Boruca language


The Boruca language is the native language of the Boruca people of Costa Rica. Boruca belongs to the Isthmian branch of the Chibchan languages. Though exact speaker numbers are uncertain, UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger has listed Boruca as "critically endangered". It was spoken fluently by only five women in 1986, while 30 to 35 others spoke it non-fluently. The rest of the tribe's 1,000 members speak Spanish.
Boruca is taught as a second language at the local primary school Escuela Doris Z. Stone. One can hear Bronka words and phrases mixed into Spanish conversations but it is extremely rare to hear prolonged exchanges in Bronka.

Grammar

The personal pronouns in Boruca
PersonSingularPlural
1státdiᵛ / diᵛ rójc
2ndbiᵛ / biᵛ rójc
3rdii rójc / iᵛ rójc

The numbers
NumbersBronka
1éᵛxe, éᵛxi
2búᵛc
3man̈
4bájcan̈
5shishcán̈
6téshan
7cúj, cújc
8éjtan̈
9cújtan̈, éjcuj
10téjcuj, cróshtan̈, búᵛc cúj