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{{Short description|Endangered indigenous language of Ecuador and Colombia}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Cofán
| nativename       = {{lang|con|A{{hamza}}ingae}}
| states           = [[Ecuador]], [[Colombia]]
| ethnicity        = [[Cofán people]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|1,020|2}}
| date             = 2012
| ref              = e25
| familycolor      = american
| family           = [[Language isolate]]
| iso3             = con
| glotto           = cofa1242
| glottorefname    = Cofán
| map              = Cofán.png
| script           = [[Latin script]]
| region           = [[Sucumbíos Province]], [[Nariño Department]], [[Putumayo Department]]
}}

'''''A{{hamza}}ingae''''', commonly known as '''Cofán''' or '''Kofán''', is the primary language of the [[Cofán people|A{{hamza}}i (Cofán) people]], an indigenous group whose ancestral territory lies at the interface between the Andean foothills and Amazonia in the northeast of Ecuador ([[Sucumbíos Province|Sucumbíos]] province) and southern Colombia ([[Putumayo Department|Putumayo]] & [[Nariño Department|Nariño]] provinces). Although still robustly learned by children in Ecuadorian communities, it is considered an 'endangered' language with estimates of around 1500 native speakers.

== Classification ==
While past classifications have identified Cofán as belonging to linguistic families such as [[Chibchan languages|Chibchan]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rivet |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Rivet |date=1924 |title=Langues américaines |journal=Langues de l'Amérique du Sud et des Antilles |editor1=Antoine Meillet |editor2=Marcel Cohen |volume=2 |series=Les langues du monde |publisher=Société Linguistique de Paris |location=Paris |lang=fr}}</ref> or Andean B,<ref>Greenberg. Joseph H. (1960), The general classification of Central and South American languages. In: Anthony Wallace ed., ''Men and cultures: Selected papers of the 5th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (1956).'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 791-794.</ref> it is now widely agreed to be a language isolate, with no known genetic relatives.<ref>Adelaar, Willem F.H. with Pieter C. Muysken (2004), ''The languages of the Andes.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 454.</ref><ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" /><ref>"Las construcciones relativas 'superlibres' en lenguas mayas ['Super-free' relative constructions in Mayan languages]" -- AnderBois, Scott, Miguel Oscar Chan Dzul, Jessica Coon, Juan Jesús Vázquez Álvarez, Conference on Indigenous Languages of South America (CILLA) IX, The University of Texas at Austin.</ref><ref name=":2" /> 

== History and current status ==
A{{hamza}}ingae is a language isolate of Amazonia spoken by the Cofán people in  [[Sucumbios Province]] in northeastern Ecuador and the departments of [[Putumayo Department|Putumayo]] and [[Nariño Department|Nariño]] in southern Colombia. The language has approximately 1500 speakers and is relatively vital in Ecuador and severely endangered in Colombia.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Dąbkowski|first=Maksymilian|date=2021|title=A{{hamza}}ingae (Ecuador and Colombia) - Language Snapshot|url=http://www.elpublishing.org/PID/223|journal=Language Documentation and Description|volume=20|pages=1–12}}</ref> However, language attitudes about A{{hamza}}ingae are positive and it is considered foundational to Cofán identity and community (Cepek 2012).

The A{{hamza}}i are traditionally hunter-gatherers who historically spanned over a large territory (AnderBois et al. 2019). In Ecuador, the Cofán have resisted conquest by the Inca and colonization by the Spanish, as well as anti-indigenous policies by the Ecuadorian government. The pre-Colombian Cofán population is estimated at 60,000 to 70,000. Though the origin of the Cofán is the Eastern Andean Cordilleras, Inca encroachment pushed the Cofán to the eastern lowlands, which they still inhabit today. The Cofán have undergone de facto segregation codified by the Ecuadorian government, a measles outbreak in 1923 that reduced the population to a few hundred, and illegal oil extraction that threatened the environment in Cofán territory and the Cofán way of life. The Cofán have played a major role in the Indigenous movement in Ecuador, and in 2018 they won a judicial case recognizing their right to decide over environmental activities in their territory and prohibiting the continued operation of mining activities.<ref name=":2" />

The Cofán's religious tradition is shamanistic, and a key cultural value of the Cofán is harmonious conviviality. In addition, participation in cultural practices such as drinking yaje and traditional skills like hunting and housebuilding, rather than descent or ethnicity, plays a large role in determining one's status as an a{{hamza}}i (Cepek 2012). The Cofán credit their strong linguistic identity for their ability to withstand colonial oppression and protect their traditional way of life.<ref name=":2" />

