Chapacuran languages

Chapacuran
Chapacura–Wanham
Geographic distribution	Brazil (Rondônia), Bolivia
Linguistic classification	Wamo–Chapakúra ? Chapacuran
Subdivisions	Madeira Guapore
Language codes
Glottolog	chap1271
Distribtion of Chapacuran languages

The Chapacuran languages are a nearly extinct Native American language family of South America. Almost all Chapacuran languages are extinct, and the four that are extant are moribund, with the exception of Wari'. They are spoken in Rondônia in the southern Amazon Basin of Brazil and in northern Bolivia.

According to Kaufman (1990),^[1] the Chapacuran family could be related to the extinct Wamo language.

Languages

Angenot (1997)

List of Chapacuran languages from Angenot (1997):^[2]

Spoken in Brazil: Torá Urupá Jarú Jamará Oro Win Wariʼ (Pakaas Novos) Tapoaya Kutiana Matáwa (Matáma) Kumana (Cautario) Uomo Urunamakan Kujuna Pawumwa-Wanyam Abitana-Wanyam Kabishi-Wanyam Miguelenho-Wanyam

Spoken in Bolivia: Moré (Iten) Muré Itoreauhip Rokorona Herisobokono Chapakura (Huachi, Tapakura) Kitemoka (Kitemo) Napeka (Nape) Kusikia-Manasi

Birchall (2013)

Birchall et al. (2013) classify the dozen known Chapacuran languages as follows:^[3]

• Chapacuran
  • Kitemoka–Tapakura
    • Chapacura †
    • Quitemo †
  • Moreic–Waric
    • Moreic–Tor
      • Nuclear More
        • Itene (90 speakers)
        • Cumana (3 speakers)
      • Torá †
    • Waric
      • Urupa–Yaru:
        • Urupa †
        • Yaru †
      • Wanham–Wari–Oro Win
        • Wanham †
        • Wari–Oro Win
          • Oro Win (5 speakers)
          • Wari' (2,700 speakers)
  • (position unclear) Napeca (Nape) †
  • (position unclear) Rocorona (Ocorono) †

All languages are rather closely related.

Extinct languages for which Loukotka says 'nothing' is known, but which may have been Chapacuran, include Cujuna, Mataua, Urunumaca, and Herisobocono. Similarities with Mure appear to be loans.^[4]

Birchall, Dunn & Greenhill (2016)

Birchall, Dunn & Greenhill (2016) give the following phylogenetic tree of Chapacuran, based on a computational phylogenetic analysis.^[5]

Chapacuran	Kitemoka Tapakura Torá Moré Cojubim Jarú Urupá Wanyam Wari' Oro Win

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Irantxe, Puinave-Kak, and Arawa language families due to contact.^[6]

Varieties

Below is a full list of Chapacuran language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties.^[7]

• Chapacura / Huachi / Tapacura - extinct language once spoken on the Blanco River and around Lake Chitiopa, Santa Cruz province, Bolivia.
• Irene / Moré - spoken on the Guaporé River, Azul River, and Mamoré River, Beni province, Bolivia.
• Itoreauhip - spoken between the Guaporé River and Azul River in Bolivia.
• Quitemo - once spoken on the Uruvaito River, Santa Cruz province, Bolivia.
• Nape - once spoken in the same country on Lake Chitiopa.
• Mure - once spoken on the San Martín River in Bolivia.
• Rocorona - once spoken on the San Martín River.
• Herisebocon - once spoken on the Rapulo River near the old mission of San Borja, Bolivia. (Unattested.)
• Wañám / Huanyam / Pawumwa - spoken between the São Miguel River and São Domingo River, territory of Rondônia, Brazil.
• Abitana - spoken as a dialect of the Wañám language at the sources of the São Miguel River, Brazil.
• Kumana / Cautario - spoken between the Guaporé River and Cautario River, Rondônia.
• Pacahanovo / Uari Wayõ - spoken on the Pacaás Novos River, Rondônia.
• Kabixi - spoken between the São Miguel River and Preto River, Rondônia, now perhaps extinct.
• Mataua - spoken in the western area of the Cautario River. (Unattested.)
• Urunamacan - spoken to the north of the Wañám tribe, Rondônia, Brazil. (Unattested.)
• Uómo / Miguelheno - spoken on the São Miguel River. (Unattested.)
• Tapoaya - spoken by an unknown tribe at the sources of the Cautario River. (Unattested.)
• Cujuna - spoken by a very little known tribe, now perhaps extinct, to the north of the Kumaná tribe. (Unattested.)
• Urupá / Ituarupa - spoken on the Urupá River, Rondônia.
• Yarú - spoken by a few families on the Jaru River.
• Yamarú - extinct language once spoken on the Jamari River. (Unattested.)
• Torá / Tura - formerly spoken on the Marmelos River and Paricá River, state of Amazonas; now by a few individuals on the Posta Cabeça d'anta, state of Amazonas.

