Bribri language

There are three traditional dialects of Bribri: Coroma (in the western region of the Talamanca mountain range), Amubre (in the eastern region of the Talamanca mountain range) and Salitre (in the South Pacific area). Bribri is a tribal name, deriving from a word for "mountainous" in their own language. The Bribri language is also referred to as Su Uhtuk, which means "our language." Bribri is reportedly most similar to sister language Cabécar as both languages have nasal harmony, but they are mutually unintelligible.

Phonology

Consonants

• /b/ can have allophones of [β, m].
• /d/ can have an allophone of [ɽ], as well as nasal allophones of [ɽ̃, n].
• /ɟ͡ʝ/ can have an allophone of [ɲ].
• /ɾ/ can have an allophone of [r].
• /w, j/ can have nasalised allophones of [w̃, j̃].

Vowels

I, u and a are pronounced in the same manner as they would be in Spanish. E and o are more open than in Spanish. The sound of ë is between i and e, in the same manner as ö is between u and o. The nasal vowels are pronounced similarly to the corresponding orals, with the addition of some air exiting through the nose.