Kulina language

Culina
Native toPerú, Brazil
EthnicityKulina people
Native speakers
3,900 (2002–2006)[1]
Arauan
  • Culina
Language codes
ISO 639-3cul
Glottologculi1244
ELPCulina

Kulina (also Kulína, Kulyna, Culina, Curina, Corina, Korina, Culina-Madijá, Madijá, Madija, Madiha, Madihá) is an Arawan language of Brazil and Peru spoken by about 4,000 Kulina people. With such few speakers, Kulina is considered a threatened language. Kulina is similar to the Deni language, as they have even been considered different dialects of the same language. Both languages have SOV word order,[2] as well as three sets of alveolar affricate consonants. It is believed the presence of the reconstructed phoneme *s in place of the fricative *sh is indicative of the Kulina and Deni languages as opposed to other languages in the Arawan family.[3]

  1. ^ Culina at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Culina Language and the Culina Indian Tribe (Kulina Madihá, Kulína, Kulyna, Kurina, Corina, Madija, Kollina, Kulino)". www.native-languages.org. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  3. ^ Dienst, Stefan. "The Innovation of s in Kulina and Deni". Anthropological Linguistics. 47: 424–441.