Akurio language

Akuriyó
Akurio
Native toSuriname
RegionSipaliwini District
Ethnicity40 Akurio people (2012)[1]
Extinct2000s[1]
2 semi-speakers (2012)
Cariban
Language codes
ISO 639-3ako
Glottologakur1238
ELPAkuriyo
Approximate location where Akuriyó is spoken
Approximate location where Akuriyó is spoken
Akuriyó
Coordinates: 3°12′N 55°38′W / 3.200°N 55.633°W / 3.200; -55.633

Akurio, also known as Akuriyó, is an endangered Cariban language that was used by the Akurio people in Suriname until the late 20th century, when the group began using the Trío language. Akuriyo does not have a writing system.

Status

The last native speaker is believed to have died in the first decade of the 2000s, at which time only 10 people were estimated to have Akuriyó as a second language. By 2012, only two semi-speakers remained.[1]

Sepi Akuriyó, one of the last surviving speakers of Akuriyó, went missing 2 December 2018, when a small plane carrying 8 people disappeared during a flight over the Amazon rainforest. A search and rescue operation was called off after two weeks.[2]

Phonology

Akurio consonants[3]
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p t k ʔ
Approximant t̠ʃ
Nasal m n
Tap or Flap ɾ
Approximant j w
Akurio vowels[3]
Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Close-mid e eː o oː
Central
Open a aː

References

  1. ^ a b c Akuriyó at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ "A scandal in the Amazon - where pilots are forced to lie". BBC News. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b Meira, Sérgio (1998). A Reconstruction of Proto-Taranoan: Phonology and Morphology (PDF) (masters thesis). Rice University.