Chamicuro language
| Chamicuro | |
|---|---|
| Chamicolo, Chamicura | |
| Chamekolo | |
| Pronunciation | [ˌt͡ʃameˈkod͡ɮo] |
| Native to | Peru |
| Region | Pampa Hermosa |
| Ethnicity | 100 Chamicuro (2015)[1] |
Native speakers | 8 (2008)[2] |
Arawakan
| |
| Latin script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ccc |
| Glottolog | cham1318 |
| ELP | Chamicuro |
Chamicuro (Chamicuro: Chamekolo [ˌt͡ʃameˈkod͡ɮo],[3] referring to a type of worm[4]) is a nearly extinct South American language spoken in Peru. The language was used by the Chamicuro people, who number around one hundred people. The Chamicuros currently live on a tributary of the Huallaga river, in Peru, in an area called Pampa Hermosa, though many had been dislocated to the Yavarí and Napo Rivers and to Brazil.[1]
Status
As with all native languages in Peru, Chamicuro was by default an official language in the area in which it was spoken. A dictionary has been published by the Chamicuro, however no children can speak the language as the community has shifted to Spanish.[5]
Classification
Chamicuro is an Arawakan language.[4] However, it has been historically claimed to be a member of the Panoan language family instead; Julian Steward, writing in the Handbook of South American Indians, claimed that Chamicuro was linguistically close to Shipibo, a Panoan language.[6]
There is dispute as to whether the unattested language of the Aguano people was the same language as, or related to, Chamicuro. Čestmír Loukotka (1968) had identified it as a relative of Chamicuro,[7] but the Chamicuro report that the Aguano people spoke Quechua.[8][5]
Phonology
Vowels
Chamicuro has five vowels: /a, e, i, o, u/. All vowels have both short and long forms,[9] though long vowels are rare. It is not a tonal language.[4]
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palato- alveolar |
Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | ʔ | |||
| Affricate | t͡s | t͡ʃ | ʈʂ | ||||
| Fricative | s | ʃ | ʂ | h | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||||
| Lateral | l | ʎ | |||||
| Flap | ɾ | ||||||
| Semivowel | j | w |
/l w j/ devoice to /ɬ ʍ ȷ̊/ at the end of a syllable:[4]
- /yelna/ [ˈjɛɬna] 'man, husband'
- /kawsa/ [ˈkaʍsa] 'smoke'
A laminal alveolar fricative [s̻] occurs in Chamicuro as a realization of underlying /ʃ/, /ʃi/.[10]
Typology
Chamicuro is an agglutinative language and has basic verb–subject–object word order. It distinguishes inalienable and alienable possession but not gender.[4]
References
- 1 2 Chamicuro at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ↑ Campbell, Lyle; Grondona, Verónica María, eds. (2012). The indigenous languages of South America: a comprehensive guide. The world of linguistics. Berlin; Boston: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-025513-3.
- ↑ https://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/9292
- 1 2 3 4 5 Parker, Steve (2022). "Apuntes sobre la Gramática del Chamikuro" (PDF). Occasional Papers in Applied Linguistics. 14: 1–14.
- 1 2 Chamicuro at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ↑ Steward, Julian H. (1948). "Tribes of Peruvian and Ecuadorian Montaña". Handbook of South American Indians: The Tropical Forest Tribes. Bulletin / Bureau of American Ethnology / Smithsonian Institution 143. Vol. 3. Washington: Government Printing Office.
- ↑ Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
- ↑ Wise, 1987
- 1 2 Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). "Phonological inventory of Chamicuro". The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.
- ↑ Parker, Steve (1 January 1990). "Laminal sibilants in Chamicuro". Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session. 34 (1). doi:10.31356/silwp.vol34.04. ISSN 0361-4700.