Awa-Cuaiquer

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A language of Colombia

ISO 639-3
kwi
Alternate Names
Awa, Awa Pit, Coaiquer, Cuaiquer, Kwaiker, Quaiquer
Population

12,000 in Colombia (Civallero 2008), decreasing. No monolinguals. Population total all countries: 13,000. Ethnic population: 13,000 (Crevels 2007).

Location

Pacific slopes of Andes, Nariño, from Ecuador border north, near Barbacoas. Nariño and Putumayo departments, Cumbal, Mallama, Ricaurte, Barbacoas. Cuambíyaslambi, and Cuaiquer del Alto Albí reservations. Also in Ecuador.

Language Maps
Language Status

6b (Threatened).

Classification
Barbacoan, Northern
Dialects

Distantly related to Chachi [cbi] and Colorado [cof].

Typology

SOV

Language Use

Majority are monolingual in Spanish [spa] and no evidence of monolingualism in Awa Cuaiquer.

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: Below 5%. Grammar. NT: 2002.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Awa-Cuaiquer
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Ethnic autonym: Awa and Înkal Awa, both in Ecuador and Colombia. The presence of petroleum companies, paramilitary groups, guerrilla forces, the cultivation of illicit crops and subsequent widespread fumigation of their territory has had extremely disruptive effects on the Awa society that currently is coping with a very serious acculturation process. Traditional religion, Christian.

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