Urarina (Itucale)

Urarina is spoken by about 3,000 people in the Loreto region of northwest Peru, particularly in the Urarinas district, along the Pucayacu, Chambira and Urituyacu rivers. It not related to any other living language, and is one of the few languages in the world with object-verb-subject word order.

Urarina is also known as Itucali, Simacu or Shimacu, and the Urarina call themselves Kachá ("the people"). The name Urarina is thought to come from the Quechua words uray (below) and rina (people), so Urarina means "people from below" or "down stream people".

Urarina is written with the Latin alphabet, although few Urarina speakers are literate.

Urarina alphabet and pronunciation

Download an alphabet chart for Urarina (Excel)

Sample text in Urarina

Ita rijiicha itolere cacha. Aihana jaun, ita belaain, naojoain neuruhine laurilaurichuru nenacaauru aina itolere cachaauru.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Sample video

Links

Information about the Urarina language and people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urarina_language
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioma_urarina
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urarina_people
http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ura
http://www.native-languages.org/urarina.htm
http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/urupdate.html

Language isolates

Adaizan, Ainu, Basque, Burushaski, Candoshi-Shapra, Chitimacha, Eskayan, Hadza, Haida, Karuk, Kawésqar, Keres, Kuot, Kusunda, Kutenai, Natchez, Nihali, Nivkh, Páez, Purepecha, Sandawe, Seri, Sumerian, Tartessian, Ticuna, Tiwi, Tonkawa, Tunica, Urarina, Waorani, Warao, Wardaman, Washo, Yaghan, Yuchi/Euchee, Zuni

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 09.06.24

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