Cofán language

Cofán
A'ingae
Native to	Ecuador, Colombia
Region	Oriente or Ecuadorian Amazon
Ethnicity	Cofán people
Native speakers	2,400 (2001–2008)
Language family	language isolate
Official status
Official language in	Ecuador: indigenous languages official in own territories
Language codes
ISO 639-3	con
Glottolog	cofa1242

The Cofán language (also Kofan or Kofane; autonym: A'ingae) is the language of the Cofán people, an indigenous group native to Napo Province northeast Ecuador and southern Colombia, between the Guamués River (a tributary of the Putumayo River) and the Aguarico River (a tributary of the Napo River).

Approximately 60% of Cofán speakers in Ecuador are literate in their own language. There is extensive bilingualism with Spanish on both sides of the border. Intermarriage with Siona people and Secoya people also promotes bilingualism.

The language is written in the Roman script and has ten vowels (five with and without nasalization) and twenty-eight consonants.

Cofán had been classified as a Chibchan language, but this appears to be due to borrowed vocabulary.

External links

• Alain Fabre, 2005, Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: COFÁN[1]

http://elar.soas.ac.uk/deposit/0205