Choco languages explained

Choco languages should not be confused with Xocó language.

Chocoan
Region:Colombia and Panama
Familycolor:American
Family:One of the world's primary language families
Glotto:choc1280
Glottorefname:Chocoan
Child1:Emberá
Child2:Waunana
Map:Choco languages.png

The Choco languages (also Chocoan, Chocó, Chokó) are a small family of Native American languages spread across Colombia and Panama.

Family division

Choco consists of six known branches, all but two of which are extinct.

Anserma, Arma, and Sinúfana are extinct.

The Emberá group consists of two languages mainly in Colombia with over 60,000 speakers that lie within a fairly mutually intelligible dialect continuum. Ethnologue divides this into six languages. Kaufman (1994) considers the term Cholo to be vague and condescending. Noanamá has some 6,000 speakers on the Panama-Colombia border.

Jolkesky (2016)

Internal classification by Jolkesky (2016):[1]

(= extinct)

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Guahibo, Kamsa, Paez, Tukano, Witoto-Okaina, Yaruro, Chibchan, and Bora-Muinane language families due to contact.[1]

Genetic links between Choco and Chibchan had been proposed by Lehmann (1920).[2] However, similarities are few, some of which may be related to the adoption of maize cultivation from neighbors.[1]

Genetic relations

Choco has been included in a number of hypothetical phylum relationships:

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Chocó languages.[4]

gloss Sambú Chocó Pr. Citara Baudo Waunana Tadó Saixa Chamí Ándagueda Catio Tukurá N'Gvera
onehaba abá aba aba haba aba abbá abba abá
twoome ume dáonomi umé homé umé ómay tea unmé
threeompea umpia dáonatup kimaris hompé umpea ompayá umbea unpia
headporo poro achiporo púro boró tachi-púro boró bóro buru porú
eyetau tau tabú tau dága tau tau dáu tow dabu tabú tapü
toothkida kida kida kidá xidá kidá chida chida
manamoxina mukira umakira emokoida mukira mukína mugira mohuná mukira
waterpañia paniá pania pania pania panía banía puneá panea pánia
firetibua tibuá xemkavai tupuk tupu tubechuá tübü
sunpisia pisiá umantago vesea edau vesea áxonihino umata emwaiton humandayo ahumautu
moonedexo édexo hidexo xedeko xedego edekoː átoní edexo heydaho xedeko xedéko hedeko
maizepe pe paga pedeu pe pe pe
jaguarimama ibamá ibamá imama kumá pimamá imama imamá imamá
arrowenatruma halomá halomá sia chókiera umatruma sía ukida enentiera

Proto-language

For reconstructions of Proto-Chocó and Proto-Emberá by Constenla and Margery (1991),[5] see the corresponding Spanish article.

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho De Valhery. 2016. Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Brasília.
  2. Lehmann, W. (1920). Zentral-Amerika. Teil I. Die Sprachen Zentral-Amerikas in ihren Beziehungen zueinander sowie zu Süd-Amerika und Mexico. Berlin: Reimer.
  3. Pache, Matthias J. 2016. Pumé (Yaruro) and Chocoan: Evidence for a New Genealogical Link in Northern South America. Language Dynamics and Change 6 (2016) 99–155.
  4. Book: Loukotka, Čestmír . Čestmír Loukotka . Classification of South American Indian languages . registration . UCLA Latin American Center . 1968 . Los Angeles.
  5. Constenla Umaña, Adolfo; Margery Peña, Enrique. (1991). Elementos de fonología comparada Chocó. Filología y lingüística, 17, 137-191.