Guaymí language

Guaymí, or Ngäbere, also known as Movere, Chiriquí, and Valiente, is spoken by the indigenous Ngäbe people in Panama and Costa Rica. The people refer to themselves as Ngäbe (pronounced [ˈŋɔbe]) and to their language as Ngäbere [ŋɔˈbeɾe]. The Ngäbes are the most populous of Panama’s several indigenous peoples. The language is centered in Panama within the semi-autonomous indigenous reservation known as the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé. Beginning in the 1950s, Costa Rica began to receive Ngäbe immigrants, where are found in several indigenous reservations: Abrojos Montezuma, Conteburica, Coto Brus, Guaymí de Alto Laguna de Osa, and Altos de San Antonio.

Language Family and Dialects

Ngäbere is part of the Chibchan language family, which is indigenous to an area that extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia. Ngäbere is one of two languages classified under a group called Guaymí. The other is a related but mutually unintelligible language called Buglere, spoken by the Buglé people within the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé.