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| Cocama | |
|---|---|
| Kokáma | |
| Native to | Peru,Brazil,Colombia,Venezuela |
| Ethnicity | 16,000Cambeba et al. (2007),[1]Kokama |
Native speakers | 250 in Peru (2007)[1] few in other countries |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cod |
| Glottolog | coca1259 |
| ELP | Cocama-Cocamilla |
 | |
Cocama (Kokáma) is alanguage spoken by thousands of people in westernSouth America. It is spoken along the banks of the Northeastern lowerUcayali, lowerMarañón, andHuallaga rivers and in neighboring areas ofBrazil and an isolated area inColombia. There are three dialects. The robust dialect is known as Cocama, Kokama, Kukama-Kukamiria, Ucayali, Xibitaoan, Huallaga, Pampadeque, and Pandequebo. By 1999, Cocamilla (Kokamíya) was moribund, being only spoken by people over 40.
Cocama is closely related toOmagua, a nearly extinct language spoken in Peru and Brazil.
Out of a projected ethnic population of 15,000, the majority of Cocama speakers, 2,000, live in Peru. Remaining speakers live in Amazonas state in Brazil, where 50 out of 411 ethnic Chayahuitas speak it and it is known as Kokama or Kokamilla. Most speakers are trilingual and can also speak Portuguese and Spanish. Very few are monolingual. There are 20 ethnic groups in Colombia's Lower Putumayo area with an unknown number of Cocama-Cocamilla speakers. Most expected speakers would also be trilingual, but the language may be extinct in the region.
In 2013, residents ofNauta,Loreto Province, Peru created a children's rap video in the Kukama-Kukamiria dialect, in collaboration with Radio Ucamara. The local radio station has been involved in efforts to preserve the language for "a few years," and "started managing a school called Ikuar, with the goal of teaching the language through songs and traditional story telling."[2]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | |
| Fricative | x | |||
| Affricate | t͡s | t͡ʃ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ||
| Tap/Flap | ɾ | |||
| Semivowel | w | j |
Plosive sounds may also be realized as voiced.[3]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | ||
| Open | a |
| Phoneme | Allophones |
|---|---|
| /p/ | [p], [b] |
| /t/ | [t], [d] |
| /k/ | [k], [ɡ], [kʰ] |
| /ts/ | [ts], [s], [tʃ] |
| /tʃ/ | [tʃ], [ʃ] |
| /n/ | [n], [ɲ], [ŋ] |
| /ɾ/ | [ɾ], [l] |
| /w/ | [w], [β] |
| /j/ | [j], [z] |
| /i/ | [i], [ɪ], [e] |
| /e/ | [e], [ə], [ɪ] |
| /ɨ/ | [ɨ], [ɪ] |
| /u/ | [u], [ʊ], [o] |
| a | ë | i | ɨ | u | p | t | k | m | n |
| j | r | ts | ch | sh | w | ÿ | y |
Cocama speakers have a 3% literacy rate, compared with 50% for Spanish. Grammar rules have been developed and the language is written using theLatin script. Parts of the Bible have been translated into the language.
