Teribe language

{{Short description|Chibchan language spoken in Central America}} {{Infobox language | name = Teribe | nativename = {{lang|tfr|naso}} | states = Panama, Costa Rica | region = '''In Panama:''' Naso Tjër Di Comarca, Bocas del Toro Province, Chiriquí Province. '''In Costa Rica:''' Limón Province, Puntarenas Province. | ethnicity = Naso people | speakers = 3,300 | date = 2007 | ref = e18 | familycolor = Chibchan | fam1 = Chibchan | fam2 = Isthmic | fam3 = Talamanca | iso3 = tfr | glotto = teri1250 | glottorefname = Teribe | dia1 = Teribe | dia2 = Térraba | map = Naso-Teribe.svg | mapcaption = Map of the Naso (Teribe) people and language in Panama | pronunciation = {{IPA|/nã̀sɔ̀ kʰɛ̀ɾkuɔ́/}} }}

'''Teribe''' ({{langx|tfr|naso|links=no}}, {{IPA|/nã̀sɔ̀ kʰɛ̀ɾkuɔ́/}}<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Constenla Umaña |first=Adolfo |title=Chibchan languages |date=2012-01-13 |work=The Indigenous Languages of South America |pages=391–440 |editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=Lyle |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110258035.391/html |access-date=2026-05-02 |publisher=DE GRUYTER |doi=10.1515/9783110258035.391 |isbn=978-3-11-025513-3 |editor2-last=Grondona |editor2-first=Verónica|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Reference page|page=392}}) is a Chibchan language of the Talamanca subgroup spoken by the Naso or Teribe people. It is spoken primarily in the Naso Tjër Di Comarca and the Bocas del Toro Province of northwestern Panama and in the southern part of Costa Rica's Puntarenas Province, but is almost extinct in the latter. It is part of the Chibchan language family. There were about 3,000 speakers as of 2000, nearly all of whom speak Spanish as well.

== History == The Teribe people were very difficult for the Spaniards to conquer, taking nearly 130 years for them to surrender. This was made possible by the relocation of a Teribe clan, the Térrabas, to modern-day Costa Rica in 1695, who were seemingly favored towards Christianization. Following this, the Teribes of Panama and the Térrabas eventually lost contact; oral tradition maintains that a group of Teribes were lost attempting to cross over to the Pacific. This event led to a significant turning point for the Teribe language. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the Térrabas gradually assimilated into greater Costa Rican culture, necessitating the death of the Teribe language there. By 2000, only three fluent speakers and "half a dozen" semispeakers remained of the language among the Térrabas,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Quesada |first=Juan Diego |title=A grammar of Teribe |date=2000 |publisher=LINCOM Europa |isbn=978-3-89586-671-5 |series=LINCOM studies in native American linguistics |location=Muenchen}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=3-4}} and the last fluent speaker among them died in 2003.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=392}}

== Status == As elucidated above, the status of the Teribe language among the Térrabas of Costa Rica is one of near language death. The general attitude towards the language was described by Juan Diego Quesada (2000) as one of "neglect", and that "the will [wa]s simply not there" to revitalize the Teribe language there. In contrast, the Teribes of Panama have preserved the language to a much greater extent, due to their isolation from the rest of the country, with 3,000 speakers of the language among them. Indeed, in the primary villages of Sieyic and Sieyking, the language still serves as a "symbol of cultural identity", and bilignualism with Spanish is healthy, whereas in other villages, Teribe has been completely displaced and is no longer spoken there. However, there are a number of signs that the language is threatened even in the larger villages; for instance, only Spanish is taught in schools, and many young people in Teribe communities move out of the language environment. The Teribe have a clear language policy, in that any linguists must obtain a permit from the king, and distribute any published works to the community, but it does not actually guarantee the survival of the language.<ref name=":1" />{{Reference page|page=5}}

== Classification == Teribe is a Chibchan language. It belongs to the Western branch of the {{Interlanguage link|Isthmic languages|es|Lenguas ístmicas}} according to Adolfo Constenla Umaña (2012).<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=417}}

