Tsafiki language

Tsafiki, also known as Tsachila or Colorado, is a Barbacoan language spoken in Ecuador by c. 2000 ethnic Tsáchila people.

Tsafiki
Colorado
RegionEcuador
EthnicityTsáchila
Native speakers
2,300 (2000)[1]
Barbacoan
  • Southern?
    • Tsafiki
Language codes
ISO 639-3cof
Glottologcolo1256
ELPTsafiki

Phonology

Consonants
Bilabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d
Affricate t͡s
Fricative ɸ s h
Nasal m n
Lateral l
Flap ɹ ~ ɾ
Semivowel j w
  • /b, d/ are preglottalized [ˀb, ˀd] when occurring intervocalically.
  • /k/ can become voiced [ɡ] when intervocally after nasal sounds.
  • /ɹ/ is heard as [ɾ] when occurring word-initially, and when following a nasalized vowel, an allophone [n] occurs.
  • /s/ is heard as [ʃ] when preceding high vowels /i, u/ and after unaccented high vowels.
  • /t͡s/ is heard as [t͡ʃ] when preceding high vowels, but many speakers pronounce it as [t͡ʃ] in all environments.

Vowels

Tsafiki has five vowels Four vowels have nasalized forms.

Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a
Front Central Back
High ĩ ũ
Mid ẽ
Low ã
  • Unaccented vowels before voiceless stops are often devoiced [ḁ].[2]

References
  1. Tsafiki at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Dickinson, Connie (2002). Complex Predicates in Tsafiki. Ann Arbor: UMI.


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