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Chapacuran languages.^[7]

gloss	Chapacura	Itene	Itoreauhip	Quitemo	Nape	Wañám	Abitana	Kumaná	Pacahanovo	Urupá	Yarú	Torá
eye	tuku-chi	to		ku-chi		tukichuː				tükesi	tekisí	tokú
tooth	yati-chi	yía		iyadi-che		yitinchi	yititai	yatiti		yetisi	itisí	yatí
tongue	tapuitaka-chi	kapaya		kapikaka-che		kabíkachu	kapiyakati	kapiyakati		kapiakasi	kapiakasí	képiat
water	akum	komo		ako	akon	kúm	kum	kum		kom	kõ	kom
fire	ise	iche		ise	isze	iché	itsä	icha		isé	iseː	ixé
sun	huapiito	napito	mapito	papuito	mapiito	gwapiru	mapirú	mapitó		kumém	komém	apuetó
star	huiüiyao	pipiyo		pil'ahu	pipiáo	útin	piú	pipiyó	upiú	upió	upiú	pipiyó
maize	xadö	mapa		kal'ao	kal'ao	map	mapaːk	mapaːk		mapág	mapá	mapák
jaguar	kiñam	ine		orahuiko	kiñam	kiñó	kinam	kinam		kinám	komen	wakara
bow	parami	pari	pari			pani	parú	pari	etsmen	mapíp	mapip	parí

Proto-language

Proto-Chapacuran
Proto-Chapakura
Reconstruction of	Chapacuran languages

Below are Proto-Chapacuran (Proto-Chapakura) reconstructions from the Diachronic Atlas of Comparative Linguistics (DiACL) online,^[8] cited from Angenot de Lima (1997).^[9] English glosses are from DiACL, and the original Portuguese glosses are from Angenot de Lima (1997). For the full list of original Portuguese glosses, see the corresponding Portuguese article.

