Eperara language

Eperara
Eperara
Saija
Epena
Native to	Colombia
Native speakers	3,600 in Colombia and Ecuador (2004–2012); plus an unknown number in Panama
Language family	Chocoan Emberá Southern Eperara; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	sja
Glottolog	epen1239
ELP	Epena

Eperara a.k.a. Epena (Southern Embera) is an Embera language of Colombia, with about 250 speakers in Ecuador.

Geographic Distribution

Epena is spoken on the Pacific coastal rivers of the departments of Nariño, Cauca, and Valle del Cauca in Colombia. A major grouping of the Epena is found in Cauca along the Saija River and three of its major tributaries: the Guangüí, Infí, and Cupí. Social contact and intermarriage with the neighboring Wounaan is commonplace.^[2]

The Basuradó dialect is spoken on the Basuradó River in the Department of the Chocó, near the Docampadó River. This is the only Epena dialect that differs significantly from the others.^[2]

Orthography

a - [a]
ã - [ã]
b - [b]
ch - [t͡ʃ]
d - [d]
e - [e]
ẽ - [ẽ]
ë - [ə]
ë̃ - [ə̃]
g - [g]
i - [i]
ĩ - [ĩ]
ï - [ɨ] (also written as ɨ in some texts)
ï̃ - [ɨ̃]
j - [h]
k - [k]
k' - [kʰ]
m - [m]
n - [n]
o - [o]
õ - [õ]
p - [p]
p' - [pʰ]
r - [ɾ~r]
s - [s]
t - [t]
t' - [tʰ]
u - [u]
ũ - [ũ]
w - [w]
y - [j]

Glottal stops are represented with hyphens.

Long vowels are doubled.

C, f, h, l, ñ, q, v, x, z are used in foreign words and names.^[3]

Phonology^[4]

Consonants

		Bilabial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	plain	p	t		k	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ		kʰ
	voiced	b	d		ɡ
Affricate				t͡ʃ
Fricative			s			h
Nasal		m	n
Liquid	trill		r
Liquid	tap		ɾ
Glide		w		j

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i ĩ iː	ɨ ɨ̃ ɨː	u ũ uː
Mid	e ẽ eː	ə ə̃ əː	o õ oː
Low		a ã aː

Notes

^ ^a ^b Eperara at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^ ^a ^b Harms, Phillip Lee (1994). "Epena Pedee syntax: Studies in the languages of Colombia 4" (PDF).
^ Eperara language and pronunciation, Omniglot.
^ Harms, Philip Lee (1984). Fonología del epena pedee (saija).

Bibliography

Harms, Phillip Lee. 1994. Epena Pedee Syntax. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and University of Texas at Arlington.

External links

Epena (Intercontinental Dictionary Series)

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[e25-1] Eperara at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

[:0-2] Harms, Phillip Lee (1994). "Epena Pedee syntax: Studies in the languages of Colombia 4" (PDF).

[3] Eperara language and pronunciation, Omniglot.

[4] Harms, Philip Lee (1984). Fonología del epena pedee (saija).

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