A{{hamza}}ingae is a language isolate. The language has considerable Amazonian borrowings from Tukanoan and Cariban languages, as well as many Quechuan borrowings. While there have been previous claims of genetic ties or language contact of A{{hamza}}ingae to Barbacoan, Chicham, and Chibchan, it has been determined that there are no substantial borrowings.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Repetti-Ludlow |first1=Chiara |last2=Zhang |first2=Haoru |last3=Lucitante |first3=Hugo |last4=AnderBois |first4=Scott |last5=Sanker |first5=Chelsea |date=December 2020 |title=A{{hamza}}ingae (Cofán) |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=431–444 |doi=10.1017/S0025100319000082 |s2cid=198596111 |issn=0025-1003 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0025100319000082/type/journal_article}}</ref> No complete grammar of the language has been produced.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld">{{citation |first1=Rafael |last1=Fischer |first2=Kees |last2=Hengeveld|author2-link=Kees Hengeveld |date=2018 |title=A{{hamza}}ingae (Cofán/Kofán) |url=https://keeshengeveld.humanities.uva.nl/publications/fc_fischer&hengeveld.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929104542/https://keeshengeveld.humanities.uva.nl/publications/fc_fischer&hengeveld.pdf |archive-date=Sep 29, 2022|doi=10.1515/opli-2018-0018}}</ref>

The name of the language, {{lang|con|A{{hamza}}ingae}}, which consists of the stem {{lang|con|a{{hamza}}i}} ('person, Cofán person, civilized person') and the manner clitic {{lang|con|{{=}}ngae}}, means 'in the manner of the people'. Though the speakers use the word {{lang|con|A{{hamza}}ingae}}, the language is also known by the Spanish denomination {{lang|es|Cofán}}.

== Phonology ==
A{{hamza}}ingae has 27 consonants as well as 5 oral monophthongs and 6 oral diphthongs, each with a nasal counterpart which is contrastive. The language is currently considered to have an unknown amount of dialectal variation. It is quite likely that there is some, but no concrete research and evidence has been put forward to make a strong claim either way, warranting further investigation.<ref name=":6" />

=== Consonants ===
The 27 consonant phonemes are listed below in the table with their IPA representations. In A{{hamza}}ingae, there is a three-way, contrastive distinction between voiceless, aspirated, and prenasalized plosives and affricates. There are no such distinctions for fricatives. All consonants can be word-initial, except for /ʔ/ and /ɰ/. Note that glottal stop, although phonologically contrastive, can be realized as creakiness.<ref name=":6" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[Plosive]]/<br />[[Affricate]]
!{{small|plain}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|t͡s}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
!{{small|aspirated}}
| {{IPA|pʰ}}
| {{IPA|tʰ}}
| {{IPA|t͡sʰ}}
| {{IPA|t͡ʃʰ}}
| {{IPA|kʰ}}
|
|-
!{{small|prenasal}}
| {{IPA|ᵐb}}
| {{IPA|ⁿd}}
| {{IPA|ⁿd͡z}}
| {{IPA|ⁿd͡ʒ}}
| {{IPA|ᵑg}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
| {{IPA link|f}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|ʋ}}
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA link|j}}
| {{IPA link|ɰ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Tap consonant|Tap]]
|
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɾ}}
|
|
|
|}

=== Vowels ===
The 5 oral vowels and their nasal counterparts are listed in the table below with their IPA representation. The 6 diphthongs and their nasal counterparts in IPA representation are the following: [ai]/[ãĩ], [oe]/[õẽ], [oa]/[õã], [oi]/[õĩ], [ɨi]/[ɨ̃ĩ], and [ao]/[ãõ].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
|{{IPA link|i}} / {{IPA link|ĩ}}
|{{IPA link|ɨ}} / {{IPA link|ɨ̃}}
|
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}} / {{IPA link|ẽ}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}} / {{IPA link|õ}}
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}} / {{IPA link|ã}}
|
|}

=== Diphthongs ===
When vowels appear adjacent to one another, they either become a diphthong (for the pairs listed above) or a glide is inserted if a diphthong does not exist for that pair. For example:

{{interlinear
| number = (1)
| glossing3 = yes
| italics1 = no|/ho.ʋaʔ.kã.o/|[ho.ʋaʔ.kãõ]|DIST{{=}}SIM{{=}}AUG|'exactly like that'<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|5}}
}}

{{interlinear
| number = (2)
| glossing3 = yes
| italics1 = no|/ɲo.tsʰi.a/|[ɲõ.tsʰia]|good{{=}}QUAL{{=}}ADJR|'good'<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|4}}
}}

Note that the vowel pair /ae/ is realized as [ai].

Triphthongs do not exist in A{{hamza}}ingae, and glottal stops are inserted phonemically when a sequence of three vowels would occur as in example (1) below.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />

{{interlinear
| number = (3)
| glossing3 = yes
| italics1 = no|/ᵐbia.a/|[bi̯a.ʔa]|(long{{=}}ADJR)|'long'<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|4}}
}}

=== Nasalization ===
Nasalization is a major feature of the A{{hamza}}ingae sound system. As already seen, there are contrastive prenasalized consonants as well as contrastive nasal counterparts to all monophthongs and diphthongs. Example (4) below demonstrates their contrasting nature:

:: (4a) /hi/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [hi] {{gloss|to come}}
:: (4b) /hĩ/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [hĩ] {{gloss|to exist}}

Along with being contrastive, nasalization also plays a key phonological role in the surface realization of morphemes, working both backwards and forwards. The consonants /p/, /t/, /ʋ/, and /j/ all become nasalized when following a nasal vowel, becoming /ᵐb/, /ⁿd/, /m/, and /ɲ/, respectively, as in examples (5) and (6).

