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Zamucoan languages

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Geographicdistribution
  
Glottolog
  
zamu1243

Subdivisions
  
AyoreoChamacoco

Linguistic classification
  
One of the world's primary language families

Zamucoan (also Samúkoan) is a small language family of Paraguay (northeast Chaco) and Bolivia (Santa Cruz Department).

Contents

The family has hardly been studied by linguists (as of Adelaar & Muysken 2004), although several studies have recently appeared (see: Bertinetto 2009, 2010, 2013; Ciucci 2007/08, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2013a, 2013b). Recent studies show that the Zamucoan languages are characterized by a rare syntactic configuration which is called para-hypotaxis (Bertinetto & Ciucci 2012).

Extant languages

Zamucoan consists of two living languages:

  • Ayoreo (a.k.a. Zamuco, Ayoré, Moro, Ayoréo, Ayoweo, Samuko, Morotoco, Pyeta, Yovai)
  • Chamacoco (a.k.a. Bahía Negra, Ebidoso, Tumarahá, Chamakoko, Ebitoso, Ishiro, Jeywo)
  • Genetic relations

    From the historical record of the Zamucoan peoples, the living Zamucoan languages appear to have had several relatives, now extinct. It's not clear if these were necessarily distinct languages, or even that they were Zamucoan, but Mason (1950) listed them as follows:

  • Northern
  • Zamuco (Ayoreo)
  • Morotoco (Coroino)
  • Guarañoca [possibly a dialect of Ayoreo]
  • Ugaraño
  • Tapii (Tapio)
  • Poturero (Ninaquiguilá)
  • Southern
  • Chamacoco
  • Imono
  • Tunacho (Tunaca)
  • Caipotorade
  • References

    Zamucoan languages Wikipedia


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