// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Kogi language say? It's tribal to understand.

Kogi
Kogi
Kággaba
Native to	Colombia
Region	Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Ethnicity	Kogi
Native speakers	9,900 (2004); nearly all monolingual
Language family	Chibchan Arwako–Chimila Arwako Kogi; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kog
Glottolog	cogu1240
ELP	Cogui

Kogi (Cogui), or Kagaba (Cágaba) (Cogui: Kággaba), is a Chibchan language of Colombia. It forms a separate Arwako branch along with the Iku and Damana languages.^[2] The Kogi people are almost entirely monolingual, and hold the virtually unique distinction of being a truly unconquered Amerindian civilization.

Phonology

Vowels^[3]
	Front	Central	Back
Close	i ĩ	ɨ ɨ̃	u ũ
Mid	e ẽ	ʌ	o
Open		a ã

/e, ẽ/ can also be heard as [ɛ, ɛ̃] when in unstressed syllables.

Consonants
		Bilabial		Dental/Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
		plain	geminated	plain	geminated	Palatal	plain	geminated	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p		t	tː		k	kː	ʔ
Plosive	voiced	b	bː	d	dː		g	gː	ʔ
Fricative	voiceless			s		ʃ ⟨sh⟩	x ⟨j⟩		h
Fricative	voiced			z		ʒ ⟨zh⟩
Lateral				l
Nasal		m		n			ŋ ⟨ñ⟩
Approximant		w				j ⟨y⟩

Affricate sounds [ts, dz, tʃ, dʒ] are heard when sibilant sounds /s, z, ʃ, ʒ/ precede /n/. If /t, d/ precede /i/ then they are realized as affricates [tʃ, dʒ].
/n/ before /i/ may be realized as a palatal [ɲ].^[3]

Grammar

The language is mostly verb-final, with the dominant word order subject–object–verb. Adjectives follow the nouns they modify. Verbs are inflected for subject (either a prefix or a suffix) and for object (a prefix). Non-subject personal reference can also express a beneficiary, as illustrated in the following example:^[2]

bigíʒa

pineapple

na-k-lúni

1O.SG-DAT-want

‘I want a pineapple.’

Nouns and nominals can receive case markers; however, the nominative or subject suffix -hã is not obligatory and cannot be attached to personal pronouns. Other four cases are: dative – alative (-k), accusative (-ø), genitive (-ti), locative (-li). Possession can be expressed either through a genitive construction or by using possessive prefixes. Possessive pronouns distinguish between inclusive and exclusive plural.^[4]

References

↑ Kogi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
1 2 Adelaar, Willem F. H.; Muysken, Pieter (2004). The languages of the Andes. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-36275-7.
1 2 Gawthorne, Linda A.; Hensarling, Grace E. (1984). Fonología del cogui. Sistemas fonológicos de idiomas colombianos (V.G.Waterhouse, comp.): Lomalinda: Editorial Townsend.
↑ Ortíz Ricaurte, Carolina (2000). La Lengua Koguí: fonología y morfosintaxis nominal. In González de Pérez, María Stella and Rodríguez de Montes, María Luisa (eds.), Lenguas indígenas de Colombia: una visión descriptiva, 757-788. Santafé de Bogotá: Instituto Caro y Cuervo.

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[e18-1] Kogi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[:1-2] 1 2 Adelaar, Willem F. H.; Muysken, Pieter (2004). The languages of the Andes. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-36275-7.

[:0-3] 1 2 Gawthorne, Linda A.; Hensarling, Grace E. (1984). Fonología del cogui. Sistemas fonológicos de idiomas colombianos (V.G.Waterhouse, comp.): Lomalinda: Editorial Townsend.

[4] Ortíz Ricaurte, Carolina (2000). La Lengua Koguí: fonología y morfosintaxis nominal. In González de Pérez, María Stella and Rodríguez de Montes, María Luisa (eds.), Lenguas indígenas de Colombia: una visión descriptiva, 757-788. Santafé de Bogotá: Instituto Caro y Cuervo.

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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Kogi language say? It's tribal to understand.

Phonology

Grammar

References