:: (5a) /ha-pa/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [ha.pa] (go-{{gcl|SS}}) {{gloss|to go}}
:: (5b) /hẽ-pa/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [hẽ.ᵐba] (sound-{{gcl|SS}}) {{gloss|to sound}}
:: (6a) /hi-ʔja/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [hiʔ.ja] (come-{{gcl|VER}}) {{gloss|does come}}
:: (6b) /hĩ-ʔja/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [hĩʔ.ɲã] (exist-{{gcl|VER}}) {{gloss|does exist}}

Note that nasalization of vowels can cross consonant boundaries when the vowels are separated by a glottal fricative /h/ or glottal stop /ʔ/ (even when a glide is present) as in example (*) above and example (7) below:<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />

:: (7a) /tsɨi-ʔhe/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [tsɨiʔ.he] (walk-{{gcl|IPFV}}) {{gloss|walking}}
:: (7b) /tsõ-ʔhe/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [tsõʔ.hẽ] (do-{{gcl|IPFV}}) {{gloss|doing}}

Additionally, oral vowels become nasalized when preceding prenasalized consonants and when following nasal consonants.

:: (8) /dɨ.ʃo.ⁿde.kʰɨ/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [dɨ.ʃõ.ⁿde.kʰɨ] (child={{gcl|HUM}}.{{gcl|PL}}) {{gloss|children}}<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|4}}
:: (9) /ɲoɲa.pa/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [ɲõɲã.ᵐba] (make={{gcl|SS}}) {{gloss|make}}<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|5}}

They also become nasalized when either preceded or followed by a nasal vowel, as in examples (10) and (11).

:: (10) /ho.ʋaʔ.kã.o/ <math>\rightarrow</math> [ho.ʋaʔ.kãõ] ({{gcl|DIST}}={{gcl|SIM|similative}}={{gcl|AUG}}) {{gloss|exactly like that}}<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|4}}

=== Syllable structure ===
A{{hamza}}ingae syllable structure is (C)V(ʔ),<ref name=":6" /> with many variations thereof. At minimum a syllable can be a singular vowel and at maximum can be consonant onset with a diphthong nucleus and glottal stop coda.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" /> Note that vowel length is not a relevant feature in syllable structure. A complete list of the structures allowed is given in the table below with examples for each.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />

{| class="wikitable"
|V
|{{IPA|['''a'''.ʔi]}}
|{{gloss|person}}
|-
|VV
|{{IPA|['''ãĩ''']}}
|{{gloss|dog}}
|-
|CV
|{{IPA|['''tʃã''']}}
|{{gloss|mother}}
|-
|CVV
|{{IPA|['''kʰoa''']}}
|{{gloss|pumpkin}}
|-
|Vʔ
|{{IPA|['''iʔ'''.fa]}}
|{{gloss|we/they/you all bring}}
|-
|VVʔ
|{{IPA|['''aiʔ'''.ʋo]}}
|{{gloss|body}}
|-
|CVʔ
|{{IPA|['''paʔ'''.tʃo]}}
|{{gloss|dead}}
|-
|CVVʔ
|{{IPA|[d'''ʒaiʔ'''.tʃo]}}
|{{gloss|chair}}
|}

=== Prosody ===
Generally speaking, in the absence of a glottal stop, stress in A{{hamza}}ingae is found on the penultimate syllable as in examples (12a) and (12b). When a glottal stop is present however, stress is found on the syllable with the second mora before the glottal stop (Dąbkowski, 2020), compare examples (13a) and (13b). This is a stress pattern that is currently cross-linguistically unattested.

:: (12a) [ˈfe.tʰa] 'open'
:: (12b) [fe.ˈtʰa.hi] 'open-{{gcl|PRCM|preculminative}}'{{what|date=June 2022}}
:: (13a) [ˈfe.tʰa.ʔhe] 'open-{{gcl|IPFV}}'
:: (13b) [fɨn.ˈdɨi.ʔhe] 'sweep-{{gcl|IPFV}}'

Stress can in some cases be contrastive, compare (14a) and (14b).
:: (14a) [ˈnẽ.pi] {{gloss|disappear}}<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|7}}
:: (14b) [nẽ.ˈpi] {{gloss|arrive}}<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|7}}

