Honduran Lenca

Honduran Lenca is a poorly attested language that was spoken with minor dialect differences in Intibuca, Opatoro, Guajiquiro (Huajiquiro), Similatón (modern Cabañas), and Santa Elena. The name can be misleading; although primarily spoken in Honduras, it was also spoken in El Salvador close to the Honduran border. It is distantly related to Salvadoran Lenca.

Lencan
Native toHonduras, El Salvador
EthnicityLenca people
ExtinctNo speakers could be located in 1974.[1]
Lencan
  • Lencan
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologlenc1242
ELPHonduran Lenca

Honduran Lenca can be divided into four dialects: western (Intibuca), central (Santa Elena, Chinacla), eastern (Guajiquiro, Opatoro), and southern (Similaton).[2]

Phonology

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n
Plosive p t k
Fricative s ʃ
Lateral l
Rhotic r
Glide w j
  • Stops /p, t, k/ in word-medial and word-final positions may occasionally be heard as voiced [b, d, ɡ]. /p, k/ may also be fricated as [β, ɣ] in these positions as well.
  • /n/ can be heard as velar [ŋ] when preceding /k/, a pause, or an onset vowel.
  • /p, k/ in word-final position may also occasionally be pronounced as [f, h].[3]

Vowels
Front Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

The basic syllable structure is CVC. It is hypothesized that earlier forms of the language had a CV structure, but shifted towards CVC through final vowel deletion. Stress is poorly documented, but is thought to have been syllable final.

Morphology

Finite verbs are optionally suffixed for tense, and obligatorily for subject. Pronominal objects are expressed by proclitics. Nonfinite forms, such as gerunds and participles, are formed through suffixes. There are two verbs that more or less correspond to Spanish ser and estar.

References
  1. Campbell, Lyle; Chapman, Anne; Dakin, Karen (1978). "Honduran Lenca". International Journal of American Linguistics. 44 (4): 330–332. doi:10.1086/465560. JSTOR 1264286.
  2. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/http://tushik.org/wp-content/uploads/Lenca-for-Linguists.pdf
  3. King, Alan R. (2016). A Preliminary Proposal for Unified Honduran Lenca.
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