Cavineña language

Cavineña
Native toBolivia
RegionBeni Department
Native speakers
600 (2012)
Pano–Tacanan
  • Tacanan
    • Araona–Tacana
      • Cavinena–Tacana
        • Cavineña
Official status
Official language in
 Bolivia
Language codes
ISO 639-3cav
Glottologcavi1250
ELPCavineña

Cavineña is an indigenous language spoken on the Amazonian plains of northern Bolivia by over 1,000 Cavineño people. Although Cavineña is still spoken (and still learned by some children), it is an endangered language. Guillaume (2004) states that about 1200 people speak the language, out of a population of around 1700. Nearly all Cavineña are bilingual in Spanish.

The Cavineño people live in several communities near the Beni River, which flows north from the Andes. The nearest towns are Reyes (to the south) and Riberalta (to the north).