Bribri language


Bribri, also known as Bri-bri, Bribriwak, and Bribri-wak, belongs to the Chibchan languages. This language family is indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian Area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. As of 2002, there were about 11,000 speakers left. An estimate by the National Census of Costa Rica in 2011 found that Bribri is currently spoken by 54.7% of the 12,785 Bribri people, about 7,000 individuals. It is a tonal SOV language. There are three traditional dialects of Bribri: Coroma, Amubre and Salitre. Bribri is a tribal name, deriving from a word for "mountainous" in their own language. The Bribri language is also referred to as Su Uhtuk, which means "our language." Bribri is reportedly most similar to sister language Cabécar as both languages have nasal harmony, but the two are mutually unintelligible.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

I, u and a are pronounced in the same manner as they would be in Spanish. E and o are more open than in Spanish. The sound of ë is between i and e, in the same manner as ö is between u and o. The nasal vowels are pronounced similarly to the corresponding orals, with the addition of some air exiting through the nose.
Oral Vowels
FrontCentralBack
Highi
Mid-highëö
Mid-lowe
Low

Nasal Vowels
FrontCentralBack
Highĩũ
Mid-high
Mid-lowẽõ
Lowã

mĩ
madre, mamá		ũ
olla
sẽ
eso, ese		mõ
nube
ã
en; para


Writing System

The Linguistics Department at the University of Costa Rica has conceived a standardized spelling system, based on several earlier attempts.
abdcheëijklmnñoöppprrrsshttttchtsuyꞌ

Nasal vowels are indicated by a tilde: , except after a nasal consonant.
Tones are indicated by the grave accent for the high tone and the acute accent for the low tone; these can also be placed on the nasal vowels.