| Capanahua | |
|---|---|
| Kapanawa | |
| Native to | Peru |
| Ethnicity | 400 Capanahua |
Native speakers | 50 (2007)[1] |
Pano–Tacanan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kaq |
| Glottolog | capa1241 |
Capanahua or Kapanawa [kapaˈnawa] is a moribund[2] indigenous American language of the Panoan family spoken in western South America by a few hundred aboriginal people. The language is spoken by the 400 strong Capanahua people, around the area of the Tapiche-Buncuya river, where it is the official language.[citation needed]
If a Capanahua speaker talks to another Capanahua speaker in Spanish, it is considered insulting, and applying of the stigmatizing label of outsider. The language is in decline, since there are few speakers and almost no children can speak it. Capanahua is used in two bilingual schools, and to some degree in other primary schools, but not in secondary schools. Capanahua speakers and people are referred to derogatorily as "Capachos".
There is one dialect called Pahenbaquebo; the closest related language is Shipibo, with which is shared 50 to 60 percent comprehensibility.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Alveolopalatal | Palatal | Velar | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p | t | k | ʔ | ||||
| Continuant | voiceless | s | ʃ ʂ | h | ||||
| voiced | β | |||||||
| Affricate | ts | tʃ | ||||||
| Flap | ɾ | |||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||||
| Semiconsonant | w | j | ||||||
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | |||
| High | i | ɯ | o | |
| Mid | ||||
| Low | a | |||
There is 5 to 10 percent literacy in Spanish compared to 10 percent literacy in the native mother tongue. The language has a written grammar, a dictionary, and uses Roman script when written.
