Barbacoan language spoken in Ecuador
Tsafiki, also known as Tsachila or Colorado, is a Barbacoan language spoken in Ecuador by c. 2000 ethnic Tsáchila people.
Phonology
Consonants
- /b, d/ are preglottalized [ˀb, ˀd] when occurring intervocalically.
- /k/ can become voiced [ɡ] when intervocally after nasal sounds.
- /ɹ/ is heard as [ɾ] when occurring word-initially, and when following a nasalized vowel, an allophone [n] occurs.
- /s/ is heard as [ʃ] when preceding high vowels /i, u/ and after unaccented high vowels.
- /t͡s/ is heard as [t͡ʃ] when preceding high vowels, but many speakers pronounce it as [t͡ʃ] in all environments.
Vowels
Tsafiki has five vowels Four vowels have nasalized forms.
- Unaccented vowels before voiceless stops are often devoiced [ḁ].[2]
References
- ^ Tsafiki at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Dickinson, Connie (2002). Complex Predicates in Tsafiki. Ann Arbor: UMI.
External links
