Ethnicity: Lenca people ISO 639-3: len | Geographic
distribution: El Salvador, Honduras Glottolog: lenc1239 | |
Linguistic classification: Macro-Chibchan ?
Lencan Subdivisions: Honduran Lencan
Salvadoran Lencan | ||
Lencan is a small family of indigenous Mesoamerican languages.
Contents
Classification
There are two attested Lencan languages, both extinct (Campbell 1997:167).
The languages are not closely related; Swadesh (1967) estimated 3,000 years since separation. Arguedas Cortés (1987) reconstructs Proto-Lencan with 12 consonants (including ejectives) and 5 vowels.
Their external relationships are disputed. Inclusion within Macro-Chibchan is often proposed; Campbell (1987) reported that there was no solid evidence for such a connection, but Constenla (2005) proposed regular correspondence between Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan. Another proposal links Lencan with the Xincan language family (Campbell 1997).
History
The Proto-Lencan homeland was most likely in central Honduras (Campbell 1997:167).
At the time of the Spanish conquest of Central America in the early 16th century, the Lenca language was spoken by the Lenca people in a region that incorporates northwestern and southwestern Honduras, and neighboring eastern El Salvador, east of the Lempa river. While the Lenca people continue to live in the same region today, Lyle Campbell reported in the 1970s that he found only 1 speaker of the language in Chilanga, El Salvador, and none in Honduras. Campbell also concluded that Salvadoran Lenca was a distinct language from Honduran Lenca.
Indigenous movements in both countries are attempting to revive the language, and recent press reports from Honduras indicate that elementary school textbooks in Salvadoran Lenca have been distributed to public schools in the region.
A 2002 novel by Roberto Castillo, La guerra mortal de los sentidos chronicles the adventures of the "Searcher for the Lenca Language."