Language spoken in Peru
Tequiraca (Tekiráka), also known as Abishira,[2] Aiwa (Aewa, Aʔɨwa), Ixignor,[3] or Vacacocha, 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.[4] Today, most ethnic Aiwa people have shifted to Kichwa and Spanish.[5]
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).
Jolkesky (2016) also notes that there are lexical similarities with Taushiro, likely as a result of prehistoric contact within the circum-Marañón interaction sphere.[6]
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
[:] is the verbalizer
[7]
Vocabulary
Aiwa lexical items listed in Michael & Beier (2012):[8]
Table comparing Aiwa (Tequiraca) with Waorani, Iquito, and Maijiki (mã́ḯhˈkì; Orejón) from Michael & Beier (2012):[8]
Loukotka (1968)
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Auishiri.[3]
Sources
- Hammarström, Harald. 2010. "The status of the least documented language families in the world". In Language Documentation & Conservation, v. 4, p. 183. [1]
- Fabre, Alain. 2005. Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: AWSHIRI.
- Michael, Lev; Beier, Christine. (2012). Phonological sketch and classification of Aewa. (Manuscript).
- Earlier lexical sources
- Tessmann, Günter. 1930. Die Indianer Nordost-Perus: Grundlegende Forschungen für eine Systematische Kulturkunde. Hamburg: Friederichsen, De Gruyter & Co. (112 lexical items)
- Espinoza, Lucas. 1955. Contribuciones lingüísticas y etnográficas sobre algunos pueblos indígenas del Amazonas peruano. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto Bernardino de Sahagún. (17 lexical items)
- Villarejo, Avencio. 1959. La selva y el hombre. Editorial Ausonia. (93 lexical items)
References
- ^ Clark, Patricia Roberts (21 October 2009). Tribal Names of the Americas: Spelling Variants and Alternative Forms, Cross-Referenced. McFarland. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7864-5169-2.
- ^ Alternate spellings include Abigira, Abijira, Abira, Awishiri, Abixira[1] Avishiri, Auishiri, Agouisiri, Avirxiri, Abiquira.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev, eds. (2023). Amazonian Languages: Language Isolates. Volume I: Aikanã to Kandozi-Chapra. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-041940-5.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Michael, Lev and Christine Beier. 2012. Phonological sketch and classification of Aʔɨwa [ISO 639: ash]. Paper presented at the 2012 Winter meeting of the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA), Portland, OR, January 6, 2012.