Proto-Chapacuran	English gloss	Portuguese gloss	Scientific name
*haɾam	to button
*hoɾam	chin
*ja:	to say, to speak
*jaw	pillar, to grind with a stone
*jaʔ	to bathe
*jikat	penis
*jowin	monkey species	macaco-prego	Sapajus
*ju:	to keep secret	seguir às escondidas
*juk	to push, to remove
*kamaɲ^ʔ	bland, without salt
*kap	caterpillar species
*kapam	pamonha (traditional food)
*kaɾaʔ/*h^waɾaʔ	large, fat
*kat, *kaw^ʔ	river dolphin
*kat, *ɾat	to yawn
*katim	foot
*katin^ʔ	large tick
*kat^ʃak/*kat^ʃok	to tickle, tickling
*kat^ʃin	pineapple
*kaw^ʔ	to eat
*kawa:	tree species	árvore-rochinha
*kawa:	kind of small arrow, used by children playing
*kawit	parrot species	papagaio-curica
*ked^zek	to lick
*kenum	cocoa
*kijiʔ	to descend, to lower
*kinam	jaguar, dog
*kipun	tail
*kip^win	(to be) cold
*kitam	bridge, jirau grill[10]	ponte, grelha para moquear
*kiw	to bite, to chew
*kiwoʔ	arrow (generic)
*koki:	piranha
*kom	to sing (people)
*komeN	sun
*koɾa:	paddle
*koɾan	palm species	palmeira-carundaí	buriti?
*kotem	red, ripe
*kotok/*koɾok	to knock down fruits by beating the tree
*kɾam	elbow, joint
*kɾan	ant species	formiga-saúva	Atta
*kɾik	to see, to observe, to look
*kɾom	to enter, inside
*kuk	to pull, to drag
*kun^ʔ	tree species	árvore-cachimbeira, jequitibá-vermelho; sal	Cariniana rubra
*kunu:	to stink, bad smell
*kut	to pick, to catch
*k^waɾaʔ	common armadillo
*ma(w)	to go
*mad^zan	kind of yam	batata-cará
*makiʔ	to come, to arrive
*manaʔ	anger, brave
*mapak	corn
*mapaw^ʔ	club, baton
*mapom	fat, grease
*map^wip	kind of small bow
*maɾam	to paint, to write
*mawi:	to steal, thief
*mawin	annatto (tree species), wood for making fire		Bixa orellana
*mekuʔ	crab
*mem	red, ripe
*mikop	paca
*mit^ʃem	black
*mo:	to run
*mokon	rope, cord, string, thread
*mom	to swell because of illness, to have a tumor
*moɾoʔ	flour
*mowaw^ʔ	tucumã palm larva	broca do tucumã	larva of Astrocaryum aculeatum
*mowin	pus, infection, tumour
*muɾin^ʔ	swallow
*m^wijak	wild hog
*n(e/o)n	to whistle with help from the hand
*nak	to smell, to sniff
*naɾan	pitch/tar (of jatobá tree); light	breu (de jatobá); luz	Hymenaea courbaril
*natan	face, front
*nok	to hate, to reject
*nok	to suckle
*nopon	tree species	árvore-itaúba	Mezilaurus itauba
*pa:	to beat, to slap
*pad^zaw	pubic hair
*pakaʔ	red, ripe
*pana:	tree (generic), wood, log
*papat	bamboo species, kind of arrow, bomboo knife	taquara (esp.); flecha (esp.); faca de bambu
*papop	wind
*paɾV:	bow (generic)
*patiʔ	animal (generic), fish
*paw^ʔ	to tie (up)
*paʔ	to kill, to hunt, to beat to death
*pijeʔ	newborn child
*pikot	giant armadillo	tatu gigante
*pipon	bird species	cujubim	Pipile cujubi
*piɾam^ʔ	squirrel	quoati-puru, esquilo
*pit^ʃak	to scratch, to itch
*pit^ʃi:	horn
*piwan	tarantula	aranha caranguejeira
*piʔ	to dance
*pok	thigh, upper leg
*pon	to fart
*pot	to pull out
*pot	to get, to tear, to extract
*pot^ʃ	to cook; to spit	cozinhar; cuspir
*poʔ	to wake up, to rouse
*pɾin	parakeet
*pɾu:	to kill, to hit a target with an arrow
*pu:	to blow, to light a fire
*puɾek	to miss the target with an arrow
*p^we:	to sit
*p^wikun	stone, rock
*p^win	to leave behind
*p^wiɾan	boa
*p^wit	to break, to cut, to extract, to unrip
*p^witi:	large horsefly
*p^wit^si:	palm species	palmeira-totai	Acrocomia aculeata subsp. totai
*p^wit^sop	porcupine, hedgehog
*p^wiw	flower
*ɾi:(tan)	banana (generic)
*tajin	charcoal
*takat	wax (honey, ear, for arrow, etc.)
*takaw^ʔ	kind of fish	peixe-cará	Geophagus brasiliensis
*takiʔ	to fly, to leave flying
*tan	leaf, one
