Shiwiar language

Shiwiar, also known as Achuar, Jivaro and Maina, is a Chicham language spoken along the Pastaza and Bobonaza rivers in Ecuador. Shiwiar is one of the thirteen indigenous languages of Ecuador.[2] All of these indigenous languages are endangered.[2]

Not to be confused with Shuar language from Ecuador.
Achuar
Shiwiar
Native toPeru, Ecuador
EthnicityAchuar people, Shiwiar
Native speakers
4,420 in Peru (2012)[1]
3,520 in Ecuador (2007)[1]
Chicham
  • Achuar
Language codes
ISO 639-3acu
Glottologachu1248
ELPAchuar

Speakers

Shiwiar is a language spoken by the Achuar people of the Amazonian region of Ecuador.[3] The Achuar people also speak Spanish, Shuar, and Kichwa along with their native language, Shiwiar.[3] Shuar belongs to the same language family as Shiwiar – Jivaroan.[3]

Although the Achuar live in the Amazon Basin, the extracting of oil and raw materials from Ecuador through mining has displaced the Achuar communities and endangered their homes.[4]

While Ecuador's official language is Spanish, the Achuar people along with other indigenous groups have the right to use their own languages in education through the official language policies of Ecuador legalized in Decree No. 000529, Article 27, and the Dirección Nacional de Educación Indígena Intercultural Bilingüe (DINEIIB).[5]

Phonology
Consonant phonemes[6]
Bilabial Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Stop p t k ʔ
Affricate ts tʃ
Fricative s ʃ x
Approximant j w
Tap ɾ
Vowel phonemes[6]
Front Central Back
Close i ĩ iː u ũ uː
Close-mid ɘ ɘ̃ ɘː[7]
Open a ã aː
  • /i/ and /u/ have slightly lowered allophones [ɪ] and [ʊ], respectively.[8]
  • /a, ã, aː/ are phonetically central [a̠, ã̠, a̠ː].[8]
    • /a, ã/ (but not the long /aː/) have the following allophones: open central unrounded [a̠, ã̠], open-mid front unrounded [ɛ, ɛ̃], close-mid front unrounded [e, ẽ] and close-mid back rounded [o, õ].[8]

References
  1. Achuar at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) closed access
  2. Moseley, C., ed. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-104095-5. OCLC 610522460.
  3. Crevels, M. (2012). "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking". In Campbell, L.; Grondona, V. (eds.). The Indigenous Languages of South America. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 167–234. doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167. ISBN 978-3-11-025803-5.
  4. "Achuar and the Amazon Basin". Indigenous Religious Traditions. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  5. King, K. A.; Haboud, M. (2002). "Language Planning and Policy in Ecuador". Current Issues in Language Planning. 3 (4): 359–424. doi:10.1080/14664200208668046.
  6. Fast Mowitz (1975), p. 10.
  7. Lev, Stark & Chang (2012), citing the same source, give these instead as [ɨ], [ɨ̃] and [ɨː].
  8. Fast Mowitz (1975), p. 2.

Bibliography
  • Fast Mowitz, G. (1975), Sistema fonológico del idioma achual (in Spanish), Lima: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano
  • Lev, Michael; Stark, Tammy; Chang, Will (2012). "Phonological inventory of Achuar-Shiwiar". The South American Phonological Inventory Database (version 1.1.3 ed.). Berkeley: University of California: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages Digital Resource.
  • Mowitz, G.; Warkentin de Fast, R.; Fast Warkentin, D. (1996), Diccionario achuar-shiwiar–castellano, Lingüística peruana, 36 (in Spanish), Lima: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano
  • Kohlberger, M. (2020). A Grammatical Description of Shiwiar (PhD thesis). Leiden University. hdl:1887/123115.
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