| Charruan | |
| Ethnicity: | Chaná people, Charrúa people, Guenoa people |
| Region: | Argentina (Entre Ríos Province) Brazil (formerly) Uruguay (formerly) |
| Familycolor: | American |
| Fam1: | One of the world's primary language families |
| Child1: | Charrúa † |
| Child2: | Chaná |
| Child3: | Güenoa † |
| Glotto: | char1238 |
| Glottorefname: | Charruan |
| Map: | Mapa indígena.png |
| Mapcaption: | Pre-contact distribution of the Charruan languages |
The Charruan languages are a language family once spoken in Uruguay and the Argentine province of Entre Ríos. In 2005, a semi-speaker of the Chaná language, Blas Wilfredo Omar Jaime, was found in Entre Ríos Province, Argentina.[1]
Charruan may actually consist of two or three unrelated families according to Nikulin (2019).[2] Nikulin notes that many of the following languages share very few basic vocabulary items with each other.
Four languages are considered to definitively belong to the Charruan language family, basically Chañá (Lanték), Nbeuá, Charrúa and Guenoa.
A number of unattested languages are also presumed to belong to the Charruan family:
Jorge Suárez includes Charruan with Guaicuruan in a hypothetical Waikuru-Charrúa stock. Morris Swadesh includes Charruan along with Guaicuruan, Matacoan, and Mascoyan within his Macro-Mapuche stock. Both proposals appear to be obsolete.
The Charruan languages are poorly attested. However, sufficient vocabulary has been gathered for the languages to be compared:[5]
| English | Charrua | Chaná | Güenoa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| me | m' | mi-tí | hum | |
| you | m' | mutí /em/ baté | m | |
| we | rampti/ am-ptí | rambuí | ||
| eye | i-hou | ocál | ||
| ear | i-mau / i-man | timó | ||
| mouth | ej | hek / obá | ||
| hand | guar | nam | ||
| foot / toe | atit | eté | ||
| water | hué | atá | ||
| sun | dioi | |||
| dog | lohán | agó | ||
| white | huok | |||
| one | yú | u-gil / ngui | yut | |
| two | sam | usan / amá | ||
| three | detí / datit | detit / heít | detit | |
| know | sepé | seker | ||
| good / nice | bilú | oblí / oblé | ||
| brother/sister | inchalá | nchalá | ||
| friend | huamá | uamá | ||
| why? / how? | retám | retanle* | ||
| who? | ua-reté | |||
| past (suf.) | ndau / nden | edam |
Lexical comparison from Nikulin (2019):[2]
| gloss | Chana (Jaime) | Charrúa | Chana (Larranaga 1923) | Guenoa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| we | ampti / am-, rampti | rambui | |||
| give | ará | da.jú | |||
| sun | dioi | diói | |||
| go | nderé | bajiná 'to walk' | do | ||
| thou | empti em- / m- | ||||
| one | gilí / güi | yú ~ yu | gil: ugil 'único' | yut isa 'only one' | |
| who | guareptí | guárete | |||
| sand | lgorí | han | |||
| mouth | uvá | ej | hek | ||
| that | huati / huat- | ||||
| white | noá | huóc | |||
| good | latár | ||||
| hear | timotéc | montéc | |||
| come | nderé | na | |||
| not | reé | =mén | |||
| what | r'eca 'what', r'epti | retant 'how many?' | |||
| two | amá | sam ~ sán | san | ||
| know | seker, sekér | ||||
| see | solá 'mirar' | ||||
| mountain | to e | ||||
| woman | adá | ukái / kái 'female' | |||
| I | ytí / i- ~ y- | ||||
| all | opá | ||||
| sleep | utalá | ando diabun 'vamos a dormir' | |||
| foot | vedé verá | atit | |||
| kill | ña | aú | |||
| go | nderé | bajiná 'to walk' | do | ||
| stand | reé utalá | basquadé 'levantarse' | |||
| mouth | uvá | ej | hek | ||
| hand | nam | guar | |||
| moon | aratá | guidai | |||
| water | atá | hué | |||
| nose | utí | ibar | |||
| eye | ocál | ijou | |||
| ear | timó | imau | |||
| head | ta ~ ta ug vedé | is | |||
| hair | moni | itaj | |||
| fire | yogüín | it | |||
| dog | agó | samayoí | |||
| two | amá | sam ~ sán | san | ||
| one | gilí / güi | yú ~ yu | gil: ugil 'único' | yut isa 'only one' | |
| person | ëewuit edam | ||||
| who | guareptí | guárete | |||
| die | ña | hallen | |||
| name | hapatam 'his name' | ||||
| we | ampti / am-, rampti | rambui | |||
| what | r'eca 'what', r'epti | retant 'how many?' | |||
| one | gilí / güi | yú ~ yu | gil: ugil 'único' | yut isa 'only one' |