== Writing system ==
A{{hamza}}ingae has two principal orthographies, both using the Latin alphabet. The first was developed by missionaries Marlytte and Roberta Borman, and first employed in M. Borman (1962).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Borman |first=M. B. |date=1962 |editor-first=Banjamin |title=Cofán Phonemes |url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/16/08/22/160822378710000347123672599515131741594/10039.pdf |journal=Studies in Ecuadorian Indian Languages: I |publisher=[[Instituto Lingüístico de Verano (Mexico)|Instituto Lingüístico de Verano]] |pages=45–59 |doi=10.1086/465008 |editor-last1=Elson}}</ref> This orthography was influenced by Spanish and thus contained some needless complexity such as representing the phoneme /k/ with {{angbr|qu}} before front vowels, and with {{angbr|c}} elsewhere. Borman also conveyed aspirated obstruents via reduplication instead of via <h> insertion like in the modern orthography. More recently, the Cofán community has created and widely adopted a new writing system which aimed to solve some of the opacities of Borman's script. A comparison between the two orthographies can be observed in the tables below:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Consonants
! IPA
! Borman
! Community
! IPA
! Borman
! Community
|-
| /p/
| colspan="2" | p
| /ⁿdz/
| colspan="2" |  ndz, dz{{efn|Both Borman and Community orthographies show inconsistency between the use of {{grapheme|dz}} and {{grapheme|z}}.}}
|-
| /pʰ/
| pp
| ph
| /ⁿdʒ/
| colspan="2" |ndy, dy
|-
| /t/
| colspan="2" | t
| /f/
| colspan="2" | f
|-
| /tʰ/
| tt
| th
| /s/
| colspan="2" | s
|-
| /k/
| c, qu
| k
| /ʃ/
| colspan="2" | sh
|-
| /kʰ/
| cc, qqu
| kh
| /h/
| colspan="2" | j
|-
| /ʔ/
| colspan="2" | {{hamza}}
| /m/
| colspan="2" | m
|-
| /ts/
| colspan="2" | ts
| /n/
| colspan="2" | n
|-
| /tsʰ/
| tss
| tsh
| /ɲ/
| colspan="2" | ñ
|-
| /tʃ/
| colspan="2" | ch
| /ɾ/
| colspan="2" | r
|-
| /tʃʰ/
| cch
| chh
| /ʋ/
| colspan="2" | v
|-
| /ᵐb/
| colspan="2" | mb, b{{efn|The prenasalized voiced stops and affricates are written without a homorganic nasal at the beginning of words. This is because word-initially, voiced stops are realized with less nasality than they are word-medially, hence the orthographic representation. However Repetti-Ludlow et al. (2020)<ref name=":6" /> found that there is still some nasalisation present.}}
| /j/
| colspan="2" | y
|-
| /ⁿd/
| colspan="2" | nd, d
| /ɰ/
| colspan="2" | g
|-
| /ᵑɡ/
| colspan="2" | ng, g
| colspan="3" |
|}
{{notelist}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowels
!IPA !! Borman !! Community
!IPA !! Borman !! Community
|-
|/a/
| colspan="2" |a
|/ã/
| colspan="2" |an, a
|-
|/e/
| colspan="2" |e
|/ẽ/
| colspan="2" |en, e
|-
|/i/
| colspan="2" |i
|/ĩ/
| colspan="2" |in, i
|-
|/o/
|o
|u
|/õ/
|on, o
|un, u
|-
|/ɨ/
|u
|û
|/ɨ̃/
|un, u
|ûn, û
|}

==Morphology==
Morphology in A{{hamza}}ingae consists of stems, clitics, and suffixes.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" /> Free stems include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbials, and meteorological stems (such as words for "wind", "rain", and "sun").

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|tse{{=}}tsû thesi na’sû{{=}}ma da|{{gcl|ANA.LOC|anaphoric reference to location or time}}{{=}}3 tiger chief{{=}}ACC.REAL become|‘Then the tiger became the chief.’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|17}}
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|tsa sinjûnkhû rande tsampi sepakhue-fa|ANA valley big forest behind-CLF:lateral|‘that big valley behind the forest’ (elic.)
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|21}}
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|ji{{=}}pa ana a’ta|come{{=}}SS sleep day|‘After coming (he) slept and dawned (i.e., got up at dawn).’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|14}}
}}

While many stems are free, there are also a number of bound stems, which typically express states of being or properties, and are in a class of "flexible stems" by themselves. In the following sentence, ''bia'' "long" is one of these bound stems.

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|tutu-fa-’khu{{=}}ve{{=}}tsû bia-ña{{=}}’fa{{=}}’ya|white-CLF:lateral{{=}}AUG{{=}}ACC.IRR{{=}}3 long-CAUS{{=}}SBJ.PL{{=}}ASS|‘They lengthened (the cotton) into white rope.’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|9}}
}}

Beyond stems, A{{hamza}}ingae has both bound suffixes and [[clitic]]s, specifically enclitics that appear after the stem. There are no known prefixes or proclitics. In glossed content, suffixes are typically notated with a hyphen, and clitics are notated with an equal sign. The language has a very rich inventory of clitics, that can appear either at sentence level or constituent level. Sentence-level clitics occur at second position, meaning they attach to the end of the first word in a sentence, and mark qualities such as subject and sentence type.

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|atesû{{=}}ti{{=}}ki ke{{=}}ja Secoya a’i{{=}}ma|know{{=}}INT{{=}}2 2.SG{{=}}CNTR.TOP Secoya person{{=}}ACC.REAL|‘Do you know Secoya people?’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|10}}
}}

Constituent-level clitics can either attach to the noun phrase or subordinate clause, or to the predicate clause. Clitics in the noun phrase occur in a fixed order, and can mark case, negation, and other grammatical features.

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|jingesû ja-ye tsa a’i cerveza{{=}}ma chava-en-je{{=}}ni|HORT go-INF ANA person beer{{=}}ACC.REAL buy-CAUS-IPFV{{=}}LOC|‘Let’s go to where that man is selling beer.’ (elic.)
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|11}}
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|juva ña dû’shû{{=}}ndekhû{{=}}’sû dû’shû|DIST 1.SG child{{=}}HUM.PL{{=}}ATTR child|‘those children of my children’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|10}}
}}

Suffixes also mark certain grammatical features. Some example include sentential type/mood, nominalization, and aspect. Passive, causative, and shape features are also indicated with suffixes.

