A'ingae
[aka Kofane, Cofán, Kofán]Classification: Isolate
·vulnerable
- DATE OF INFO
- 2019
- DOMAINS OF USE
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- SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
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- TRANSMISSION
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- MORE ON VITALITY
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In Ecuador, the language is learned by children and robustly spoken in all domains. It is severly endangered in Colombia. A'ingae is influenced by Kichwa, Spanish, and Siona-Secoya.
- SPEAKER ATTITUDE
- A'ingae is a cornerstone of Cofán ethnic identity, and has helped them withstand assimilation and preserve their traditional way of life. They play a prominent role in the Indigenous political movement of Ecuador. A'ingae-based education is available in elementary schools, though these lack teacher and materials, so many children attend Kichwa or Spanish schools instead. Ecological and economic pressures are endangering their way of life and language.
- GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
- none
- INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
- Alianza Ceibo (Ecuador)
- OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
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Spanish
- Scripts (Writing system)
- Developed by Marlytte 'Bub' Borman & Roberta 'Bobbie' Borman in the 1950s
- Competing Orthographies
- Revised later to better represent aspirated consonants and the glottal stop.
- More on Orthography
A'ingae media include mythological accounts, descriptions of traditional activities, and programs on one local radio station. An estimated 2/3 of A'ingae speakers are literate in that language as well as Spanish.
- PLACES
- Originating in the Eastern Andean Cordilleras, the Cofan people migrated through the Ecuadorian and Colombian Amazon. They now inhabit the communities of Sinangoe, Rio Cofanes, Dovuno, Dureno, and Zabalo in the northeast Ecuadorian province of Sucumbios, and communities in the southern Colombian department of Putumayo, with different dialects in each country.