Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Sumo-Mayangna, Sumu, Ulwa, Ulua, Ulúa, Woolwa, Mayangna
CLASSIFICATION		Misumalpan
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		sum, yan, ulw
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Mayangna (Northern Sumo) Ulwa (Southern Sumo) Panamahka (Panamaca) Nicaraguan Tawahka (Tuahka Taguasca) Bawihka Kukra.
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		Some scholars believe there is only a single Sumo [Sum] language; others hold that there are two separate languages; Mayangna [yan] and Ulwa [ulw].

Compare Sources (4)

Information from: “El sumo, lengua oprimida” (53-64) . Norwood, Susan (2014)

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~10,000
Native speakers worldwide

PLACES: Honduras, Nicaragua

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Atlantic coast [Costa Caribe]

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
7,400
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
In Honduras: 700 speakers, ethnic population 800-1,000. In Nicaragua: 6,700 speakers.

Ethnologue (2009) had only a single Sumo [Sum] language; Ethnologue (2013) has separated these into two separate languages:
Mayangna [yan]: 8,000 in Nicaragua (Adelaar 2007). Population total all countries: 8,700. Ethnic population: 9,760 (2005 census).
Ulwa [ulw]: 350 (2009 J. Mejia).

DATE OF INFO: 1982

PLACES: Nicaragua, Honduras

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: In Nicragua: Upriver locations from Prinzapolka River in the south into Honduras in the north. Also in Honduras. In Honduras: Banks of the Patuca River, Gracias a Dios and parts of Olancho departments.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Mayangna [yan]: Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic, along the Waspuk River, Bambana, Tungi, and Santo Tomás de Umbra, the upper Wawa. Panamahka dialect: along stretches of the Wanki River; Tuahka dialect: Wasakin area, near Rosita.
Ulwa [ulw]: Autonomous Region of the South Atlantic, Karawala village.

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
7,000?
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Hale and Salamanca (2001) distinguish varieties of Sumu: northern Mayangna, with the Twahka and Panamahka dialects, and southern Ulwa, finding the two (northern and southern) sufficiently different to be considered distinct languages.

PLACES: Nicaragua, Honduras

		2001	Theoretical and Universal Implications of Certain Verbal Entries in Dictionaries of the Misumalpan Languages	Making Dictionaries: Preserving indigenous Languages of the Americas		Frawley, Hill & Munro	University of California Press					Ken Hale and Danilo Salamanca	Hale, Ken and Danilo Salamanca. 2001. Theoretical and Universal Implications of Certain Verbal Entries in Dictionaries of the Misumalpan Languages. In Frawley, Hill & Munro eds. Making Dictionaries: Preserving indigenous Languages of the Americas. University of California Press.		7,000?		1000-9999	Hale and Salamanca (2001) distinguish varieties of Sumu: northern Mayangna, with the Twahka and Panamahka dialects, and southern Ulwa, finding the two (northern and southern) sufficiently different to be considered distinct languages.	Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Nicaragua, Honduras
		2014	El sumo, lengua oprimida		53-64			Wani	14		http://revistas.bicu.edu.ni/index.php/wani/article/viewFile/323/320	Norwood, Susan	Norwood, Susan. 2014. El sumo, lengua oprimida. Wani revista del Caribe Nicaragüense 14: 53-64.		~10,000		1000-9999		Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Atlantic coast [Costa Caribe]	Honduras, Nicaragua
0199255911		2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press			New York			2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.										13.0,-84.5
	16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	7,400	1982	1000-9999	In Honduras: 700 speakers, ethnic population 800-1,000. In Nicaragua: 6,700 speakers. Ethnologue (2009) had only a single Sumo [Sum] language; Ethnologue (2013) has separated these into two separate languages: Mayangna [yan]: 8,000 in Nicaragua (Adelaar 2007). Population total all countries: 8,700. Ethnic population: 9,760 (2005 census). Ulwa [ulw]: 350 (2009 J. Mejia).	Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Mayangna [yan]: Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic, along the Waspuk River, Bambana, Tungi, and Santo Tomás de Umbra, the upper Wawa. Panamahka dialect: along stretches of the Wanki River; Tuahka dialect: Wasakin area, near Rosita. Ulwa [ulw]: Autonomous Region of the South Atlantic, Karawala village.	Nicaragua, Honduras	In Nicragua: Upriver locations from Prinzapolka River in the south into Honduras in the north. Also in Honduras. In Honduras: Banks of the Patuca River, Gracias a Dios and parts of Olancho departments.

Sumo

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

7,400

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

7,000?

Discussion

Sumo

Language metadata

Language information by source

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~10,000

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

7,400

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

7,000?

Discussion

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