Tinigua (''Tiniguas'') is an endangered

language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...

spoken in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

which used to form a small language family with the now extinct Pamigua language. As of 2000, Tinigua had only two remaining speakers, Sixto Muñoz and his brother, Criterio. Criterio died some time around 2005, leaving only one speaker of Tinigua. They lived in Meta Department, between the Upper Guayabero and Yari rivers. Muñoz also speaks Spanish and is thought to have been born somewhere from 1924-1929. He has five children, but he chose not to teach them Tinigua because they would not have any use for it.

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