Chicham languages
Language family spoken in Peru and Ecuador
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chicham languages, also known as Jivaroan (Hívaro, Jívaro, Jibaro), is a small language family of northern Peru and eastern Ecuador, in Amazonas, Cajamarca, Loreto, and San Martin, Peru and the Oriente region of Ecuador.
distributionPeru
(Macro-Jibaro ?)
| Chicham | |
|---|---|
| "Jivaroan" | |
| Geographic distribution | Peru |
| Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families (Macro-Jibaro ?) |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | jiva1245 |
Chicham (violet) and Cahuapanan (pink) languages. Spots are documented locations, shadowed areas probable extension in 16th century. | |
Genetic relations
The extinct Palta language was classified as Chicham by Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño about 1940 and was followed by Čestmír Loukotka, but Kaufman (1994) states that there is "little resemblance". However, only 4 words are known.
The most promising external connections are with the Cahuapanan languages and perhaps a few other language isolates in proposals variously called Jívaro-Cahuapana (Hívaro-Kawapánan) (Jorge Suárez and others) or Macro-Jibaro or Macro-Andean (Morris Swadesh and others, with Cahuapanan, Urarina, Puelche, and maybe Huarpe).
The unclassified language Candoshi has also been linked to Chicham, as David Payne (1981) provides reconstructions for Proto-Shuar as well as Proto-Shuar-Candoshi. However, more recently, linguists have searched elsewhere for Candoshi's relatives.[citation needed]
Language contact
Family division
Proto-language
Payne's (1981) Proto-Shuar reconstruction is based on data from Shuar, Achuar, Aguaruna, and Huambisa, while his Proto-Shuar-Candoshi reconstruction also integrates data from Candoshi and Shapra.
For reconstructions of Proto-Shuar and Proto-Shuar-Candoshi by Payne (1981), see the corresponding Spanish article.
