Overview
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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

1,174

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Community Members

    No members

Revitalization Programs

No programs

Discussion Forum

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Language Information By Source

Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking
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Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

1,174

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

1,607

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

Crevels separates Siona from Secoya: Secoya: 414 speakers, 569 population. Siona: 760 speakers, 1,038 population. Colombia: Siona 500 speakers, 734 populations. Ecuador: Secoya 85 speakers, 240 population; Siona 260 speakers, 304 population. Peru: Secoya 329 speakers and population.

Year of info

2012

Location and Context

Countries

Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Coordinates

No data

Location description

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Government support

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Institutional support

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Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

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Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

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More on context

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Native Speakers Worldwide

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Domains of Use

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Speaker Number Trends

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Transmission

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Speakers

Second-language speakers

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Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2010

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

-0.5712, -74.8828

Location description

No data

Government support

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Institutional support

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Speakers’s attitudes

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Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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Other writing systems

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Other languages used

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Native Speakers Worldwide

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Child speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

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Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

Peru

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Spoken in the basins of the Yubineto, Angusilla, Curuya, and Putumayo rivers, in the region of Loreto, in Peru.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

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Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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Other writing systems

Spoken in the basins of the Yubineto, Angusilla, Curuya, and Putumayo rivers, in the region of Loreto, in Peru.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Severely Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

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Domains of Use

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Speaker Number Trends

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Transmission

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Speakers

Second-language speakers

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Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2014

Location and Context

Countries

Baicoca (Ecuadorian Siona) is spoken by the Bai (Siona) people who live in the Sucumbios Province in eastern Ecuador. The speakers live among six small villages (Puerto Bolívar and Tarabëaya on the Cuyabeno Rivera; and Sototsiaya, Orahuëaya, Aboquëhuira, and Bi'aña on the Aguarico River), and in the provincial capital Lago Agrio. (Bruil, 2014)

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Location description

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Government support

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Speakers’s attitudes

Oil companies, international tourism, missionaries, migration, and intermarriage with other indigenous groups and with mestizos have increased the presence of Spanish in the Ecuadorian Siona villages. These contribute to the critical state of the language. However, people have realized the seriousness of the situation and are developing revitalization policies. (Bruil, 2014)

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Spanish

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

<200

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

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Speakers

Second-language speakers

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Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

Less than 200 (Ecuadorian Siona)

Year of info

2011

Location and Context

Countries

eastern Ecuador

Coordinates

No data

Location description

6 communities in the Cuyabeno reserve and on the banks of the Aguarico, the Eno and the Aguas Negras

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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Other writing systems

6 communities in the Cuyabeno reserve and on the banks of the Aguarico, the Eno and the Aguas Negras

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Threatened

Native Speakers Worldwide

1,240

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

Ethnologue distinguishes Secoya [sey], Siona [snn], and Macaguaje [mcl]. Others consider these variants of a single language. Siona: 550 speakers (1982), 737 population. Secoya: 690.

Year of info

2009

Location and Context

Countries

Ecuador; Colombia; Peru;

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Siona: Both sides of Putumayo River, Colombia and Ecuador. Secoya: in Ecuador in Northeastern jungle, Aguarico, Cuyabeno, and Eno rivers, near Colombian border. Also in Peru.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Siona: Both sides of Putumayo River, Colombia and Ecuador. Secoya: in Ecuador in Northeastern jungle, Aguarico, Cuyabeno, and Eno rivers, near Colombian border. Also in Peru.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

1670

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

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Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

Siona [snn]: 200 in Colombia (2008); ethnic population 730 (2001); 300 in Ecuador (2000); total users in all countries: 500. Secoya [sey]: 490 in Ecuador (2012); 680 in Peru (2007); ethnic population 680 (2007); total users in all countries: 1170.

