Chiquitano language

Chiquitano (also Bésɨro or Tarapecosi) is an indigenous language isolate spoken in the central region of Santa Cruz Department of eastern Bolivia and the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil.

Chiquitano
Besïro
Native toBolivia, Brazil
RegionSanta Cruz (Bolivia); Mato Grosso (Brazil)
Ethnicityperhaps about 100,000 Chiquitano people
Native speakers
2,400 (2021)[1]
Official status
Official language in
 Bolivia
Language codes
ISO 639-3cax
Glottologchiq1253  Chiquitano
sans1265  Sansimoniano
ELPChiquitano

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]

Varieties

Mason (1950)

Mason (1950) lists:[8]

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

Loukotka (1968)

Topographic map showing major towns and villages in the Chiquitania and the Jesuit missions. The Jesuit missions are in the highlands north-east of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in eastern Bolivia, close to the Brazil border.
Locations of the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos with present international borders

According to Čestmír Loukotka (1968), dialects were 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.

Tao subgroups
SubgroupLocation(s)
Aruporé, Bohococa (Bo(h)oca)Concepción
Bacusone (Basucone, Bucofone, Bucojore)San Rafael
Boro (Borillo)San José, San Juan Bautista, Santo Corazón
Chamaru (Chamaro, Xamaru, Samaru, Zamanuca)San Juan Bautista
PequicaSan Juan Bautista, afterwards San Miguel
PiococaSan Ignacio, Santa Ana
Piquicaeast of the Manasicas
Purasi (Puntagica, Punasica, Punajica, Punaxica)San Javier, Concepción
Subareca (Subarica, Subereca, Subercia, Xubereca)San Javier
Tabiica (Tabica, Taviquia)San Rafael, San Javier
Tau (Tao, Caoto)San Javier, San José, San Miguel, San Rafael, San Juan Bautista, Santo Corazón
Tubasi (Tubacica, Tobasicoci)San Javier, afterwards Concepción
Quibichoca (Quibicocha, Quiviquica, Quibiquia, Quibichicoci), Tañepica, Bazorocaunknown
Piñoco subgroups
SubgroupLocation(s)
Guapa, Piñoca, PiococaSan Javier
Motaquica, Poxisoca, Quimeca, Quitaxica, Zemuquica, Taumoca ? San Javier, San José, San José de Buenavista or Desposorios (Moxos)
Manasi subgroups
SubgroupLocation(s)
Manasica, Yuracareca, Zibaca (Sibaca)Concepción
Moposica, Soucaeast of the Manasicas
Sepe (Sepeseca), Sisooca, (?) Sosiacanorth of the Manasicas
Sounaacawest of the Manasicas
Obariquica, Obisisioca, Obobisooca, Obobococa, Osaaca, Osonimaca, Otaroso, Otenenema, Otigomanorthern Chiquitanía
Ochisirisa, Omemoquisoo, Omeñosisopa, Otezoo, Oyuri(ca)northeastern Chiquitanía
Cuzica (Cusica, Cusicoci), Omonomaaca, Pichasica, Quimomeca, Totaica (Totaicoçi), Tunumaaca, Zaruracaunknown


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

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p t t͡ʃ k ʔ
Fricative β s ʃ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r
Glide w j

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Close-mid e o
Open a

[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

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

glossChiquitoYúnkarirshSan SimonianoChurápa
tooth oh-oxoännoosh
tongue otúsnatäiyúto
foot popezpopesspipínípiop
woman paispáirshpaápáish
water toʔustushtúʔush
fire pézpéeshpeés
sun suursuurshsóusúush
manioc tauaxtáhuashtabátawásh
tapir okitapakistapakishoshtápakish
house ogoxpóoshípiosh
red kiturixikéturukkéturikí

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]

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.

References

  1. Nikulin, Andrey (May 26, 2021). "Chiquitano: a presentation". Universität Bonn.
  2. Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). Language in the Americas. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
  3. Rankin, Robert. (1992). [Review of Language in the Americas by J. H. Greenberg]. International Journal of American Linguistics, 58 (3), 324-351.
  4. Campbell, Lyle. (1988). [Review of Language in the Americas, Greenberg 1987]. Language, 64, 591-615.
  5. Kaufman, Terrence. 1994. The native languages of South America. In: Christopher Moseley and R. E. Asher (eds.), Atlas of the World’s Languages, 59–93. London: Routledge.
  6. Adelaar, Willem F. H. Relações externas do Macro-Jê: O caso do Chiquitano. In: Telles de A. P. Lima, Stella Virgínia; Aldir S. de Paula (eds.). Topicalizando Macro-Jê. Recife: Nectar, 2008. p. 9–27.
  7. Nikulin, Andrey. 2020. Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo. Doctoral dissertation, University of Brasília.
  8. Mason, John Alden (1950). "The languages of South America". In Steward, Julian (ed.). Handbook of South American Indians. Vol. 6. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143. pp. 157–317.
  9. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian Languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center. pp. 60.
  10. Combès, Isabelle. 2010. Diccionario étnico: Santa Cruz la Vieja y su entorno en el siglo XVI. Cochabamba: Itinera-rios/Instituto Latinoamericano de Misionología. (Colección Scripta Autochtona, 4.)
  11. Combès, Isabelle. 2012. Susnik y los gorgotoquis. Efervescencia étnica en la Chiquitania (Oriente boliviano), p. 201–220. Indiana, v. 29. Berlín. doi:10.18441/ind.v29i0.201-220
  12. CIUCCI, L.; MACOÑÓ TOMICHÁ, J. 2018. Diccionario básico del chiquitano del Municipio de San Ignacio de Velasco. Santa Cruz de la Sierra: Ind. Maderera “San Luis” S. R. L., Museo de Historia. U. A. R. G. M. 61 f.
  13. Nikulin, Andrey (2020). "Contacto de lenguas en la Chiquitanía". Revista Brasileira de Línguas Indígenas. 2 (2): 5–30. doi:10.18468/rbli.2019v2n2.p05-30. S2CID 225674786.
  14. Santana, Áurea Cavalcante. 2012. Línguas cruzadas, histórias que se mesclam: ações de documentação, valorização e fortalecimento da língua Chiquitano no Brasil. Doutorado, Universidade Federal de Goiás.
  15. FUNAI/DAF. Plano de Desenvolvimento de Povos Indígenas (PDPI) – Grupo Indígena Chiquitano, MT. Diretoria de Assuntos Fundiários: Brasília, 2002.
  16. MATIENZO, J.; TOMICHÁ, R.; COMBÈS, I.; PAGE, C. Chiquitos en las Anuas de la Compañía de Jesús (1691–1767). Cochabamba: Itinerarios, 2011.
  17. HERVÁS Y PANDURO, L. Idea dell’Universo che contiene la storia della vita dell’uomo, elementi cos-mografici, viaggio estatico al mondo planetario, e storia della terra, e delle lingue. Vol. XVII: Ca-talogo delle lingue conosciute. Cesena: Gregorio Biasini, 1784.
  18. Krusi, Dorothee, Martin (1978). Phonology of Chiquitano.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. Sans, Pierric (2011), Proceedings of the VII Encontro Macro-Jê.Brasilia, Brazil
  20. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  21. Santana, Áurea Cavalcante. 2012. Línguas cruzadas, histórias que se mesclam: ações de documentação, valorização e fortalecimento da língua Chiquitano no Brasil. Goiânia: Universidade Federal de Goiás.
  • Fabre, Alain (2008-07-21). "Chiquitano" (PDF). Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
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