Cacaopera is an extinct language belonging to the Misumalpan family, formerly spoken in the department of Morazán in El Salvador by the Cacaopera people. It was closely related to Matagalpa, and slightly more distantly to Sumo, but was geographically separated from other Misumalpan languages.

Cacaopera
Native toEl Salvador
RegionMorazán Department
EthnicityCacaopera people
Extinct20th century[citation needed]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ccr
Glottologcaca1247
Map of El Salvador's Indigenous Peoples at the time of the Spanish conquest: 1. Pipil people, 2. Lenca, 3. Kakawira o Cacaopera people, 4. Xinca, 5. Maya Ch'orti' people, 6. Maya Poqomam people, 7. Mangue o Chorotega.

The last semi-speakers of Cacaopera lived in the 1970s.[1] All native speakers had died before this time.

Phonology edit

Consonants edit

Misumalpan consonant phonemes
Labial Coronal Dorsal
Nasal voiceless ŋ̥
voiced m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b d
Fricative s x
Lateral Fricative ɬ
Liquid voiceless
voiced r
Lateral l
Semivowel w ɥ

Vowels edit

Misumalpan vowel phonemes
Front Back
short long short long
Close i ɯ ɯː
Open a

References edit

  1. ^ Campbell, Lyle (1973). "MesoAmerican Languages Collection of Lyle Campbell". Archive of the Indigenous Language of Latin America. University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.

External links edit