Trinitario is an Arawakan language of the Moxo subgroup, spoken in Bolivia by the Trinitario people, where it is an official language.
Official status The 2009 Constitution of Bolivia established 37 languages, including Trinitario, as the official languages of Bolivia.
Geographical distribution Trinitario is spoken in the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory, along the Mamoré River in the city of Trinidad and the villages of and San Francisco de Moxos.
Classification Trinitario is a variety of the Moxo languages, which is a subgroup of the Arawakan language family. Historical documentation of the Moxo language formed one of the cornerstones of the foundation of Arawakan, along with Maipure, formerly spoken in Venezuela.
Phonology
Consonants +Consonants in Trinitario MojenoLabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalplainpal.lab.plainpal.plainpal.plainpal.lab.StopNasalFricativeAffricateLiquidApproximant Voicing is not contrastive in Trinitario. 16 consonants simply articulated at six points of articulation and 12 consonants with secondary articulations, either palatalized or labialized, are distinguished.
is "often" voiced as between vowels. becomes before a front vowel, and palatalized to when preceding . Glottal stops may be realized with varying degrees of closure, ranging from full closure of the glottis to creaky voice. may have a "schwa-like transitional vocoid" immediately preceding it.
Vowels +Vowels in Trinitario MojenoFrontCentralBackHigh Mid Low In careful speech, the complex vowel is realized as followed by , but in rapid speech it may be pronounced as . Vowels immediately following nasals, as well as word- and sentence-final position, may be slightly nasalized.
Sample text The following is a translation of The North Wind and the Sun in Trinitario. +TrinitarioEnglishThe North Wind and the SunPeople tell that the North Wind and the Sun were discussing who was stronger, while a traveller was passing by, wrapped up in a large cape.They agreed that the one would be the first to reach his taking off his cape would be might (in strength).The North Wind got strong in his blowing, it blew on purpose, but as it was blowing, it made the traveler wrap himself even more in its cape.In the end, the North Wind calmed its blowing, it abandonned its decision.Then the shining, the lighting of the Sun. Immediately after this light started, the traveller took off his cape, for that reason the North Wind knew the strength of the power of the Sun.All right, the old story is over, thank you.
References