Year of info

2016

Location and Context

Countries

Colombia, Ecuador

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Siona [snn]: In Colombia: Putumayo department: El Tablero and Resguardo Buenavista, between Poñuna Blanca and Poñuna Negra on Putumayo River and tributaries. In Ecuador: Sucumbíos province: Biaña, Puerto Bolívar and Orawaya communities; Putamayo River south bank. Secoya [sey]: In Ecuador: Sucumbíos province: Cuyabeno canton; Aguarico, Cuyabeno, and Eno rivers, near Colombian border. In Peru: Loreto region: Boca de Angusilla and Santa Marta, a small river off Napo River near Ecuador border.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Siona [snn]: In Colombia: Putumayo department: El Tablero and Resguardo Buenavista, between Poñuna Blanca and Poñuna Negra on Putumayo River and tributaries. In Ecuador: Sucumbíos province: Biaña, Puerto Bolívar and Orawaya communities; Putamayo River south bank. Secoya [sey]: In Ecuador: Sucumbíos province: Cuyabeno canton; Aguarico, Cuyabeno, and Eno rivers, near Colombian border. In Peru: Loreto region: Boca de Angusilla and Santa Marta, a small river off Napo River near Ecuador border.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Spanish

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

Used as L2 by Cofán in Ecuador.

Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

638

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

700

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

638 Airo Pãi (Peruvian Secoya) speakers out of an ethnic population of 700 in Peru; unknown number of Secoya speakers out of an ethnic population of 300 who migrated to Ecuador between 1941-1973. (Vallejos, 2021)

Year of info

2021

Location and Context

Countries

Airo Pãi (Peruvian Secoya) speakers live in 9 villages of the Loreto region near the Colombian border: 7 along the Yubineto, Angusilla, and Yaricaya tributaries of the Putumayo River; 1 along the Santa María tributary of the Napo River; 1 within Güeppi-Sekime National Park (Vallejos, 2021)

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

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Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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Other writing systems

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Other languages used

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Domains of other languages

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Critically Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

25

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

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Speakers

Second-language speakers

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Semi-speakers

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Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

25

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

An estimated 20-25 fluent Bain Coca [snn] speakers in Colombia; an unknown number in Ecuador. (Langdon, 2021)

Year of info

2021

Location and Context

Countries

Buenavista, Nuevo Amanecer, and Mocoa in Colombia; unknown in Ecuador. (Langdon 2021)

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers’s attitudes

There is a sense of loss and a strong will to keep Bain Coca [snn] alive. (Langdon, 2021)

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Spanish

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

638

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

700

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2018

Location and Context

Countries

7 Secoya communities in Peru, located in Torres Causana District (Maynas Province), and Putamayo & Teniente Manuel Clavero Districts (Putamayo Province). (INEI, 2017)

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

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Speakers’s attitudes

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Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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More on writing systems

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Other languages used

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Domains of other languages

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More on context

5 of the 7 Secoya communities in Peru have a bilingual or culturally-friendly preschool and elementary school. (INEI, 2017)

Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

934

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers

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Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

As Ethnologue, WOLP distinguishes Siona and Secoya where others consider them variants of a single language. Siona 550. Secoya 434.

Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

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Speakers’s attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

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Other languages used

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Domains of other languages

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More on context

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Media Resources

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Filter By

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  1. Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University
    2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
  2. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)
    Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)
    http://www.ethnologue.com/
  3. World Oral Literature Project
    "World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.
    http://www.oralliterature.org
  4. Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking
    Crevels, Mily. 2012. "Language Endangerment in South America: The Clock Is Ticking." In The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide, edited by Hans Henrich Hock et al.. 167-234. Mouton de Gruyter.
  5. "Documenting and describing Ecuadorian Siona" HRELP Abstract
    Bruil, Martine. 2011. ""Documenting and Describing Ecuadorian Siona" HRELP Abstract." Online: http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=229.
    http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=229
  6. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
    Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)
    http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas
  7. Clause-typing and evidentiality in Ecuadorian Siona
    https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/23938
  8. Nominal classification without grammatical agreement: Evidence from Secoya