Asháninka (also known as Campa, although this name is derogatory) is an

Arawakan language Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

spoken by the

Asháninka people The Asháninka or Asháninca are an indigenous people living in the rainforests of Peru and in the State of Acre, Brazil. Their ancestral lands are in the forests of Junín, Pasco, Huánuco and part of Ucayali in Peru. Population The Ashán ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is largely spoken in the

Satipo Province Satipo Province ( es, Provincia de Satipo) is the largest and easternmost province in the Junín Region, located in the central Amazon rainforest of Peru. Its capital is the town of Satipo. Geography The Satipo Province borders the provinces of ...

located in the amazon forest. While there are low literacy rates in Asháninka, language use is vibrant among the Asháninka.

Classification

The Campa (or Pre-Andean) group of the Maipurean language family includes what have been called Asháninka, Gran Pajonal Campa, Ashéninka, Axaninca, Machiguenga, and Nomatsiguenga. As these are all very closely related linguistic systems, the decision to call them

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...

s of a single language or different languages rests on social and political considerations rather than linguistic similarity or difference, as in so many other places in the world. Attempts to unify the varieties with one written standard have not been successful.

History

The language has also been called both Asháninka and Campa; the latter of which is considered by the Asháninka to be offensive, as it derives from the

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

word ''thampa'', meaning ragged and dirty. Like all languages that have a predominance in any particular region of Perú, Asháninka is an official language in the area in which it is spoken, as provided by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

. Literacy rates range from 10% to 30%, compared to 15% to 25% literacy for the second language,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Phonology

Consonants

Following voiced nasals, voiceless plosives become voiced. Preceding an vowel, a sound becomes labialized as ʷ A labial sound is formed when two vowels /oa/ are together.

Vowels

Language basics and comparisons

Threats

This language can be categorized as vulnerable for a multitude of reasons. South America has been a target for logging and other deforestation efforts, that are oftentimes illegal. Those that speak Asháninka call the historically dense rainforests of Peru and Brazil their home, and live off this land. This habitat, specially in the Peruvian side, faces a moderate threat from logging and other destructive practices by outside forces.

References

External links

* "Base De Datos De Pueblos Indígenas U Originarios." Base De Datos De Pueblos Indígenas U Originarios. Accessed March 11, 2016

*
Language Archives.org
* "Native American Vocabulary: Ashaninka Words (Campa)." Ashaninka Words (Campa, Ashninka). 2015

*"The Endangered Languages Project." Endangered Languages Project. Accessed May 5, 2016

Languages of Peru Campa languages {{Arawakan-lang-stub