Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Chiquitano language

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Native to
  
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

ISO 639-3
  
cax

Language family
  
Language isolate

Ethnicity
  
47,100 Chiquitano people (2004)

Native speakers
  
5,900 in Bolivia (2004)

Glottolog
  
chiq1248  (Chiquitano) sans1265  (Sansimoniano)

Chiquitano (also Bésiro or Tarapecosi) is an indigenous language isolate of eastern Bolivia, spoken in the central region of the Santa Cruz province.

Contents

Classification

Chiquitano is a language isolate. Greenberg linked it to the Macro-Jê languages in his discredited proposal, which was never substantiated.

According to traditional sources, dialects were tao (yúnkarirsh), piñoco, penoqui, kusikia, manasi, san simoniano, churapa.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

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.)'

    • 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.

    References

    Chiquitano language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA