Trinitario language

Trinitario
Trinitario
Trinitario-Javeriano-Loretano
Native to	Bolivia
Ethnicity	30,000 Trinitario people (2012)
Native speakers	3,140 (2012)
Language family	Arawakan Southern Bolivia–Parana Moxo languages Trinitario; ; ; ;
Dialects	Trinitario; Javierano; Loretano;
Official status
Official language in	Bolivia
Language codes
ISO 639-3	trn
Glottolog	trin1274
ELP	Trinitario

Trinitario is an Arawakan language of the Moxo subgroup, spoken in Bolivia by the Trinitario people, where it is an official language.^[2]

Official status

The 2009 Constitution of Bolivia established 37 languages, including Trinitario, as the official languages of Bolivia.^[2]

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 vilages of San Lorenzo de Moxos [es] and San Francisco de Moxos.^[3]

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.^[4]^: 73^[3]

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants in Trinitario Mojeno^[3]
	Labial			Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
	plain	pal.	lab.	plain	pal.	Palatal	plain	pal.	plain	pal.	lab.
Stop	p	pʲ		t		c	k	kʲ	ʔ	ʔʲ
Nasal	m	mʲ	mʷ	n		ɲ
Fricative				s	sʲ	ç			h	hʲ	hʷ
Affricate				ts	tsʲ	tʃ
Liquid				ɾ	ɾʲ
Approximant	w	βʲ				j

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.^[3]

/h/ is "often" voiced as [ɦ] between vowels. /w/ becomes [β] before a front vowel, and palatalized to [ɥ] when preceding /j/. Glottal stops may be realized with varying degrees of closure, ranging from full closure of the glottis to creaky voice. /ɾ/ may have a "schwa-like transitional vocoid" [ᵊ] immediately preceeding it.^[3]

Vowels

Vowels in Trinitario Mojeno^[3]
	Front	Central	Back
High	i iː		u uː
Mid	e eː	ə͡e ə͡eː	o oː
Low		a aː

In careful speech, the complex vowel /ə͡e/ is realized as [ə] followed by [e], but in rapid speech it may be pronounced as [ɘ, ɨ, ɛ~e]. Vowels immediately following nasals, as well as word- and sentence-final position, may be slightly nasalized.^[3]

Sample text

The following is a translation of The North Wind and the Sun in Trinitario.^[3]


Trinitario	English
To tjooveko kjo o ene to sache	The North Wind and the Sun
To tjooveko kjo o ene to sache techjirikwonriꞌiji teꞌ to najpukeji ꞌtumeponriꞌiji, te tetavikpopriꞌi etna mapuiiriru tyaykukwopriꞌi te pjo ꞌchope muepkochepo.	People 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.
Techokokompo teꞌ to najpukaeji natiwina naetpigieji to tvejamuiriokapo to muepkochepo, eto mrakineji to ꞌtumewooꞌi.	They agreed that the one would would be the first to reach his taking off his cape would be might (in strength).
To tjooveko kjoꞌo mrakaeji to ... tochusraaꞌi tektikwopuiji to tajichriꞌi, etotsero to tochus ... tochukpooꞌi, taemiaykunecheji to muepkochepo ema mapuiiriru.	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.
Takeptse to tjooveko kjoꞌo trassakpuiji to tochusraaꞌi taenajikpooꞌi to taworiraaꞌi	In the end, the North Wind calmed its blowing, it abandonned its decision.
Takeptse to trappesrawo tamikuchra to sache, teꞌ to tajaaresrawo ꞌnuujinaeji to maveꞌriꞌi to muepkochepo ema mapuiiriru, tjicho eto tjooveko kjoꞌo, taechopo to mrakaeji to tatumewooꞌi to sache.	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.
Jeꞌe, titowopo pjoka ꞌchosioropi, rusrupaya.	All right, the old story is over, thank you.

References

↑ Crevels, Mily (2012-01-13), Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica (eds.), "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking", The Indigenous Languages of South America, DE GRUYTER, pp. 167–234, doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167, ISBN 978-3-11-025513-3, retrieved 2026-05-07{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
1 2 "Justia Bolivia :: Nueva Constitución Política Del Estado > PRIMERA PARTE > TÍTULO I > CAPÍTULO PRIMERO :: Ley de Bolivia". bolivia.justia.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rose, Françoise (December 2022). "Mojeño Trinitario". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 52 (3): 562–580. doi:10.1017/S0025100320000365. ISSN 0025-1003.
↑ Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (1999). "The Arawak language family". In Dixon, R. M. W.; Aikhenvald, A. Y. (eds.). The Amazonian languages (PDF). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 65–106. ISBN 978-0-521-57021-3.

[1] Crevels, Mily (2012-01-13), Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica (eds.), "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking", The Indigenous Languages of South America, DE GRUYTER, pp. 167–234, doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167, ISBN 978-3-11-025513-3, retrieved 2026-05-07{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)

[:2-2] 1 2 "Justia Bolivia :: Nueva Constitución Política Del Estado > PRIMERA PARTE > TÍTULO I > CAPÍTULO PRIMERO :: Ley de Bolivia". bolivia.justia.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.

[:0-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rose, Françoise (December 2022). "Mojeño Trinitario". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 52 (3): 562–580. doi:10.1017/S0025100320000365. ISSN 0025-1003.

[:1-4] Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. (1999). "The Arawak language family". In Dixon, R. M. W.; Aikhenvald, A. Y. (eds.). The Amazonian languages (PDF). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 65–106. ISBN 978-0-521-57021-3.

[2]