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Chiquitano language

Indigenous language of Bolivia and Brazil From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chiquitano language
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Chiquitano (also Bésɨro or Tarapecosi) is an indigenous language isolate, possibly related to the Macro-Jê languages spoken in the central region of Santa Cruz Department of eastern Bolivia and the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil.

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Classification

Chiquitano is usually considered to be a language isolate. Joseph Greenberg linked it to the Macro-Jê languages in his proposal,[2] but the results of his study have been later questioned due to methodological flaws.[3][4]

Kaufman (1994) suggests a relationship with the Bororoan languages.[5] Adelaar (2008) classifies Chiquitano as a Macro-Jê language,[6] while Nikulin (2020) suggests that Chiquitano is rather a sister of Macro-Jê.[7]

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Varieties

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Mason (1950)

Mason (1950) lists:[8]

  • Chiquito
    • North (Chiquito)
      • Manasí (Manacica)
      • Penoki (Penokikia)
      • Pinyoca; Kusikia
      • Tao; Tabiica
    • Churapa

Loukotka (1968)

Thumb
Locations of the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos with present international borders

According to Čestmír Loukotka (1968), dialects are Tao (Yúnkarirsh), Piñoco, Penoqui, Kusikia, Manasi, San Simoniano, Churapa.[9]

Otuke, a Bororoan language, was also spoken in some of the missions.[9]

Nikulin (2020)

Chiquitano varieties listed by Nikulin (2020):[7]

Nikulin (2019) proposes that Camba Spanish has a Piñoco substratum. Camba Spanish was originally spoken in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, but is now also spoken in Beni Department and Pando Department.[13]

Some Chiquitano also prefer to call themselves Monkóka (plural form for 'people'; the singular form for 'person' is Monkóxɨ).[1]

Nikulin also tentatively proposes an Eastern subgroup for the varieties spoken in San Ignacio de Velasco, Santiago de Chiquitos, and Brazil.[1]

In Brazil, Chiquitano is spoken in the municipalities of Cáceres, Porto Esperidião, Pontes e Lacerda, and Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade in the state of Mato Grosso.[14][15]

Historical subgroups

The following list of Jesuit and pre-Jesuit-era historical dialect groupings of Chiquitano is from Nikulin (2019),[13] after Matienzo et al. (2011: 427–435)[16] and Hervás y Panduro (1784: 30).[17] The main dialect groups were Tao, Piñoco, and Manasi.

More information Subgroup, Location(s) ...
More information Subgroup, Location(s) ...
More information Subgroup, Location(s) ...


Penoquí (Gorgotoqui?), possibly a Bororoan language, was spoken in San José.

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Phonology

Consonants

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Vowels

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[18]

Nasal assimilation

Chiquitano has regressive assimilation triggered by nasal nuclei / ɨ̃ ĩ ũ õ ã ẽ/ and targeting consonant onsets within a morpheme.

  • /suβũ/[suˈmũ] 'parrot (sp.)'[19]

Syllable structure

The language has CV, CVV, and CVC syllables. It does not allow complex onsets or codas. The only codas allowed are nasal consonants.

Vocabulary

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Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for different dialects of Chiquito (Chiquitano).[20]

More information gloss, Chiquito ...

For a vocabulary list of Chiquitano by Santana (2012),[21] see the Portuguese Wiktionary.

Language contact

Chiquitano has borrowed extensively from an unidentified Tupí-Guaraní variety; one example is Chiquitano takones [takoˈnɛs] ‘sugarcane’, borrowed from a form close to Paraguayan Guaraní takuare'ẽ ‘sugarcane’.[13]:8 There are also numerous Spanish borrowings.

Chiquitano (or an extinct variety close to it) has influenced the Camba variety of Spanish. This is evidenced by the numerous lexical borrowings of Chiquitano origin in local Spanish. Examples include bigenipa’, masi ‘squirrel’, peni ‘lizard’, peta ‘turtle, tortoise’, jachichicha leftover’, jichi ‘worm; jichi spirit’, among many others.[13]

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Further reading

  • Galeote Tormo, J. (1993). Manitana Auqui Besüro: Gramática Moderna de la lengua Chiquitana y Vocabulario Básico. Santa Cruz de la Sierra: Los Huérfanos.
  • Santana, A. C. (2005). Transnacionalidade lingüística: a língua Chiquitano no Brasil. Goiânia: Universidade Federal de Goiás. (Masters dissertation).
  • Nikulin, Andrey. 2019. ¡Manityaka au r-ózura! Diccionario básico del chiquitano migueleño: El habla de San Miguel de Velasco y de San Juan de Lomerío.
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References

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