Chicham languages


The Chicham languages, also known as Jivaroan is a small language family of northern Peru and eastern Ecuador.

Family division

Jivaroan consists of 4 languages:
This language family is spoken in Amazonas, Cajamarca, Loreto, and San Martin, Peru and the Oriente region of Ecuador.

Mason (1950)

Internal classification of the Jívaroan languages by Mason :

Jolkesky (2016)

Internal classification by Jolkesky :
;Jivaro
The extinct Palta language was classified as Jivaroan by Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño about 1940 and was followed by Čestmír Loukotka. However, only a few words are known, and Kaufman states that there is "little resemblance".
The most promising external connections are with the Cahuapanan languages and perhaps a few other language isolates in proposals variously called Jívaro-Cahuapana or Macro-Jibaro or Macro-Andean.
The unclassified language Candoshi has also been linked to Jivaroan, as David Payne provides reconstructions for Proto-Shuar as well as Proto-Shuar-Candoshi. However, more recently, linguists have searched elsewhere for Candoshi's relatives.

Language contact

Jolkesky notes that there are lexical similarities with the Kechua, Kwaza, Taruma, Yanomami, Katukina-Katawixi, Kandoshi, Tupi, and Arawa language families due to contact. This suggests that Jivaroan had originated further downstream in the Central Amazon region.

Vocabulary

lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Jíbaro languages.
glossPaltaShuaraHuambisaAchualGualaquizaUpanoAguaruna
onechikichikakítsiktikichishikitikitikídyi
twoxímerhímerximárahimiːrahima
threemanéndiukkombaːtãkahvatonminendukampátu
headmúgamókmugwámúkamók
earkuíshkuíshikuíshkwechekuishikuwísh
toothnérnáyinaiinaiñái
mannunaaíshmanuashmangaíshmangashmanoaishmanoaíshmo
wateryumayumiyumiyumiyumeyuméyúmi
firekapalxihíxihihí
sunatsaátsaitsãítsaétsaitsã
maizexemeshaʔashashashayasha
househéahíahíaxéayéahína

Proto-language

Payne's Proto-Shuar reconstruction is based on data from Shuar, Achuar, Aguaruna, and Huambisa, while his Proto-Shuar-Candoshi reconstruction also integrates data from Candoshi and Shapra.
For reconstructions of Proto-Shuar and Proto-Shuar-Candoshi by Payne, see the corresponding :es:Lenguas jívaras#Reconstrucción|Spanish article.