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Barasana Indian Language (Barasano, Eduria, Panera)

Language: Barasana is a Tucanoan language of the Amazon rainforest. It is spoken by 1500 people in Colombia and Brazil. The language has two main dialects, Barasano (spoken by the Panera or Hanera subgroup) and Taiwano (spoken by the Taiwano or Eduria subgroup.) Some linguists consider Barasano and Taiwano to be distinct languages rather than dialects of a single language, although they are very closely related to each other. Another Tucanoan language, Bara, is spoken further to the north and is sometimes referred to as "Barasano del Norte" or Northern Barasana. However, though many Barasanas do understand Bara, that is because of intermarriage and because of the local use of Bara as a trade language. The two languages are actually quite different from each other, like English and French. Barasana is a tone language, and its basic word order is OVS, the opposite of English.

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Names: Other variants of the name Barasana include Barasána, Barasano, Barasanos, Bara'sano, Barazana, Barasane, and Bara'sane. Sometimes the Barasana language is also known as Barasano-Taiwano or Barasano-Eduria, to include the names of the language's two dialects. There are two main divisions of the Barasana people, called the Hanera (or Panera) and the Eduria (or Taiwano.) Hanera subgroups include the Komea and the Yebamasa. The Barasanas and their language are also sometimes known as Southern Barasano or Barasano del Sur. Alternate spellings of these names include Hadera, Hanena, Janera, Janena; Paneroa, Panenoa, Palanoa; Edulia, Erulia, Eduira; Taibano, Taiwaeno, Teiuana; Comea, Comemasa, Comematsa, Came-Masa; Yebamasa, Yepa-Mahsa, and Yepa-Matso.


Barasana Language
Barasana language samples and resources.

Barasana Culture and History
Information and links about the Barasana tribe past and present.



Barasana Language Resources

Our Online Barasana Materials

Barasana Words:
    Our list of vocabulary words in the Barasana language, with comparison to words in other Tucanoan languages.
Barasana Pronunciation Guide:
    How to pronounce Barasana words.
Barasana Animal Words:
     Illustrated glossary of animal words in the Barasana language.
Barasana Colors:
    Worksheet showing color words in the Baré language.
Barasana Body Parts:
    Online and printable worksheets showing parts of the body in the Baré language.
Barasana Numbers:
    Worksheet showing how to count in the Barasana language.

Barasana Dictionaries and Language Books for Sale
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Barasano Syntax: Studies in the Languages of Colombia:
    Barasana linguistics book.
The Amazonian Languages:
    Linguistic information about Barasana and dozens of other Amazonian languages.

Barasana Language Resources

Glottolog: Barasana-Eduria * Languages of the Northwest Amazon:
    Maps showing the location of Barasana-speaking communities in South America.
Barasana-Eduria Phonology:
    Linguistic chart of phonemes in the Barasana language.
Barasana Linguistic Description * Barasana Orthography * Barasana Phonology * Barasana Grammar:
    Barasana Syntax * Barasana Text:
    Digitized Barasana language materials from the Rosetta Project.
Diccionario Bilingüe Barasana-Eduria Español:
    Barasana-Spanish dictionary available for download online.
La Lengua Barasana:
    Information on Barasana including linguistic maps of South America. Page in Spanish.
Barasana-Eduria New Testament * Language Museum: Barasana * Barasana Prayers * Genesis in Barasana:
    Barasano del Sur Words of Life:
    Translations of Bible passages into Barasana.
Barasana Language Tree:
    Theories about Barasana's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Barasana Tone and Accent:
    Linguistics paper about the Barasana language.
Barasana Papers:
    Archive of linguistics papers on Barasana, in English and Spanish.
Multilingualism in the Northwest Amazon:
    Essay about Tucanoan and Arawakan language use in the Vaupés river valley.
Barasano Language Structures:
    Barasana linguistic profile and academic bibliography.
House of Languages: Barasana
     Information about Barasana language usage.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Endangered Languages Project: Barasano:
Bibliography of Barasano language resources.
  OLAC: Barasana-Eduria:
  Reference list of Barasana language materials.
Wikipedia: Barasana-Eduria Language:
Encyclopedia article on the Barasana language.
Los Barasana: * Los Taiwano * Idioma Barasana:
Information about the Barasanas and Taiwanos in Spanish.



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