Nonuya language

Nonuya
Nononotá, Nyonuhu, Nonuña, Achiote
Native toColombia, Peru
EthnicityNonuya peoples
Native speakers
2 (2012)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3noj
Glottolognonu1241
ELPNonuya

Nonuya (Nononotá, Nyonuhu, Nonuña, Achiote) is a Witotoan language formerly spoken in Colombia and Peru that is now nearly extinct. Genocide, disease, and forced migration caused the Sparrowhawk and Backpacker tribes to form families with the Andoke and the Muinane to create the Nonuya community. Most Nonuya have Muinane and Spanish as their native languages.[2]

There are no surviving Nonuya people with Nononotá as their mother tongue as the last native speaker died in 2003.[3] However, the Nonuya community has recently reestablished itself, and is attempting to revitalize its culture through revitalizing its language.[4] The Nonuya use the available documentation created by the last native speakers between 1973 and 2007, which include prayers, songs, and a lexicon, to relearn the language. These documents are accessible today in audio files and transcripts which can be used for practical spelling.[5]

  1. ^ Nonuya at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Pueblo Nonuya (in Spanish). Pruebaw. 2006.
  3. ^ Wojtylak, Katarzyna (2016). "Some notes on aspects of Nonuya (Witotoan) grammar". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ "Did you know Nonuya is dormant?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  5. ^ "La lengua Nononota (Nonuya) - Recuperación de la lengua nonuya en Peña Roja (Amazonas)". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2022-07-05.