== Phonology == Teribe has 23 consonantal and 13 vocalic phonemes.<ref name=":1" />{{Reference page|page=15}}

=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+Teribe consonants<ref name=":1" />{{Reference page|page=15}} ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" |Bilabial ! colspan="2" |Dento-alveolar ! rowspan="2" |Alveopalatal ! colspan="2" |Velar ! rowspan="2" |Glottal |- !unaspirated !aspirated !unaspirated !aspirated !unaspirated !aspirated |- ! rowspan="2" |Stop !voiceless |{{IPAlink|p}} |{{IPAlink|pʰ}} |{{IPAlink|t}} |{{IPAlink|tʰ}} | |{{IPAlink|k}} |{{IPAlink|kʰ}} | |- !voiced |{{IPAlink|b}} | |{{IPAlink|d}} | | |{{IPAlink|g}} | | |- ! rowspan="2" |Fricative !voiceless | | |{{IPAlink|s}} | |{{IPAlink|ʃ}} | | |{{IPAlink|h}} |- !voiced | | |{{IPAlink|z}} | |{{IPAlink|ʒ}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Affricate | | | | |{{IPAlink|tʃ}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Nasal |{{IPAlink|m}} | |{{IPAlink|n}} | |{{IPAlink|ɲ}} |{{IPAlink|ŋ}} | | |- ! colspan="2" |Lateral flap | | |{{IPAlink|ɺ}} | | | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Trill | | |{{IPAlink|r}} | | | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Glide |{{IPAlink|w}} | | | |{{IPAlink|j}} | | | |}

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+Teribe vowels<ref name=":1" />{{Reference page|page=15}} ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" |Front ! colspan="2" |Central ! colspan="2" |Back |- !oral !nasal !oral !nasal !oral !nasal |- ! rowspan="2" |High !tense |{{IPAlink|i}} |{{IPAlink|ĩ}} | | |{{IPAlink|u}} |{{IPAlink|ũ}} |- !lax |{{IPAlink|ɪ}} | | | |{{IPAlink|ʊ}} | |- ! colspan="2" |Mid |{{IPAlink|e}} |{{IPAlink|ẽ}} | | |{{IPAlink|o}} |{{IPAlink|õ}} |- ! colspan="2" |Low | | |{{IPAlink|a}} |{{IPAlink|ã}} |{{IPAlink|ɑ}} | |}

==Writing system== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Teribe alphabet (Panama){{sfn|Gamarra A.|Villagra S.|1980|p=5}} |- | a || ã || ä || b || ch || d || e || ẽ || ë || g || gw || i || ĩ || j || k || kw || l |- | ll || m || n || ñ || o || õ || ö || p || r || s || sh || t || u || ũ || w || y || z |} Teribe also uses the ll with diaeresis centered over the letters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://software.sil.org/doulos/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2015/11/DoulosSIL-features5.000.pdf |title=Font Features for Doulos SIL |date=2014 |website=SIL.org}}</ref>

== Morphology ==

=== Nouns ===

==== Numeral classifiers ==== Similarly to other Chibchan languages of the region, Teribe uses a system of numeral classifiers, which can be numeral, interrogative, or indefinite. There are six classes of classifiers, animate objects, including humans, certain animals, and some body parts, round objects, wide objects, long and wide objects, and objects countable in plots.<ref name=":1" />{{Reference page|page=48}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources==  *{{cite book |last1=Gamarra A. |first1=Enrique |last2=Villagra S. |first2=Inocencio |year=1980 |title=Llëbo ñaglo lok kibokwogo ëre e lanyo = Vocabulario ilustrado teribe-español |url=https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/27338 |language=Teribe, Spanish |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Cultura & Instituto Lingüístico de Verano}}

== External links == * [https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/7807 Teribe phonology]

Category:Languages of Panama Category:Languages of Costa Rica Category:Chibchan languages Category:Object–verb–subject languages

Teribe language

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