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|jungue{{=}}sû{{=}}ma{{=}}tsû ñua’me tsetse’pa{{=}}ve tsetse’pa-en-ñe atesû{{=}}’fa|IGNR2{{=}}ATTR{{=}}ACC.REAL{{=}}3 really chicha{{=}}ACC.IRR chicha-CAUS-INF HAB.AUX{{=}}SBJ.PL|‘What did they use to make chicha with?’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|29}}
}}

Also present in the language is the process of reduplication, which expresses iterative aspect.

{{interlinear
| indent = 3
| glossing3 = yes
| italics1 = no|Tsunsi chapejuen akesi kikhûkhûpa|tsun{{=}}si chape{{=}}ju{{=}}en ake{{=}}si kikhû~khû{{=}}pa|do{{=}}DS soften{{=}}SH.SFC{{=}}ADV warm.up{{=}}DS hurl~ITER{{=}}SS|"Then they cook and when they're warmed up, we crush them."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=A{{hamza}}ingae Language Documentation Project|url=https://cofan-aldp.github.io/LingView/#/|access-date=2021-11-15|website=cofan-aldp.github.io}}</ref>
}}

=== Inflectional template ===
Clitics and suffixes in the language have a relatively fixed order of how they will attach to a verb or predicate phrase.<ref name="Dąbkowski">{{Cite journal |last=Dąbkowski |first=Maksymilian |date=2021 |title=Dominance is non-representational: evidence from A{{hamza}}ingae verbal stress |journal=Phonology |language=en |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=611–650 |doi=10.1017/S0952675721000348 |s2cid=246999014 |issn=0952-6757|doi-access=free }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Inflection template of the A{{hamza}}ingae verb<ref name="Dąbkowski" />
| colspan="2" | causative
| {{lang|con|-ɲa}} ({{gcl|CAUS}})
|-
| colspan="2" | reciprocal
| {{lang|con|-kʰo<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|RECP}})
|-
| colspan="2" | passive
| {{lang|con|-je<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|PASS}})
|-
| colspan="2" | aspect
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|-ʔhe<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|IPFV}})
	|{{lang|con|-hi}} ({{gcl|PRCM|precumulative}})
	|{{lang|con|-kʰa<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|PAUC|verbal paucal}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔɲakʰa<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|SMFC|semelfactive}})
}}
|-
| colspan="2" | associated motion
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|-ʔᵑgi<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|VEN|venitive}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔᵑga<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|AND|andative}})
}}
|-
| colspan="2" | subject number
| {{lang|con|-ʔfa}} ({{gcl|PLS|plural subject}})
|-
| colspan="2" | reality
| {{lang|con|-ja}} ({{gcl|IRR}})
|-
| colspan="2" | polarity
| {{lang|con|-ᵐbi}} ({{gcl|NEG}})
|-
| rowspan="3" {{vert header|va=middle|clause type}}
| subordinate
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|-je}} ({{gcl|INF}})
	|{{lang|con|-saʔne}} ({{gcl|APPR}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔni}} ({{gcl|LOC}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔma}} ({{gcl|FRST|frustrative}})
}}
|-
| cosubordinate
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|-pa}} ({{gcl|SS|same subject}})
	|{{lang|con|-si}} ({{gcl|DS|different subject}})
}}
|-
| matrix
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|-ha}} ({{gcl|IMP}})
	|{{lang|con|-kʰa<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|IMP2|imperative 2}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔse}} ({{gcl|IMP3|imperative 3}})
	|{{lang|con|-hama<sup>∅</sup>}} ({{gcl|PROH}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔja}} ({{gcl|VER|veridical}})
}}
|-
| colspan="2" | information structure
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|-ʔta}} ({{gcl|NEW|new topic}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔkʰe}} ({{gcl|ADD|additive}})
	|{{lang|con|-ʔha}} ({{gcl|CNTR|contrastive topic}})
}}
|-
| colspan="2" | sentence-level
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|{{=}}te}} ({{gcl|RPRT|reportative}})
	|{{lang|con|{{=}}ti}} ({{gcl|YNQ|polar interrogative}})
}}
|-
| colspan="2" | subject person
| {{cslist
	|{{lang|con|{{=}}ᵑgi}} ({{gcl|1}})
	|{{lang|con|{{=}}ki}} ({{gcl|2}})
	|{{lang|con|{{=}}tsɨ}} ({{gcl|3}})
	|{{lang|con|{{=}}ke}} ({{sc|?}})
}}
|}

=== Pronouns ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Personal pronouns
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!1st person
|''ña'' "I, my"
|''ingi'' "we, our"
|-
!2nd person
|''ke'' "you, your"
|''ke'i'' "you all, your"
|-
!3rd person
|''tise'' "he/she/it, his/her/its"
|''tisepa'' "they, their"
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Second person subject clitics
!1st person
|=''ngi''
|-
!2nd person
|=''ki''
|-
!3rd person
|=''tsû''
|}

== Syntax ==
Constituent order in matrix clauses in A{{hamza}}ingae is relatively flexible, with SOV (or SO-predicate) considered basic.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" /> In embedded clauses, word order is more rigidly SOV/SOPred. Clauses must minimally consist of a predicate.

