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Wayuu language
The Wayuu language is spoken by 305,000 indigenous Wayuu people in northwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia on the Guajira Peninsula.
Wayuu is part of the Maipurean linguistic family predominant in different parts of the Caribbean. They have some minimal differences in dialect depending on the region of La Guajira in which they live; northern, central or southern zones of this region. Most of the new generations speak Spanish fluently but they understand the importance of preserving their traditional native tongue.
To promote cultural integration and bilingual education among Wayuu and other Colombians, the Kamusuchiwou Ethno-educative Center or Centro Etnoeducativo Kamusuchiwou came up with the initiative of creating the first illustrated Wayuunaiki-Spanish, Spanish-Wayuunaiki dictionary.
Less than 1% of Wayuu speakers are literate in Wayuu while 5 to 15% are literate in Spanish. There are 105,000 speakers in Colombia and 170,000 in Venezuela. Alternate names include: Guajiro, Guajira, Goajiro.
Vowels
Note: "e" and "o" are more open than in English. "a" is slight front of central, and "u" is slightly back of central.
Consonants
"l" is a lateral flap pronounced with the tongue just behind the position for the Spanish "r," and with a more lateral airflow.
Sources
The Rosetta Project: Wayuu language
External links
Brief explanation of the wayunaiiki language
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Wayuu language
