricate			Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Fricative		Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link

Vowels

Ocaina vowel phonemes

	Front	Central	Back
High	Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link
Low	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link, Template:IPA link

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. A chart of symbols with the sounds they represent is as follows:Template:Sfn

Latin	IPA
a	Template:IPAslink
b	Template:IPAslink
c	Template:IPAslink - Template:IPAslink
ch	Template:IPAslink
ds	Template:IPAslink
dy	Template:IPAslink
e	Template:IPAslink
f	Template:IPAslink
g(u)	Template:IPAslink - Template:IPAslink
h	Template:IPAslink
i	Template:IPAslink
j	Template:IPAslink
k	Template:IPAslink
ll	Template:IPAslink
m	Template:IPAslink
m̈	Template:IPAslink
n	Template:IPAslink
n̈	Template:IPAslink
ñ	Template:IPAslink
ñ̈	Template:IPAslink
o	Template:IPAslink
p	Template:IPAslink
qu	Template:IPAslink
r	Template:IPAslink
s	Template:IPAslink
sh	Template:IPAslink
t	Template:IPAslink
z	Template:IPAslink
ty	Template:IPAslink
u	Template:IPAslink
v	Template:IPAslink
x	Template:IPAslink
y	Template:IPAslink

• Because the Ocaina alphabet is based on Spanish, c is used to indicate before a, o, and u, qu is used before e and i, and k is used in loan words, 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.