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|a’i mani{{=}}ma isû|person peanut{{=}}ACC take|‘The people took the peanuts.’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|40}}
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|amûnde{{=}}tshi{{=}}ve tsun{{=}}’fa{{=}}ya|dirty-QUAL{{=}}ACC.IRR do{{=}}SBJ.PL{{=}}IRR|‘We’ll make it dirty.’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|25}}
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|chava{{=}}ngi fûesû simba-’khu{{=}}ma|buy{{=}}1 OTHER fishing-CL:angular{{=}}ACC.REAL|‘I bought a different fishing hook.’ (elic.)
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|23}}
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|kanjen|stay|‘He stayed’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|38}}
}}

Subordinate clauses are strictly predicate-final.

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|ña{{=}}ja asithaen{{=}}ngi [kinikhu{{=}}ve da-ye]|I{{=}}{{gcl|CNTR.TOP|contrastive topic}} think{{=}}1 tree{{=}}ACC.IRR become-INF|‘I think I’ll become a tree.’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|44}}
}}

=== Case and alignment ===
Case markers are constituent-level clitics.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|tayupi{{=}}ja charapa dû’sûchu{{=}}ve kaje{{=}}ni ja-je{{=}}’fa{{=}}’ya|former{{=}}{{gcl|CNTR.TOP|contrastive topic}} charapa.turtle egg{{=}}ACC.IRR downriver{{=}}LOC go-IPFV{{=}}PL{{=}}ASS|‘In earlier times they used to go downriver for charapa eggs.’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|35}}
}}

The full list of case markers is shown below.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}ma}}
|ACC1
|[[Accusative case|accusative]] 1
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}ve/{{=}}me}}
|ACC2
|accusative 2
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}mbe}}
|BEN
|[[Benefactive case|benefactive]]
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}i'khû}}
|INST
|[[Instrumental case|instrument]]
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}pi}}
|LIM
|limitative
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}ni}}
|LOC
|[[Locative case|locative]]
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}ngae}}
|MANN
|manner, path
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}ne}}
|ABL
|[[Ablative case|ablative]]
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}nga}}
|DAT
|[[Dative case|dative]]
|-
|{{lang|con|{{=}}ye / {{=}}ñe}}
|ELAT
|[[Elative case|elative]]
|}

Note that there are two accusative case markers. Accusative 2 typically is used in negative sentences or when the P-argument is not yet present or does not exist, in contexts of expressing desire, causation, or creation.

Sentences follow a nominative-accusative pattern. A{{hamza}}ingae displays optional agreement—optional agreement in person using second position clitics, and optional agreement in number using the clitic ='''fa''--both of which agree with the subject argument. Within the noun phrase, there is no agreement.

=== Sentence type ===
A{{hamza}}ingae distinguishes between several different sentence types.<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" /> These distinctions are indicated using different morphosyntactic strategies. Declarative sentences can contain the optional veridical clitic {{lang|con|{{=}}'ya}}. There are several imperative types, depending on what speech act is being performed, using either the imperative clitics {{lang|con|{{=}}ja}} or {{lang|con|{{=}}'se}} or the diminutive suffix {{lang|con|{{=}}'kha}}. There is a distinction between yes/no interrogative and content interrogative sentences, with the former using the interrogative clitic {{lang|con|{{=}}ti}} and the latter using the indeterminate/interrogative wh-word in the initial position ({{lang|con|jungaesû}} ("what"), {{lang|con|maki}} ("when"), {{lang|con|mani}} ("where"), {{lang|con|majan}} ("which"), {{lang|con|mikun}} ("why"), {{lang|con|mingae}} ("how")). Exhortative sentences use the hortative particle {{lang|con|jinge}}. Prohibitive sentences use the clitic {{lang|con|{{=}}jama}}. Below are some examples of these sentence types.

==== Assertive/Declarative ====
{{interlinear
| indent = 3
| glossing3 = yes
| italics1 = no|Tsumbate tsa tisema se'jepa|tsun{{=}}pa{{=}}te tsa tise{{=}}ma se'je{{=}}pa|do{{=}}SS{{=}}RPRT ANA 3.SG{{=}}ACC cure{{=}}SS|"They cured him"<ref name=":3" />
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|setsa{{=}}ne{{=}}ta{{=}}tsû ji{{=}}’fa{{=}}’ya|low{{=}}ABL{{=}}{{gcl|NEW.TOP|new topic}}{{=}}3 come{{=}}SBJ.PL{{=}}ASS|‘They came from downriver.’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|13}}
}}

==== Imperative ====
{{interlinear
| indent = 3|tsa{{=}}’ka{{=}}en tsun{{=}}ja|ANA{{=}}SIM{{=}}ADVR do{{=}}IMP|‘Do it like that!’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|41}}
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3
| glossing3 = yes
| italics1 = no|Me'in kanse|me'in kan{{=}}'se|no look{{=}}IMP3|"Don't look (you shouldn't look)"<ref name=":3" />
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 3|injan{{=}}’fa{{=}}kha|think{{=}}PL{{=}}DIM|‘Mind you!/Be careful!’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|41}}
}}

