Choco languages
Language family of Colombia and Panama From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Choco languages (also Chocoan, Chocó, Chokó) are a small family of Indigenous languages spread across Colombia and Panama.
Chocoan | |
---|---|
Geographic distribution | Colombia and Panama |
Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families |
Subdivisions |
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Language codes | |
Glottolog | choc1280 |
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Family division
Choco consists of six known branches, all but two of which are extinct.
- The Emberá languages (also known as Chocó proper, Cholo)
- Noanamá (also known as Waunana, Woun Meu)
- Sinúfana (Cenufara) † ?
- Anserma †
- Caramanta †
- ? Arma † (unattested)
At least Anserma, Arma, and Caramant are extinct.
The Emberá group consists of two languages mainly in Colombia with over 60,000 speakers that lie within a fairly mutually intelligible dialect continuum. Ethnologue divides this into six languages. Kaufman (1994) considers the term Cholo to be vague and condescending. Noanamá has some 6,000 speakers on the Panama-Colombia border.
Jolkesky (2016)
Internal classification by Jolkesky (2016):[1]
(† = extinct)
- Choko
- Waunana
- Embera
- Southern
- Northern
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Guahibo, Kamsa, Paez, Tukano, Witoto-Okaina, Yaruro, Chibchan, and Bora-Muinane language families due to contact.[1]
Genetic links between Choco and Chibchan had been proposed by Lehmann (1920).[2] However, similarities are few, some of which may be related to the adoption of maize cultivation from neighbors.[1]: 324
Genetic relations
Choco has been included in a number of hypothetical phylum relationships:
- within Morris Swadesh's Macro-Leco
- Antonio Tovar, Jorge A. Suárez, and Robert Gunn: related to Cariban
- Čestmír Loukotka (1944): Southern Emberá may be related to Paezan, Noanamá to Arawakan
- within Paul Rivet and Loukotka's (1950) Cariban
- Constenla Umaña and Margery Peña: may be related to Chibchan
- within Joseph Greenberg's Nuclear Paezan, most closely related to Paezan and Barbacoan
- with Yaruro according to Pache (2016)[3]
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Chocó languages.[4]
gloss | Sambú | Chocó Pr. | Citara | Baudo | Waunana | Tadó | Saixa | Chamí | Ándagueda | Catio | Tukurá | N'Gvera |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
one | haba | abá | aba | aba | haba | aba | abbá | abba | abá | |||
two | ome | ume | dáonomi | umé | homé | umé | ómay | tea | unmé | |||
three | ompea | umpia | dáonatup | kimaris | hompé | umpea | ompayá | umbea | unpia | |||
head | poro | poro | achiporo | púro | boró | tachi-púro | boró | bóro | buru | porú | ||
eye | tau | tau | tabú | tau | dága | tau | tau | dáu | tow | dabu | tabú | tapü |
tooth | kida | kida | kida | kidá | xidá | kidá | chida | chida | ||||
man | amoxina | mukira | umakira | emokoida | mukira | mukína | mugira | mohuná | mukira | |||
water | pañia | paniá | pania | pania | dó | pania | panía | banía | puneá | panea | pánia | |
fire | tibua | tibuá | xemkavai | tupuk | tupu | tubechuá | tübü | |||||
sun | pisia | pisiá | umantago | vesea | edau | vesea | áxonihino | umata | emwaiton | humandayo | ahumautu | |
moon | edexo | édexo | hidexo | xedeko | xedego | edekoː | átoní | edexo | heydaho | xedeko | xedéko | hedeko |
maize | pe | pe | paga | pedeu | pe | pe | bé | pe | ||||
jaguar | imama | ibamá | ibamá | imama | kumá | pimamá | imama | imamá | imamá | |||
arrow | enatruma | halomá | halomá | sia | chókiera | umatruma | sía | ukida | enentiera |
Proto-language
For reconstructions of Proto-Chocó and Proto-Emberá by Constenla and Margery (1991),[5] see the corresponding Spanish article.
See also
- Embera-Wounaan, who speak the Choco languages, Embera and Wounaan
- Quimbaya language
References
Bibliography
External links
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