Ocaina language

Ocaina is an indigenous American language spoken in western South America.

Classification
Ocaina belongs to the Witotoan language family. It is its own group within the Huitoto-Ocaina sub-family.

Geographic distribution
Ocaina is spoken by 54 people in northeastern Peru and by 12 more in the Amazonas region of Colombia. Few children speak the language.

Dialects/Varieties
There are two dialects of Ocaina: Dukaiya and Ibo'tsa.

Tone
Syllables in Ocaina may be marked with one of two tones: high or low.

Syllables
Syllables in Ocaina consist of a vowel; single consonants may appear on either side of the vowel: (C)V(C).

Writing system
Ocaina is written using a Latin alphabet. A chart of symbols with the sounds they represent is as follows:


 * Because the Ocaina alphabet is based on Spanish, c is used to indicate before a, o, and u, qu is used before e and i, and k is used in loan words, such as kerosene "kerosene".
 * Nasalization is indicated by inserting n after a vowel. Compare:  tya tyója  "hang it" vs. tya tyonjan  "clean it".
 * High tone is indicated with the acute accent: á, é, í, ó, ú.