==== Yes/no-Interrogative ====
{{interlinear
| indent = 3|fûesû{{=}}ti jin|OTHER{{=}}INT exist|‘Is there another one?’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|41}}
}}

==== Content Interrogative ====
{{interlinear
| indent = 3|ma{{=}}jan{{=}}tsû ka’ni-a|IGNR1{{=}}{{gcl|CNTR.TOP|contrastive topic}}{{=}}3 enter-CAUS|‘Who let you in?’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|42}}
}}

==== Prohibitive ====
{{interlinear
| indent = 3|anthe{{=}}jama chigane|let.go{{=}}PROH please|‘Don’t let it go please!’
<ref name="Fischer&Hengeveld" />{{rp|41}}
}}

== Vocabulary ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!A{{hamza}}ingae
!English gloss
|-
|kase'te
|hello (morning)
|-
|kuse kuse
|hello (evening)
|-
|jû
|yes
|-
|me'in
|no
|-
|dasû
|OK; goodbye
|-
|Mingae ki
|How are you?
|-
|Chiga tsû afepuenjan
|Thank you ({{lit}} "May God pay you")
|-
|Pañambingi
|I don't understand
|-
|Ñutshi tsû
|That's good; good
|-
|Chigai'khû
|Goodbye ({{lit}} "God with you")
|-
|Junguesû tsû?
|What is this?
|-
|Majan tsû?
|Who is it?
|-
|Junguesû inise ki?
|What is your name?
|-
|Ña inise tsû ____.
|My name is ____.
|-
|kûi'khû
|banana drink
|-
|tsa'u
|house
|-
|a'i
|person; Cofán person
|-
|ña; aña'chu
|meat
|-
|na'e
|river
|-
|panzaye
|to hunt
|-
|khuvû
|moon
|-
|kue'je
|sun
|}

== Sample text ==

=== A{{hamza}}ingae passage ===
The following text is ''[[The North Wind and the Sun]]'' translated into A{{hamza}}ingae.{{interlinear |indent=2 |tone-superscripting=no
|Umba{{hamza}}khûni{{hamza}}sû Fingian tuyakaen kue{{hamza}}jete afa{{hamza}}khu{{hamza}}je{{hamza}}fa {majan de} ti{{hamza}}tshe ki{{hamza}}an{{hamza}}khe, tsun{{hamza}}jeninde jakan{{hamza}}sû tu{{hamza}}mbia sa{{hamza}}vutshia upûi{{hamza}}jenga findiye{{hamza}}chu ji
|[õˈᵐba.kʰɨ.ni.sɨ ˈfĩ.ᵑɡiã ˈto.ja.kãe koḛ.ˈhe.te a.ˈfã̰.kʰo.he.fa ˈmã.jã.ⁿde ˈti.t͡sʰɨi ˈkĩ.jã.kʰẽ ˈt͡sõ̰.hẽ.nĩ.ⁿde ˈha.kã̰.sɨ ˈto.ᵐbia̰ ˈsa̰.ʋɨ.t͡sʰia oˈpuḭ.hẽ.ᵑɡa fĩ.ˈdi.je.t͡ʃo ˈhi]
|The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak.}}

{{interlinear |indent=2 |tone-superscripting=no
|{Tansi{{hamza}}fate tsa} majan u{{hamza}}tie tise jakansû findiye{{hamza}}chu upûi{{hamza}}jema ushi{{hamza}}chhachhu ti{{hamza}}tshe ki{{hamza}}añe
|[tã.ˈsḭ̃.fa.te.t͡sa ˈmã.hã ˈo̰.tiḛ ˈti.se ˈha.kã.sɨ fi.ˈⁿdi.jḛ.t͡ʃo o.ˈpuḭ.hẽ.mã u.ˈʃiʔ.t͡ʃʰa.t͡ʃʰo {} kĩ.jã.nẽ]
|They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other.}}

{{interlinear |indent=2 |tone-superscripting=no
|Tsumbate, umbani{{hamza}}sû fingian {û{{hamza}}fa kia{{hamza}}me} tise usha{{hamza}}fanga, tsama tise ti{{hamza}}tshe ûfa{{hamza}}ni jakan{{hamza}}sû tise upûi{{hamza}}jema findi; usefa{{hamza}}panga umbakhûni{{hamza}}sû fingian ushambipa anthe
|[ˈt͡sõ.ᵐba.te ˈõ.ᵐba.ni.sɨ fĩ.ᵑɡiã ˈɨ.fakiã̰.mẽ ˈti.se ˈu.ʃa̰.fã̰.ᵑɡa ˈt͡sa.ma ˈti.se ˈti.t͡sʰe ˈɨ.fa̰.ni ˈha.kã.sɨ ˈti.se o.ˈpuḭ.hẽ.mã ˈfĩ.ⁿdi o.ˈse.faʔ.pã.ᵑɡa õ.ˈᵐba.kʰɨ.nḭ.su ˈfĩ.ᵑɡiã u.ˈʃã.ᵐbi.pa ã.tʰḛ]
|Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt.}}

