Zaparoan languages

Zaparoan (also Sáparoan, Záparo, Zaparoano, Zaparoana) is an endangered language family of Peru and Ecuador with fewer than 100 speakers. Zaparoan speakers seem to have been very numerous before the arrival of the Europeans. However, their groups have been decimated by imported diseases and warfare, and only a handful of them have survived.

Zaparoan
Saparoan
Geographic distribution	western Amazon
Linguistic classification	Saparo–Yawan ? Zaparoan
Glottolog	zapa1251

Languages

There were 39 Zaparoan-speaking tribes at the beginning of the 20th century,[1] every one of them presumably using its own distinctive language or dialect. Most of them have become extinct before being recorded, however, and we have information only about nine of them.

• Zaparo group
  • Záparo–Conambo
    • Záparo (a few speakers left)
    • Conambo †
  • Arabela–Andoa
    • Arabela (50 speakers)
    • Andoa †
• Iquito–Cahuarano
  • Iquito (35 speakers)
  • Cahuarano †
• Unclassified
  • Aushiri †
  • ? Omurano †

Aushiri and Omurano are included by Stark (1985). Aushiri is generally accepted as Zaparoan, but Omurano remains unclassified in other descriptions.

Mason (1950)

Internal classification of the Zaparoan languages by Mason (1950):[2]

Coronado group

• Coronado (Ipapiza, Hichachapa, Kilinina)
  • Tarokeo
  • Chudavina (?)
  • Miscuara (?)
• Oa (Oaki, Deguaca, Santa Rosina)

Andoa group

• Andoa
  • Guallpayo
  • Guasaga
  • Murato
• Gae (Siaviri)
• Semigae
  • Aracohor
  • Mocosiohor
  • Usicohor
  • Ichocomohor
  • Itoromohor
  • Maithiore
  • Comacor (?)
• Iquito (Amacacora, Kiturran, Puca-Uma)
  • Iquito
  • Maracana (Cawarano ?)
  • Auve
• Asaruntoa (?)

Záparo group

• Muegano
• Curaray
• Matagen
• Yasuni
• Manta
• Nushino
• Rotuno
• Supinu

Genetic relations

The relationship of zaparoan languages with other language families of the area is uncertain. It is generally considered isolated. Links with other languages or families have been proposed but none has been widely accepted so far.

• Payne (1984) and Kaufman (1994) suggest a relationship with the Yaguan family in a Sáparo–Yáwan stock, contrary to Greenberg's (1987) classification.
• Swadesh (1954) also groups Zaparoan with Yaguan within his Zaparo–Peba phylum.
• Greenberg (1987) places Zaparoan together with the Cahuapanan family into a Kahuapana–Zaparo grouping within his larger Andean phylum, but this is generally rejected by historical linguists.
• Kaufman (1994) notes that Tovar (1984) includes the unclassified Taushiro under Zaparoan following the tentative opinion of SSILA.
• Stark (1985) includes the extinct Omurano under Zaparoan. Gordon (2005) follows Stark.
• Mason (1950: 236–238) groups Bora–Witoto, Tupian, and Zaparoan together as part of a proposed Macro-Tupí-Guaranían family.[2]

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Omurano, Arawakan, Quechuan, and Peba-Yagua language families due to contact.[3]

Family features

Pronouns

Zaparoan languages distinguishes between inclusive and exclusive we and consider the first person singular as the default person. A rare feature is the existence of two sets of personal pronouns with different syntactic values according to the nature of the sentence. Active pronouns are subject in independent clauses and object in dependent ones, while passive pronouns are subject in independent clauses and passive in dependent ones :

Thus

(arabella) Cuno maaji cua masuu-nuju-quiaa na mashaca cua ratu-nu-ra. (this woman is always inviting me to drink masato [4] where cua is object in the main clause and subject in the subordinate one.

(zaparo) /tʃa na itʌkwaha/ (you wil fall) cp /tajkwa ko pani tʃa tʃata ikwano/ (I don't want to go with you) [5]

Personal pronouns in Zaparoan languages
	1S	2S	3S	1Pin	1Pex	2P	3AP
Zaparo	ko / kwi / k-	tʃa / tʃ- / k-/ ki	naw / no / n-ˑ	pa /p-	kana /kaʔno	kina / kiʔno	na
Arabela	janiya / -nijia / cua cuo- / cu- / qui	quiajaniya / quiaa / quia / quio- -quia / cero	nojuaja / na / ne- / no- -Vri / -quinio	pajaniya / paa / pa / po- pue- / -pue	canaa	niajaniya / niaa / nia / nio-	nojori / na / no-
Iquito	cu / quí / quíija	quia / quiáaja	anúu / anúuja	p'++ja	cana / canáaja		naá / nahuaáca
Conambo	kwiɣia / ku	kyaχa

Numerals

Gloss	Zaparoan languages
	Zaparo	Andoa	Arabela	Iquito
1	nuquaqui	nikínjo	niquiriyatu	núquiica
2	namisciniqui	ishki	caapiqui	cuúmi
3	haimuckumarachi	kímsa	jiuujianaraca	s++saramaj+táami
4	ckaramaitacka

