Tequiraca language
Tequiraca (Tekiráka), also known as Abishira (Avishiri)* and Aiwa (Aewa) and Ixignor[2], is a language spoken in Peru. In 1925 there were between 50 and 80 speakers in Puerto Elvira on Lake Vacacocha (connected with the Napo River). It is presumed extinct some time in the mid 20th century, though in 2008 two rememberers were found and 160 words and short sentences were recorded.[3]
| Tequiraca | |
|---|---|
| Aiwa, Aewa | |
| Abishira | |
| Region | Peru |
| Extinct | ca. mid-20th century |
Tequiraca–Canichana?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ash |
| Glottolog | abis1238[1] |
The little data available show it to not be closely related to other languages, though a distant connection to Canichana was proposed by Kaufman (1994).
*Other spellings are Auishiri, Agouisiri, Avirxiri, Abiquira, Abigira; it has also been called Ixignor and Vacacocha.
Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with Taushiro, likely as a result of prehistoric contact within the circum-Marañón interaction sphere.[4]
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Dental/Alveolar | Palatal/Postalveolar | Velar | Uvular | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ñ | ŋ |
||
| Plosive | Voiceless | p | t | k | q | |
| Aspirated | ||||||
| Ejective | p' | t' | k' | q' | ||
| Affricate | č | |||||
| Fricative | s | x | ||||
| Approximant | Central | v | j | w | ||
| Lateral | l | ʎ | ||||
| Sonorant | ||||||
| Rhotic | r |
A single apostrophe ['] indicates glottalization of the corresponding consonant
A double apostrophe [''] indicates aspiration
Vowels
| A | I | U | O | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | /a/ | /i/ | /u/ | /o/ | /ɛ/, /e/ |
| long | /aː/ | /i:/ | /u:/ | /o:/ | /ɛː/, /eː/ |
[:] is the verbalizer
| Glides |
|---|
| /y/ |
| /w/ |
Vocabulary
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Auishiri.[2]
gloss Auishiri one ismáwa two kismáõ head a-waréke eye o-toroã woman aslané fire yaháong sun akroák maize sukála house atkúa white sukeé
Sources
- Harald Hammarström, 2010, 'The status of the least documented language families in the world'. In Language Documentation & Conservation, v 4, p 183
- Alain Fabre, 2005, Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: AWSHIRI
- Michael, L.; Beier, Ch. (2012). Phonological sketch and classification of Aewa. (Manuscript).
References
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Aewa". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
- "Cabeceras Aid Project Winter 2010 Update". Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas (Ph.D. dissertation) (2 ed.). Brasília: University of Brasília.
- Cole, Peter; Hermon, Gabriella; Martin, Mario Daniel (1994). Language in the Andes. United States of America: Latin American Studies. pp. 301–317.