Cubeo

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A language of Colombia

ISO 639-3
cub
Alternate Names
Cuveo, Hehenawa, Hipnwa, Kobeua, Kobewa, Kubwa, Pamiwa
Population

6,100 in Colombia (Civallero 2008), increasing. 10% monolinguals. Population total all countries: 6,260.

Location

Vaupés, Amazonas, and Vichada departments, Vaupés, Cuduyari, Querarí rivers and tributaries. Also in Guainía Department. Also in Brazil, Venezuela.

Language Maps
Language Status

4 (Educational).

Classification
Tucanoan, Central Tucanoan
Typology

SOV

Language Use

Vigorous. Cubeo is lingua franca for northwest Vaupés area. All domains. About 5% are 7 years old or younger. Positive attitudes. Most also use other Tucanoan languages, Spanish [spa], or Portuguese [por].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 35%. Literacy rate in L2: 60%. Written form used for religion and commerce. Both oral and written in primary school. Newspapers. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1970–2009.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Cubeo
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Exogamous marriage pattern with speakers of other languages. Cubeo is the lingua franca of the northwest section of the Vaupés and Tucano is the lingua franca for the southeast section. Decrease in infant mortality has caused an increase in population. Traditional religion, Christian.

Also spoken in:

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