| Eperara | |
|---|---|
| Saija | |
| Epena | |
| Native to | Colombia |
Native speakers | 3,600 in Colombia and Ecuador (2004–2012)[1] plus an unknown number in Panama[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sja |
| Glottolog | epen1239 |
| ELP | Epena |
 | |
Eperaraa.k.a.Epena (Southern Embera) is anEmbera language of Colombia, with about 250 speakers in Ecuador.
Epena is spoken on the Pacific coastal rivers of the departments ofNariño,Cauca, andValle del Cauca in Colombia. A major grouping of the Epena is found in Cauca along the Saija River and three of its majortributaries: the Guangüí, Infí, and Cupí. Social contact and intermarriage with the neighboringWounaan is commonplace.[2]
The Basuradó dialect is spoken on the Basuradó River in theDepartment of the Chocó, near the Docampadó River. This is the only Epena dialect that differs significantly from the others.[2]
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]
The phonology consists of the following:[4]
| 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 | ||||
| tap | ɾ | |||||
| Glide | w | j | ||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | iĩiː | ɨɨ̃ɨː | uũuː |
| Mid | eẽeː | əə̃əː | oõoː |
| Low | aãaː |
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