*tapan	monkey species	macaco-saguim	Callitrichidae; Callithrix jacchus
*tapiw	agouti
*tapot	straw, cover/roofing of house
*tata:	father (1SG.POSS)
*tataw	rope made of tree fibers; horn	envira (esp.); chifre
*tat^sam	to laugh, to smile
*tat^ʃiʔ	husband
*tawan	lazy, sulky, disobedient
*tawi:	bee (generic), honey
*tawit	fence, surrounded
*taʔ	to cut
*tikat	to finish
*tim	heart
*tipan	arm
*tipat	wing
*tipoʔ	to follow a trail
*titim^ʔ/*tiɾim^ʔ	to lie down
*tok	to drink
*tok	eye, grain, seed, stone
*toke:	chestnut, Brazil nut
*tom	to burn, black
*tomiʔ	to say, to speak
*ton	to knock down fruits by beating the tree
*top	to explode, to break corn
*topak	mouth, lips, to speak
*topan	skin, peel, bark
*topop	basket (generic)
*toɾo:	to swell, to ferment, to cause swelling
*tot^ʃam	clay
*tot^ʃik	bee species, honey	abelha-lambeolho; seu mel	Leurotrigona muelleri
*towa:	turtle, tortoise; rubber cylinder (?)	tartaruga, tracaja, jabuti; tambor de caucho
*towan	kind of fruit	fruta-murisi	Byrsonima crassifolia
*towaʔ	white, bright color, daybreak/dawn
*towin	parrot species	papagaio-curica
*toʔ	to beat, to open, to crack, to cut
*tɾakom	bamboo, taboca (bamboo species)	bambu; taboca	Guadua weberbaueri
*tɾakop	fermented drink
*tɾamaʔ	man
*tɾam^win	red macaw
*tɾan tɾan	guan bird	jacu	Penelope
*tɾapo:	white hair
*tɾawan	liver; palm species, fish species	fígado; palmeira-patua; patua; surubim	Pimelodidae
*tɾik	coal, ember
*tɾot	aricuri palm leaf		Syagrus coronata
*t^ʃak	to suck on a fruit
*t^ʃek	day
*t^ʃijat	net
*t^ʃik	one
*t^ʃikin^ʔ	nail, claw; traíra (fish species)	unha, garra; traíra (peixe)	Erythrinidae
*t^ʃin	to throw
*t^ʃitot	country, to plant
*t^ʃiw	(to be) cold
*t^ʃok	to suck "noisily", to make a "sucking" sound
*t^ʃom	to step; to insist	pisar, bater o pé
*t^ʃopin	to spit
*t^ʃoraw	swallow
*t^ʃowiʔ	rain, winter
*t^ʃup	to kiss "noisily"
*tun	hair, coat
*tut	to walk
*wak	to add, to pile up
*waki:	toad species
*wan	to copulate, to have sex
*wana:	way, path, road
*waɲam	Indian of enemy tribe
*waɾak	sap, sperm, vaginal secretion
*watam	kind of fruit
*wat^ʃik	common opossum	mucura	Didelphis marsupialis
*wet	to marry
*weʔ	to vomit
*wijak	to scrape with a knife
*wijam	small
*wina:	to raise an animal, to tame/domesticate
*wina:	grandson
*winim^ʔ	to wait, to except
*wit^ʃiʔ	to roast on coal/ember
*ʔajiʔ	older brother
*ʔaka:	to sing (of bird), to cackle, to cry
*ʔakom	water; river; rain
*ʔakop	manioc, cassava
*ʔam	edge, margin
*ʔamiʔ	to give
*ʔamon	excrements, feces, intestines, belly
*ʔam^wi:	very, much
*ʔaɲ	to cry
*ʔanin	younger sister
*ʔapa:	palm species	palmeira-marayau	Bactris major
*ʔapam	shoulder
*ʔapan	kind of fruit
*ʔapaʔ	maternal grandmother
*ʔapi:	thorn, needle, hook
*ʔapi:	father-in-law
*ʔapiʔ	to finish
*ʔapo:	uncle (aunt's husband)
*ʔapop	caiman	jacaré
*ʔatat	bone, leg
*ʔataw/*ʔaɾaw	back, shoulders
*ʔatin	younger brother
*ʔatɾim	house, traditional village (maloca)
*ʔat^ʃaʔ	younger sibling
*ʔat^ʃem	to sneeze
*ʔaw	to spill liquid, to bleed, to leak, to drain, to drip
*ʔawan	bitter
*ʔawan	tree species with venomous bark
*ʔawan	pig, hog, capybara
*ʔawi:	good, beautiful, tasty
*ʔawik	blood
*ʔawin	sky, height, to charge upwards
*ʔawom	cotton; clothes; dove/pigeon species	algodão; roupa; pomba (esp.)
*ʔawum	2SG
*ʔenem	brother-in-law (sister's husband)
*ʔep	pillar, to grind with a stone
*ʔeɾum	trumpeter (bird species)	jacamim	Psophia
*ʔew	burn
*ʔewu:	toucan
*ʔih^wam	fish (generic)
*ʔijat	tooth, beak
*ʔijaʔ	vessel made of palm	vasilha feita de cacho de palmeira
