emp ISO 639

Embera Autonyms

Emberá, Northern

  • Geography

    PA Darién province: Chepigana district; Emberá province; Panamá province: Chepos and Chiman districts; lowland jungle along rivers, Gulf San Miguel area.
  • Language Cloud

A language of Panama

emp
Atrato, Chocó, Cholo, Darien, Darien Emberá, Ebera Bedea, Empera, Panama Embera
Embera
22,500 in Panama (2012 SIL). Total users in all countries: 72,200.
Darién province: Chepigana district; Emberá province; Panamá province: Chepos and Chiman districts; lowland jungle along rivers, Gulf San Miguel area.
Colombia, Panama
5* (Developing).
Chocoan, Emberá, Northern Emberá
Related languages in order of closeness: Embera Catío [cto], Embera Baudó [bdc], Embera Tadó [tdc], Epena [sja], Embera Chamí [cmi], and Wounmeu [noa]. Panama and Colombia dialects are inherently intelligible. Northern Embera of the Upper Baudó area and downriver Embera Baudó are inherently intelligible.
SOV; postpositions; noun head both initial and final; 2 (human, non-human); content q-word initial; no prefixes, up to 5 suffixes; clause constituents indicated by case-marking; verbal affixation marks number; ergativity; both tense and aspect; passives and voice (by switching order of S and O); nontonal; 20 consonant and 12 vowel phonemes (6 vowels plus autosegmental nasalization).
Home, friends, some churches. Positive attitudes. Also use Spanish [spa], where in Panama Province those under 30 may speak it as L1; to a lesser degree, those under 30 in the Darien Province may also speak it.
Literacy rate in L1: 10%. Literacy rate in L2: 50%. Bible reading is primary motivation for L1 literacy. Literature. Radio. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1991–2011.
Latin script [Latn].
Traditional religion, Christian.
OLAC resources in and about Emberá, Northern
Emberá, Northern
49,700 in Colombia (2001 census). Ethnic population: Total Emberá in Colombia in 2001: 88,700 (Crevels 2012).
Antioquia and Chocó departments: Atrato river basin; also inland from Cabo Corrientes north to Jurado on Pacific coast.
5 (Developing)
Traditional religion, Christian.
View other languages of Colombia