{{interlinear |indent=2 |tone-superscripting=no
|Tsunsite kue{{hamza}}je savutshi chan{{hamza}}jun, tsuin{{hamza}}khûte favatsheyi jacan{{hamza}}su tise upûi{{hamza}}jema ushicha
|[ˈt͡sõ.si.te ˈkoe.he ˈsaʔ.ʋɨ.t͡si ˈt͡ʃã.hɨ t͡sɨ̃ḭ̃.kɨ.tḛ fa.ˈʋa.t͡sɨi ˈha.kã̰.sɨ ˈti.se o.ˈpuḭ.he.mã u.ˈʃi.t͡ʃʰa]
|Then the Sun shone out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak.}}

{{interlinear |indent=2 |tone-superscripting=no
|Tsumbate umbani{{hamza}}sû fingian tansi{{hamza}}ña{{hamza}}choveda{{hamza}}ya tsa kue{{hamza}}je khua{{hamza}}nginga in{{hamza}}jani ti{{hamza}}tshe kian{{hamza}}khe.
|[ˈt͡so.ᵐbaʔ.tḛ ˈõ.ᵐba.ni.su ˈfĩ.ᵑɡia tã.ˈsi.jã̰.t͡ʃo.ʋe.ˈda̰.ja t͡sa ˈkoḛ.he ˈkʰua̰.ᵑɡi.ᵑɡa ˈĩʔ.ha.ni ˈti.t͡sʰe ˈkĩ.jã.kʰḛ̃]
|And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.<ref name=":6" />}}

== Further reading ==
* Dąbkowski, Maksymilian. 2021. [http://www.elpublishing.org/PID/223 A{{hamza}}ingae (Ecuador and Colombia) - Language Snapshot]. ''Language Documentation and Description'' 20, 1-12.
* Baldauf, R. B., Kaplan, R. B., King, K. A., & Haboud, M. (2007). ''Language planning and policy in Latin America: Language Planning and Policy in Ecuador'' (Vol. 1). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
* {{Cite book|last=Borman|first=M. B.|date=1962|chapter=Cofan phonemes|series=SIL International Publications in Linguistics|pages=45–59|access-date=March 10, 2017|chapter-url=https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/8877|title=Studies in Ecuadorian Indian languages: I|editor-first=Benjamin|editor-last=Elson|editor-first2=Catherine|editor-last2=Peeke}}
*Borman, M. B. (1976). ''Vocabulario cofán: Cofán-castellano, castellano-cofán''. (Serie de vocabularios indígenas Mariano Silva y Aceves, 19). Quito: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
* {{Cite journal|last=Borman|first=M. B.|date=1977|title=Cofan paragraph structure and function|journal=SIL International Publications in Linguistics|volume=52|issue=3|pages=289–338|access-date=March 10, 2017|url=https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/8678}}
* Borman, M. B. (1990). ''Cofan cosmology and history as revealed in their legends: The Cofan Alphabet''. Quito, Ecuador: Instituto Linguistico de Verano.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Borman|first=M. B.|url=https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject_con_ortho-1|title=Cofan cosmology and history as revealed in their legends|date=1990-01-01|publisher=Instituto Linguistico de Verano}}</ref>
* Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). [http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/cofa1242 "Cofán"]. ''[[Glottolog|Glottolog 2.7]]''. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
* Gijn, E. V., Haude, K., & Muysken, P. (2011). ''Subordination in native South-American languages''. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub. Co.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Gijn|first1=Rik van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fcFxAAAAQBAJ&q=Cof%C3%A1n+language&pg=PA221|title=Subordination in Native South American Languages|last2=Haude|first2=Katharina|last3=Muysken|first3=Pieter|date=2011-04-29|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=9789027287090|language=en}}</ref>
* Klein, H. E., & Stark, L. R. (2011). ''South American Indian languages: retrospect and prospect''. Austin: University of Texas Press.

==References==
{{Reflist|40em}}

<section begin="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/><div style="display:none;">
ACC1:accusative case
ACC2:accusative case
ANG:angular
CMP:comparative
DIST2:distal
DMN:diminutive
HORT2:hortative
IMP3:imperative mood
LAT:lateral
PLH:human plural
PLS:plural subject
PRCM:preculminative
PRHB:prohibitive mood
RPRT:reportative
SFC:surface
SH:shape

<!-- Fischer and Hengeveld -->
ADJR:adjectivalizer
ADVR:adverbializer
ANA.LOC:anaphoric locative
ANA:anaphoric reference to entity or event
IGNR1:ignorative 1
IGNR2:ignorative 2
OTHER:difference marker
QUAL:quality
SIM:similative
</div><section end="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/>

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20220820052201/http://www.ling.fi/Entradas%20diccionario/Dic=Cof%E1n.pdf Alain Fabre, 2005, ''Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: COFÁN'']
*[https://elar.soas.ac.uk/Collection/MPI1079687 ELAR archive of A{{hamza}}ingae language documentation materials]
*[https://ids.clld.org/contributions/254 Cofán] ([[Intercontinental Dictionary Series]])

{{Languages of Colombia}}
{{Languages of Ecuador}}
{{language families}}
{{South American languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cofan Language}}
[[Category:Indigenous languages of the South American Northern Foothills]]
[[Category:Languages of Colombia]]
[[Category:Languages of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Language isolates of South America]]
[[Category:Endangered language isolates]]
[[Category:Endangered indigenous languages of the Americas]]