*ʔijew^ʔ	paternal grandfather
*ʔiji:	palm species	palmeira-bacaba	Oenocarpus bacaba
*ʔijin^ʔ	fear, to fear
*ʔijoʔ	to put out, to erase
*ʔikan	kind of mosquito	mosquito-catoqui
*ʔikat	medicine man, sorcerer
*ʔikat	to break
*ʔikim	chest, thorax
*ʔikit	knife, iron instrument
*ʔiman	hole, vagina
*ʔimiʔ	kind of mosquito or fly	pium, borrachudo	Simuliidae
*ʔim^win^ʔ	tapir
*ʔim^wiʔ	to die, dead
*ʔinam^ʔ	pregnant
*ʔinaw^ʔ	bat
*ʔinaʔ	mother
*ʔipa:	to open (eyes, door)
*ʔipan	to fall, to be born
*ʔipik	latex, rubber	seringa; borracha
*ʔip^wik	anteater species	tamanduá-mirim	Tamandua tetradactyla
*ʔiɾam	açaí palm	palmeira-açai
*ʔiɾiʔ	(to be) right, truth
*ʔit	body
*ʔitak	to swallow
*ʔitaʔ/*ʔiɾaʔ	to urinate
*ʔite:	father (1SG.POSS)
*ʔit^ʃe:	fire, firewood
*ʔit^sim	night
*ʔit^ʃin	centipede, millipede
*ʔiw^ʔ	louse
*ʔiwan	to get home
*ʔiwi:	mat
*ʔiwiʔ	smoke
*ʔod^zip	palm species	palmeira-najá	Attalea maripa
*ʔojam	spirit, soul of a corpse
*ʔojop	pacu (fish species)
*ʔokin	scorpion
*ʔokon	palm species	palmeira-real / buriti	Mauritia flexuosa
*ʔomaʔ	to live, to have, to exist
*ʔomi:	scrubland, bush, firm land
*ʔon	to whistle without help from the hand
*ʔonaɲ	palm species	palmeira-buruburu	Astrocaryum murumuru
*ʔonok	navel, belly button
*ʔop	to dance
*ʔopaʔ	bagre (fish species)	bagre
*ʔopi:	woodworm/beetle species	caruncho rola-bosta; besouro (esp.)
*ʔopot	kind of liana used for binding	cipó-ambé, usado para amarrar
*ʔoɾam	cheek
*ʔoraw^ʔ	mushroom species
*ʔoro:	people of, clan of, kind of
*ʔoɾom	gourd, calabash
*ʔoɾot	to break out (2nd permanent tooth of a child)
*ʔotin	curassow (bird species)	mutum	Cracidae
*ʔoto:	gourd, calabash
*ʔot^siw	monkey species	macaco-de-cheiro amarelo	Saimiri
*ʔowam	kind of fish	peixe-jeju	Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus
*ʔowit	wart
*ʔoβi:	anum (bird species)		Crotophaga
*ʔukun	flesh (of the body), body
*ʔum	hand
*ʔum^we:	bird (generic)
*ʔup^wek	head
*ʔup^weɲ	to sleep
*ʔuɾin	ant species	formiga-da-castanha
*ʔutuɾ	nose
*ʔutut	urine
*ʔuwe:	older sister
*ʔuwew	paternal grandmother
*ʔuwit	name
*ʔuʔ	ant species	formiga-saraça

Notes and references

1. Kaufman, Terrence (1990). "Language History in South America: What we know and how to know more". In David L. Payne (ed.). Amazonian Linguistics. Austin: University of Texas Press.
2. Angenot, Geralda de Lima (1997). Fonotática e Fonologia do Lexema Protochapacura Archived 2021-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. Dissertação do Mestrado, Universidade Federal de Rondônia.
3. Birchall, Joshua and Dunn, Michael and Greenhill, Simon (2013) An internal classification of the Chapacuran language family.
4. Hammarström, Harald; Forke, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2020). "Chapacuran". Glottolog 4.3.
5. Birchall, Joshua; Dunn, Michael; Greenhill, Simon J. (2016). "A Combined Comparative and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Chapacuran Language Family". International Journal of American Linguistics. 82 (3): 255–284. doi:10.1086/687383. hdl:2066/166431. ISSN 0020-7071.
6. Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
7. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
8. "Proto-Chapacuran". Diachronic Atlas of Comparative Linguistics (DiACL). Retrieved 29 January 2020.
9. Angenot de Lima, Geralda (1997). Fonotática e Fonologia do Lexema Protochapacura. Master's dissertation, Universidade Federal de Rondônia.
10. Jirau is a kind of indigenous frame for grilling meat or fish.