Huarpean languages

Huarpe (Warpe) was a small language family of central Argentina (historic Cuyo Province) that consisted of at least two closely related languages. They are traditionally considered dialects, and include Allentiac (Alyentiyak, Huarpe) and Millcayac (Milykayak). A third, Puntano of San Luis, was not documented before the languages became extinct.

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Quick Facts Geographic distribution, Ethnicity ...

Huarpean
Warpean
Geographic distribution	Cuyo Province, Argentina
Ethnicity	Huarpe people
Extinct	after 1630s
Linguistic classification	Macro-Warpean ? Macro-Jibaro ? Huarpean
Subdivisions	Millcayac † Allentiac † Puntano/Michilenge † (unattested) ?Comechingón †^[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (`mis`)
Glottolog	`huar1251`
Map of the Huarpean languages

Kaufman (1994) tentatively linked Huarpe to the Mura-Matanawi languages in a family he called Macro-Warpean. However, he noted that "no systematic study" had been made, so that it is best to consider them independent families. Swadesh and Suárez both connected Huarpe to Macro-Jibaro, a possibility that has yet to be investigated.

Varieties

Summarize

Perspective

Loukotka (1968)

Varieties classified by Loukotka (1968) as part of the Huarpe language cluster (all unattested unless noted otherwise, i.e. for Chiquiyama and Comechingon):^[2]

Oico / Holcotian - once spoken in Mendoza Province in the Diamante Valley. (Unattested.)
Orcoyan / Oscollan - once spoken in the southern regions of Mendoza Province. (Unattested.)
Chiquiyama - once spoken between the city of Mendoza and the Barranca River. (documented in Latcham 1927)^{[full citation needed]}
Tuluyame / Puelche algarrobero - once spoken in the Calamuchita Valley [es], Córdoba Province. (Unattested.)
Michilenge / Puntano - once spoken in the Conlara Valley, San Luis Province. (Unattested.)
Olongasto - once spoken in La Rioja Province by the neighbors of the Allentiac tribe. (Unattested.)
Comechingon - extinct language once spoken in the Sierra de Córdoba in Córdoba Province, Argentina (documented in Cafferata 1926; Canals Frau 1944a;^[3] Serrano 1944,^[4] 1945^[5])^[6]

Mason (1950)

Varieties of the Huarpe-Comechingon linguistic group cited from Canals Frau (1944) by Mason (1950):^[7]

Huarpe-Comechingon
- Allentiac (Huarpe of San Juan)
- Millcayac (Huarpe of Mendocino)
- Puntano Huarpe
- Puelche of Cuyo
- Ancient Pehuenche
- Southern Comechingón (Camiare)
- Northern Comechingón (Henia)
- Olongasta (Southern Rioja) ?

Pericot y Garcia (1936) lists Zoquillam, Tunuyam, Chiquillan, Morcoyam, Diamantino (Oyco), Mentuayn, Chom, Titiyam, Otoyam, Ultuyam, and Cucyam.^[7]

Comechingón varieties^[7]
- Comechingón
  - Main
  - Tuya
  - Mundema
  - Cáma
  - Umba
- Michilingwe
- Indama

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Phonology

The two languages had apparently similar sound systems, and were not dissimilar from Spanish, at least from the records we have. Barros (2009) reconstructs the consonants as follows:^[8]

More information Labial, Alveolar ...

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Plosive	p	t		k
Affricate		ts	tʃ
Fricative		s	ʃ		h
Semivowel	w		j	(ɰ)
Lateral		l	ʎ
Trill		r

Allentiac had at least six vowels, written a, e, i, o, u, ù. The ù is thought to represent the central vowel [ɨ].

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Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Huarpean languages.^[2]

More information gloss, Allentiac ...

gloss	Allentiac	Millcayac	Henia
one	lka	negui
two	yemen	yemeni
three	pultun	pultuni
head	yoto
tooth	tuxe	tex
water	kaha	aka
fire	kʔtek	ketek
sun	tekta	xumek
tree	zaʔat	eye
maize	telag	telam
bird	zurú	zuru	lemin^[a]