Description and Documentation of the Bribri Language

There is a comprehensive descriptive grammar of the language, which also includes a description of its phonology and glossed texts to illustrate different types of discourse in the language: Jara Murillo, Carla. 2018. Gramática de la lengua bribri. San José: E-Digital ED. Another source for a global understanding of the grammar is Constenla Umaña, Adolfo, Feliciano Elizondo Figueroa and Francisco Pereira Mora. 1998. Curso básico de bribri. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

There is a bilingual Bribri–Spanish / Spanish–Bribri dictionary that documents words from the Amubre, Salitre, and Cabagra varieties, and also includes a basic phonological and grammatical description from a structuralist perspective: Margery Peña, Enrique. 1982. Diccionario fraseológico bribri-español/español-bribri. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

Varieties of Amubre and Salitre:

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo and Enrique Margergy Peña. 1978. Bribri I. San José: Department of Publications of the University of Costa Rica

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo and Enrique Margergy Peña. 1979. Bribri II. San José: Department of Publications of the University of Costa Rica

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo, Feliciano Elizondo Figueroa and Francisco Pereira Mora. 1998. Curso básico de bribri. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica

Variety of Coroma:

  • Jara Murillo, Carla and Ali García Segura. 2009. Se’ e’ yawö bribri wa. Aprendemos la lengua bribri. San José: EDITORAMA

  • Jara Murillo, Carla and Ali García Segura. 2013. Se'ttö bribri ie. Let's talk. in bribri. San José: E-Digital ED).

  • Margery Peña, Enrique. 1982. Diccionario fraseológico bribri-español/español-bribri. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

  • Schlabach, Raymond. 1974. "The phonemas of the bribri of the Talamanca Valley." In: Indigenous America 34(2): 355-362.

  • Wilson, Jack. 1970. "Naked sound occlusive in bribri." In: Journal of the University of Costa Rica 29: 159-163.

  • Wilson, Jack. 1974. "Phonological analysis of bribri." In: Indigenous America 34(2): 419-422.

  • Amador Brenes, Jenny. 1986. The pluralization in the bribri of Coroma. Bachelor's thesis. University of Costa Rica.

  • Bett Melles, Gavin. 1990. The case grammar: the model and its application to bribri. Master's thesis. University of Costa Rica.

  • Bett Melles, Gavin.1991. "A model for the analysis of a Bribri narrative text." In: Preuss, Mary (ed.). 1991. Past, present and future. Selected Papers on Latin American Indian Literature. Culver City: Labyrinthos: 15-20.

  • Calvo Shadid, Annette. 1994. "Discursive functions of the appearance in bribri." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XIII: 101-117.

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. 1982. "Nasality in relation to tone and intensity in bribri." In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística VIII (1-2): 109-112.

  • Cruz Volio, Gabriela. 2010. "The system of transitivity in the material clauses of the bribri according to the system-functional grammar." In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística XXXVI (2): 133-154.

  • Cruz Volio, Gabriela. 2011. "The clause as a message in bribri according to Halliday's systémic-functional grammar." In: Káñina XXXV (1): 97-114.

  • Cruz Volio, Gabriela. 2012. «The System of Transitivity in the verbal, existential and behavioral clauses of the bribri according to the functional system grammar». In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística 38 (1): 119-136.

  • Cruz Volio, Gabriela. 2012. «The system of CAUSATION in the mental and relational clauses of the bribri according to the system-functional grammar». In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística 38 (2): 97-120.

  • Dickeman- Datz, Margaret. 1984. "Split ergativity and Subject in Bribri." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 3: 113-134.

  • - - - - - - - - - - 1985. "Transition in Indefinite Voice in Bribri." In: International Journal of American Linguistics 51(4): 388-390.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla.1991. "The causal structure of a bribri narrative." In: Preuss, Mary (ed.). 1991. Past, present and future. Selected Papers on Latin American Indian Literature. Culver City: Labyrinthos: 11-14.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 1995. "Characterization of the Bribri verbal system from Coroma's narrative discourse." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XIV: 7-29.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 1995. "Transitory in Bribri Speech." In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística XXI (2): 93-105.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 2002. "Typology of the order of words in bribri." In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística XXVIII (2): 111-138.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 2003. "Codification of participants in a Bribri narrative." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XXII: 33-60.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 2006. "Structure and texture in a traditional Bribri text." In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística XXXII (1): 157-209.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 2013. «Oral morphology of the Bribri language». In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 32: 95-152.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 2014. «The linguistic display: The operation of the demonstrative deixis in the oral tradition bribri». In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística 40 (special number): 75-98.

  • Krohn, Haakon. 2014. «Semantics of the numeral classifiers in the bribri of Coroma». In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 33: 209-239.

  • Krohn, Haakon. 2016. «Lexic acculturation in bribri». Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha, 35, 75-93.

  • Krohn, Haakon. 2016. «Nominal accounting in Spanish and Bribri from a functional typological perspective». Káñina magazine, 40 (1), 83-102.

  • Krohn, Haakon. 2016. «The expression of the nominal number in bribri». Journal of Philology and Linguistics of the University of Costa Rica, 42 (1), 121-138.

  • Krohn, Haakon. 2017. «Semantics of Bribri positional». Journal of Philology and Linguistics of the University of Costa Rica, 43 (1), 117-136.

  • Krohn, Haakon. 2018. «Posposition polysaemia «ã» in bribri». Form and Function, 31 (1), 125-153.

  • Margery Peña, Enrique. 1982. Diccionario fraseológico bribri-español/español-bribri. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

  • Monge Bermudez, Lilliam. 1988. Derivative morphology of the intransitive verbs of the bribri. Bachelor's thesis. University of Costa Rica.

