Yukpa
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A language of Colombia
3,000 in Colombia (2009 W. Largo). 600 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 3,610 (2018 census). Total users in all countries: 6,020.
Cesar department: Augustín Codazzi municipality and municipalities north and south, Colombia-Venezuela border in Serranía de Perijá mountain range. Río Casacará dialect in Agustín Codassi municipality along Casacará river and Caño Iroka. Yukpa sur dialect, Becerril municipality.
6b* (Threatened).
Río Casacará (Iroka), Río Maracas, Yukpa Sur (Caño Padilla-La Laguna), Coyaima. At least 5 extant dialects including 2 in Venezuela. Río Cascará and Río Maracas dialects are probably largest, and may be separate languages. Venezuela dialects seem more similar to Río Maracas. Unrelated to Barí [mot]. Lexical similarity: 60% with Japreria [jru] of Venezuela (2008 W. Largo).
SOV; postpositions; possessives and common nouns marked with prefixes, human gender with suffixes; up to 2 prefixes, 3 suffixes; clause constituents indicated by word order; verbal affixation marks person and number; non-ergative; both tense and aspect; passives and voice; 13 consonant and 5 vowel phonemes; nontonal.
Vigorous. Inside protected areas the language is used all the time; outside those areas, it is only spoken when there are no outsiders present (Crevels 2007). Also use Spanish [spa], especially men, but only for buying and selling.
Literacy rate in L1: 50%. Literacy rate in L2: 70%. Taught as subject in some primary schools. Literature. Dictionary. Texts.
Traditional religion.