Zaparoan languages


Zaparoan is an endangered language family of Peru and Ecuador with fewer than 100 speakers. Zaparoan speakers seem to have been very numerous before the arrival of the Europeans. However, their groups have been decimated by imported diseases and warfare, and only a handful of them have survived.

Languages

There were 39 Zaparoan-speaking tribes at the beginning of the 20th century, every one of them presumably using its own distinctive language or dialect. Most of them have become extinct before being recorded, however, and we have information only about nine of them.
Aushiri and Omurano are included by Stark. Aushiri is generally accepted as Zaparoan, but Omurano remains unclassified or even as a language isolate in other descriptions.

Mason (1950)

Internal classification of the Zaparoan languages by Mason :
  • Zaparoan
  • *Coronado group
  • **Coronado
  • ***Tarokeo
  • ***Chudavina
  • ***Miscuara
  • **Oa
  • *Andoa group
  • **Andoa
  • ***Guallpayo
  • ***Guasaga
  • ***Murato
  • **Gae
  • **Semigae
  • ***Aracohor
  • ***Mocosiohor
  • ***Usicohor
  • ***Ichocomohor
  • ***Itoromohor
  • ***Maithiore
  • ***Comacor
  • **Iquito
  • ***Iquito
  • ***Maracana
  • ***Auve
  • **Asaruntoa
  • *Záparo group
  • **Muegano
  • **Curaray
  • **Matagen
  • **Yasuni
  • **Manta
  • **Nushino
  • **Rotuno
  • **Supinu

    Genetic relations

The relationship of Zaparoan languages with other language families of the area is uncertain. It is generally considered isolated. Links with other languages or families have been proposed but none has been widely accepted so far.
  • Payne and Kaufman suggest a relationship with the Yaguan family in a Sáparo–Yáwan stock, contrary to Greenberg's classification.
  • Swadesh also groups Zaparoan with Yaguan within his Zaparo–Peba phylum.
  • Greenberg places Zaparoan together with the Cahuapanan family into a Kahuapana–Zaparo grouping within his larger Andean phylum, but this is generally rejected by historical linguists.
  • Kaufman notes that Tovar includes the unclassified Taushiro under Zaparoan following the tentative opinion of SSILA.
  • Stark includes the extinct Omurano under Zaparoan. Gordon follows Stark.
  • Mason groups Bora–Witoto, Tupian, and Zaparoan together as part of a proposed Macro-Tupí-Guaranían family.

    Language contact

Jolkesky notes that there are lexical similarities with the Omurano, Arawakan, Quechuan, and Peba-Yagua language families due to contact.

Family features

Pronouns

Zaparoan languages distinguishes between inclusive and exclusive we and consider the first person singular as the default person. A rare feature is the existence of two sets of personal pronouns with different syntactic values according to the nature of the sentence. Active pronouns are subject in independent clauses and object in dependent ones, while passive pronouns are subject in independent clauses and passive in dependent ones :
Thus

Numerals

Vocabulary

lists the following basic vocabulary items for Zaparoan language varieties.
glossZáparoConamboAndoaSimigaeChiripunoIquitoCahuarano
onenokoákinukakinikíñonókinúki
twonamesánikitarkaninguishkikoːmikómu
headku-anákku-anakapan-akap-anákp-anákpá-nak
eyenu-námitsku-iyamixapa-namixhenizynamixíapuí-namipoí-nami
womanitumumaximaximãximuesaxíitémo
fireunámisokumániomániomaniinámiinámi
sunyánukyañakwaapánamupoánámupananúnúnaminianamí
starnarikanarexaarixyaarishyanarexanarexa
maizesáuktasáukudzáukusakoóshakárokshekárok
houseitüitéki-t'adahápuítaíta
whiteushíkshushikyaishi-sinwamakúshinimosotínmusiténa

Proto-language

Proto-Záparoan reconstructions by de Carvalho :

General and cited references