  • Pacchiarotti, Sara. 2010. "The mode structure and the MODO system in the Coroma bribri clause according to the systémic-functional grammar." In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística XXV (2): 233-249.

  • Pacchiarotti, Sara. 2012. «The Finite System in the Bribri clause of Coroma according to the systémic-functional grammar». In: Revista de Filología y Lingüística 38 (1): 137-162.

  • Sánchez Avendaño, Carlos. 2009. "The average voice in bribri and the hypothesis of the relative elaboration of events." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XXVIII: 47-73.

  • Schlabach, Raymond A. and Stephen H. Levinsohn. 1982. "Some aspects of the bribri verb." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha I: 77-91.

  • Villalobos Gamboa, María Eugenia. 1991. "Unpassive voice evidence in bribri." In: Preuss, Mary (ed.). 1991. Past, present and future. Selected Papers on Latin American Indian Literature. Culver City: Labyrinthos, 21-25.

  • Villalobos Gamboa, María Eugenia.1993. "Bribri: language with relative clauses of the inner core." In: Letras 29-30: 225-239.

  • Wilson, Jack. 1984. "Relative clauses in Bribri." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 3: 179-199.

  • Cervantes Gamboa, Laura. 1993. "Compositional analysis of Bribri kinship terminology." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XII: 35-52.

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. 2011. «Toponymy bribri». In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 30: 115-138.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 1987. "The lexical field of the house in the bribri of Coroma." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha VI: 109-187.

  • Margery Peña, Enrique. 1982. Diccionario fraseológico bribri-español/español-bribri. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

  • Flores Solórzano, Sofia. 2009. "The mammals in the ethnobiological classification of the Amubre community." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XXVIII: 7-46.

  • Jiménez, Floria. 1987. Component description of the Bribri mythological world. Bachelor's thesis. University of Costa Rica.

  • Rimolo, Annamaria. 2007. "Application of the postulates of Brent Berlin's ethnobiological classification theory (1992) to the ornithological universe of the bribri of Coroma." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XXVI: 7-100.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 1997-98. "The act of" desire "in the traditional Bribri narrative." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha XVI.XVII: 105-112.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 1998. "Structure of gender conversation and dialogue in the Bribri language (chibcha)." Memory of the Fourth Meeting of Linguistics in the Northwest. Mexico: University of Sonora.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 2012. «Gender dialogue in oral tradition bribri». In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 31: 149-162.

  • Lininger, Barbara. 1990. "How to propose bribri marriage." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 9-10: 65-80.

  • Cervantes Gamboa, Laura. 1991. "The Bribris musical genres: sociolinguistic aspects of their execution." In: Káñina XV (1-2): 243-254.

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. 1990. "The Language of the Bribri Ritual Songs." In: Latin American Indian Literature Journal 6 (1): 14-35.

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo and Feliciano Elizondo Figueroa. 1994. "Preliminary observations on the infantilized speech in bribri." In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 13: 119-127.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 2004. «Comments for the dialectological study of the Bribri language». In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 23: 89-120.

No technical language treatment (only transcript of the Bribri text and free translation into Spanish, no literal or morphematic interlinear translation):

  • Bozzoli de Wille, María Eugenia. 1977. "Bribris Narrations." In: Links 2(2):165-200.

  • Bozzoli de Wille, María Eugenia. 1977. "Bribris Narrations." In: Links 3(1-2):67-104.

  • COOPA. 1996. Bribris narrations. That's how the elders count... San José: Fundación Coordinadora de Pastoral Aborigen.

  • Sánchez, Juanita and Gloria Mayorga. 1994. It'siwa'. Our traditions. Cosmos and Bribris traditions. San José: Costa Rican Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO.

  • With linguistic annotation (morphatic and free translation, in addition to transcription of the text in bribri and free translation into Spanish):

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. 1996. Traditional Costa Rican indigenous poetry. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. 2006. Bribri poetry of the daily. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla. 1993. I tè. Bribris stories. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla and Ali García Segura. 2008. Traditional positions of the Bribri people: or'ta)mħ- Óköm - Awá. San José: Instituto Costa Ricense de Electricidad.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla and Ali García Segura. 2015. «Armadillo, Mono congo and The Stones of the uséköl: three stories of oral tradition bribri». In: Estudios de Lingüística Chibcha 34: 87-119.

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. 2006. Bribri poetry of the daily. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

  • Jara Murillo, Carla and Ali García Segura. 2008. Traditional positions of the Bribri people: or'tamħ- Óköm - Awá. San José: Instituto Costa Ricense de Electricidad.

  • Constenla Umaña, Adolfo. 1992. Bribri illustrated attire. San José: Costa Rican Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO.

  • García Segura, Guillermo. 1986. StSawö we. Text for the teaching of reading and writing in the Bribri language. San José: National Advisory Office of Indigenous Education.

  • Gudiño Fernández, Patricia. 1994. Yë˜jkuö alâttsítsi a. San José: Costa Rican Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO.

  • Arroyo Soto, Victor Manuel. 1966. Lenguas Indígenas Costarricenses. San José: Editorial Costa Rica.

  • Gabb, William M. 1875. On the Indian tribes and languages of Costa Rica. Washington: Stmisonian Museum.

  • Pittier, Henri. 1898. Die Sprache der Bribri-Indianer in Costa Rica. Wien: Kais. Akademie der Wissenschaften.

  • Thiel, Bernardo Augusto. 1882. Apuntes lexicográficos de las lenguas y dialectos de los indios de Costa Rica. San José: Imprenta Nacional.