Charruan languages

Charruan may actually consist of two or three unrelated families according to Nikulin (2019).^[3] Nikulin notes that many of the following languages share very few basic vocabulary items with each other.

1. Chaná as spoken by Blas Wilfredo Omar Jaime
2. Chaná of Larrañaga (1923)^[4]
3. Charrúa of Vilardebó (1842)
4. Güenoa from a short 18th-century catechesis quoted by Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro^[5]

Four languages are considered to definitively belong to the Charruan language family, basically Chañá (Lanték), Nbeuá, Charrúa and Guenoa. Nbeuá is thought to be a dialect of Chaná. A fourth language, Balomar, is claimed to exist by Loukotka (1968), but there is no data on it.^[1]

A number of unattested languages are also presumed to belong to the Charruan family:^[1]

• Bohane – spoken near Maldonado, or Salto, in Uruguay
• Calchine – spoken in Santa Fe Province, Argentina, along the Salado River
• Caracañá – spoken along the Caracañá River, Santa Fe
• Chaná-Mbegua or Begua – spoken on the Paraná River between Crespo and Victoria
• Colastiné – spoken in Santa Fe Province near Colastiné
• Corondá – spoken in Coronda, Santa Fe Province
• Guaiquiaré – spoken in Entre Ríos on the Arroyo Guaiquiraré
• Mocoreta or Macurendá or Mocolete – spoken along the Mocoretá River in Entre Ríos Province
• Pairindi – spoken in Entre Ríos from Corrientes to the Feliciano River
• Timbu – spoken in Gaboto, Santa Fe Province
• Yaro – spoken in Uruguay between the Río Negro and the San Salvador River

Jorge Suárez includes Charruan with Guaicuruan in a hypothetical Waikuru-Charrúa stock. Morris Swadesh includes Charruan along with Guaicuruan, Matacoan, and Mascoyan within his Macro-Mapuche stock. Both proposals appear to be obsolete.

The Charruan languages are poorly attested. However, sufficient vocabulary has been gathered for the languages to be compared:^[1][6]

More information English, Charrua ...

English	Charrua	Chaná	Güenoa
me	m'	mi-tí	hum
you	m'	mutí /em/ baté	m
we		rampti/ am-ptí	rambuí
eye	i-hou	ocál
ear	i-mau / i-man	timó
mouth	ej	hek / obá
hand	guar	nam
foot / toe	atit	eté
water	hué	atá
sun		dioi
dog	lohán	agó
white		huok
one	yú	u-gil / ngui	yut
two	sam	usan / amá
three	detí / datit	detit / heít	detit
know	sepé	seker
good / nice	bilú	oblí / oblé
brother/sister	inchalá	nchalá
friend	huamá	uamá
why? / how?		retám	retanle*
who?		ua-reté
past (suf.)		ndau / nden	edam

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Lexical comparison from Nikulin (2019):^[3]

More information gloss, Chana (Jaime) ...

gloss	Chana (Jaime)	Chana (Larranaga 1923)	Charrúa	Guenoa
we		ampti / am-, rampti		rambui
give	ará	da.jú
sun	dioi	diói
go	nderé	do	bajiná 'to walk'
thou		empti em- / m-
one	gilí / güi	gil: ugil 'único'	yú ~ yu	yut isa 'only one'
who		guareptí		guárete
sand	lgorí	han
mouth	uvá	hek	ej
that		huati / huat-
white	noá	huóc
good		latár
hear	timotéc	montéc
come	nderé	na
not	reé	=mén
what		r'eca 'what', r'epti		retant 'how many?'
two	amá	san	sam ~ sán
know		seker, sekér
see		solá 'mirar'
mountain		to e
woman	adá	ukái / kái 'female'
I		ytí / i- ~ y-
all	opá
sleep	utalá		ando diabun 'vamos a dormir'
foot	vedé verá		atit
kill	ña		aú
go	nderé	do	bajiná 'to walk'
stand	reé utalá		basquadé 'levantarse'
mouth	uvá	hek	ej
hand	nam		guar
moon	aratá		guidai
water	atá		hué
nose	utí		ibar
eye	ocál		ijou
ear	timó		imau
head	ta ~ ta ug vedé		is
hair	moni		itaj
fire	yogüín		it
dog	agó		samayoí
two	amá	san	sam ~ sán
one	gilí / güi	gil: ugil 'único'	yú ~ yu	yut isa 'only one'
person				ëewuit edam
who		guareptí		guárete
die	ña			hallen
name				hapatam 'his name'
we		ampti / am-, rampti		rambui
what		r'eca 'what', r'epti		retant 'how many?'
one	gilí / güi	gil: ugil 'único'	yú ~ yu	yut isa 'only one'

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