title: Yukpa language
text: # Yukpa language
  
  Yukpa (Yuco, Yucpa, Yuko, Yupa) is a Cariban language, spoken by 3,000 people in Zulia State in Venezuela and 3,000 across the border in Colombia. It's also known as Carib Motilón, Macoíta, Northern Motilón, Manso.
  
  Río Casacará (Iroka) and Río Maracas are the main dialects, and different enough to maybe be considered separate languages. Also Caño Padilla–La Laguna. The Venezuelan dialects, Yrapa and Río Negro, are closer to Río Maracas than to Río Casacará.
  
  Similarity to Japrería, the other Yupka language, is slight.
  
  ## Phonology
  
  ### Consonants
  
  | | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Velar |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | plain | lab. |
  | Stop | p | t̪ | | | | k | kʷ |
  | Affricate | | | tʃ | tʂ | | | |
  | Fricative | | s̪ | (ʃ) | ʂ | | | |
  | Nasal | m | n̪ | | | | | |
  | Rhotic | | ɾ | | (ɽ) | | | |
  | Approximant | w | | | | j | | |
  
  * Sounds /p, m/ can become velarized as [pˠ, mˠ] when before vowels /e, a/.
  * /j/ can have an allophone of [ʐ] in free variation, and [ç] when before consonants.
  * A retroflex [ɽ] may also occur simultaneously in the place of /tʂ/ or /ʂ/ in the Sokorpa dialect.
  * In the La Paz and Menkwe dialects, retroflex consonants do not occur, so /ʂ/ is heard as [ʃ] in both dialects, and /tʂ/ is heard as either [x] in the La Paz dialect, and [ts] in the Menkwe dialect.
  * Nasal sounds /m, n/ become voiceless [m̥, n̥] when preceding voiceless stops.
  
  ### Vowels
  
  | | Front | Central | Back | Back |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | High | e ~ ɪ | | ɯ | u |
  | Mid | e ~ ɪ | | o | o |
  | Low | | a | | |
  
  * /e/ ranges between sounds [ɪ, e] across dialects.
  