Boruca language
Encyclopedia
The Boruca language is the native language of the Boruca
people of Costa Rica
. It is one of the Chibchan languages
. It is nearly extinct; it was spoken fluently by only five women in 1986, while 30 to 35 others spoke it nonfluently. The rest of the tribe's 1,000 members speak Spanish
. The language is taught as a second language at the local primary school Escuela Doris Z. Stone. One can hear Bronka words and phrases mixed into Spanish conversations but it is extremely rare to hear prolonged exchanges in Bronka.
Greeting:
¿Ishójcre rában? = ¿Qué tal? = What's up?
Morén, morén. = Bien = Fine, well.
The Personal Pronouns in Boruca (the ˇ represents a glottal stop.)
The Numbers (The "ṅ" is used in place of an "n" with an "¨" over top, as this character is unavailable. This produces a slightly different sound from the normal n or ñ.)
Map of Boruca
Boruca
The Boruca are an indigenous people living in Costa Rica. The tribe has about 2,660 members, most of whom live on a reservation in the Puntarenas Province in southwestern Costa Rica...
people of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. It is one of the Chibchan languages
Chibchan languages
The Chibchan languages make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama...
. It is nearly extinct; it was spoken fluently by only five women in 1986, while 30 to 35 others spoke it nonfluently. The rest of the tribe's 1,000 members speak Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. The language is taught as a second language at the local primary school Escuela Doris Z. Stone. One can hear Bronka words and phrases mixed into Spanish conversations but it is extremely rare to hear prolonged exchanges in Bronka.
Greeting:
¿Ishójcre rában? = ¿Qué tal? = What's up?
Morén, morén. = Bien = Fine, well.
The Personal Pronouns in Boruca (the ˇ represents a glottal stop.)
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | át | diˇ / diˇ rójc |
| 2nd | bá | biˇ / biˇ rójc |
| 3rd | i | i rójc / iˇ rójc |
The Numbers (The "ṅ" is used in place of an "n" with an "¨" over top, as this character is unavailable. This produces a slightly different sound from the normal n or ñ.)
| Numbers | Bronka |
|---|---|
| 1 | éˇxe, éˇxi |
| 2 | búˇc |
| 3 | maṅ |
| 4 | bájcaṅ |
| 5 | shishcáṅ |
| 6 | téshan |
| 7 | cúj, cújc |
| 8 | éjtaṅ |
| 9 | cújtaṅ, éjcuj |
| 10 | téjcuj, cróshtaṅ, búˇc cúj |
Map of Boruca