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Zaparoan language varieties.[6]

gloss	Záparo	Conambo	Andoa	Simigae	Chiripuno	Iquito	Cahuarano
one	nokoáki	nukaki		nikíño		nóki	núki
two	namesániki	tarkaningu		ishki		koːmi	kómu
head	ku-anák	ku-anaka	pan-aka	p-anák		p-anák	pá-nak
eye	nu-námits	ku-iyamixa	pa-namix	henizy	namixía	puí-nami	poí-nami
woman	itumu	maxi	maxi	mãxi		muesaxí	itémo
fire	unámisok	umáni	ománi	omani		inámi	inámi
sun	yánuk	yañakwa	apánamu	poánámu	pananú	núnami	nianamí
star	narika	narexa	arixya	arishya		narexa	narexa
maize	sáuk		tasáuku	dzáuku	sakoó	shakárok	shekárok
house	itü	ité	ki-t'a	dahápu		íta	íta
white	ushíksh	ushikya	ishi-sinwa	makúshini		mosotín	musiténa

Proto-language

Proto-Zaparoan
Proto-Záparoan
Reconstruction of	Zaparoan languages

Proto-Záparoan reconstructions by de Carvalho (2013):[7]

gloss	Proto-Záparoan
‘bee, wasp’	*ahapaka
‘stick’	*amaka
‘to kill’	*amo
‘woman's sibling’	*ana-
‘cloud, smoke’	*anahaka
‘head’	*anaka
‘pain’	*anaw
‘to come’	*ani-
‘to cut down’	*anu-
‘to talk’	*ati-
‘to eat’	*atsa-
‘tooth’	*ika-
‘to go’	*ikwa-
‘foot’	*ino-
‘benefactive’	*-iɾa
‘fat, large (for fruits)’	*iɾisi
‘house’	*ita
‘urine’	*isa-
‘negative nominalization’	*-jaw
‘number suffix’	*-ka
‘hair; feather’	*kaha-
‘1st person, excl. plural’	*kana
‘to cut (hair)’	*kə-
‘raw’	*maha
‘to cook’	*mahi
‘to sleep’	*makə-
‘guts’	*mara
‘to tie’	*maraw-
‘to escape, to flee’	*masi-
‘to do’	*mi-
‘rotten’	*moka
‘3rd person plural’	*na-
‘hill’	*naku-
‘blood’	*nana-ka
‘3rd person singular’	*naw-
‘masculine, singular’	*-nu
‘infinitive’	*-nu
‘to want/like; love’	*pani-
‘fish; stingray?’	*sapi
‘to taste (food)’	*sani-
‘lice’	*sukana
‘bad’	*səsa
‘to lick’	*tamə-
‘foreigner, stranger; to hate?’	*tawə-
‘to listen’	*tawhi-
‘feminine, singular’	*-tu
‘causative suffix’	*-tə
‘where’	*tə-
‘to rest; to be new’	*tsami-
‘rain’	*umaru

Bibliography

• Adelaar, Willem F. H.; & Muysken, Pieter C. (2004). The languages of the Andes. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge University Press.
• Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
• Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). Language in the Americas. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70414-3.
• Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The native languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), Atlas of the world's languages (pp. 46–76). London: Routledge.
• Payne, Doris. (1984). Evidence for a Yaguan-Zaparoan connection. In D. Derbyshire (Ed.), SIL working papers: University of North Dakota session (Vol. 28; pp. 131–156).
• Stark, Louisa R. (1985). Indigenous languages of lowland Ecuador: History and current status. In H. E. M. Klein & L. R. Stark (Eds.), South American Indian languages: Retrospect and prospect (pp. 157–193). Austin: University of Texas Press.
• Suárez, Jorge. (1974). South American Indian languages. In Encyclopædia Britannica (15th ed., Vol. 17, pp. 105–112).
• Swadesh, Morris. (1959). Mapas de clasificación lingüística de México y las Américas. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
• Tovar, Antonio; & Larrucea de Tovar, Consuelo. (1984). Catálogo de las lenguas de América de Sur (nueva edición). Madrid: Gredos.

Notes

1. La famille linguistique Zaparo, H. Beuchat and P. Rivet – Journal de la société des américanistes – Année 1908 lien Volume 5 pp. 235–249
2. Mason, John Alden (1950). "The languages of South America". In Steward, Julian (ed.). Handbook of South American Indians. 6. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143. pp. 157–317.
3. Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
4. Dicconario Arabella—Castellano, Rolland G. Rich, Instituto Lingüistico de Verano, Perú – 1999
5. Bosquejo Gramatical del Zaparo, M. Catherine Peeke, Cuadernos Etnolingüisticos, n°14, Instituto Lingüistico de Verano, Quito, 1991
6. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
7. de Carvalho, F. O. (2013). On Záparoan as a valid genetic unity: Preliminary correspondences and the status of Omurano. In Revista Brasileira de Linguística Antropológica. Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 91-116. Accessed from DiACL, 9 February 2020.

External links

• Proel: Familia Zaparoana
• Zaparo’s lost secrets
• Museum and Virtual Library (Museums of Central Bank of Ecuador) (English)