kwi ISO 639
Awapit Autonyms
Awa-Cuaiquer
Visualizations
A language of Colombia
- ISO 639
- kwi
- Alternate Names
- Awa, Awa Pit, Coaiquer, Cuaiquer, Kwaiker, Quaiquer, auapit, Înkal Awa
- Autonym
- Awapit
- Population
- 12,000 in Colombia (Civallero 2008), decreasing. No monolinguals. Ethnic population: 44,500 (2018 census). Total users in all countries: 14,100.
- Location
- Nariño department: Barbacoas area; Cuaiquer del Alto Albí, Cuambíyaslambi, Cumbal, Mallama, and Ricaurte reservations; Pacific slopes of Andes.
- Language Maps
- Colombia, Ecuador
- Language Status
- 6b* (Threatened).
- Classification
- Barbacoan, Northern
- Dialects
- None known. Distantly related to Chachi [cbi] and Tsafiki [cof].
- Typology
- SOV; 16 consonants and 10 vowels (5 oral, 5 nasal).
- Language Use
- Majority are monolingual in Spanish [spa] and no evidence of monolingualism in Awa Cuaiquer. Also use Spanish [spa].
- Language Development
- Literacy rate in L2: Below 5%. Literature. Grammar. Texts. NT: 2002.
- Writing
- Latin script [Latn].
- Other Comments
- The presence of petroleum companies, paramilitary groups, guerrilla forces, the cultivation of illicit crops and subsequent widespread fumigation of their territory has had extremely disruptive effects on the Awa society that currently is coping with a very serious acculturation process. Traditional religion, Christian.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Awa-Cuaiquer
Also Spoken in
- Location
- Carchi and Esmeraldas provinces: extreme north, Andes west slopes, Colombia-Ecuador border, Mira river area.
- Language Status
- 6b (Threatened)
- Language Use
- Many are monolingual in Spanish [spa]. Awa-Cuaiquer want to acculturate ethnically and linguistically (Crevels 2007). Home, religion. Some of all ages. Negative attitudes. Also use Spanish [spa], with high proficiency among men and low proficiency among women and children.
- Language Development
- Literacy rate in L2: Less than 1%, but literacy rate in Spanish increasing. 40–50 government-run schools taught in Spanish [spa]. View other languages of Ecuador
Language Name
Awa-Cuaiquer
User Population
2,100 in Ecuador (Crevels 2012), decreasing. 1,000 monolinguals. Most monolinguals are women or children under age 16. Ethnic population: 3,130 (2012 UNSD).
