Mataguayo–Guaicuru, Mataco–Guaicuru or Macro-Waikurúan is a proposed
language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...
consisting of the
Mataguayan and
Guaicuruan languages. Pedro Viegas Barros claims to have demonstrated it. These languages are spoken in Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, and
Bolivia
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, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
.
Genetic relations
Jorge Suárez linked Guaicuruan and
Charruan in a ''Waikuru-Charrúa'' stock. Kaufman (2007: 72) has also added
Lule–Vilela and
Zamucoan
Zamucoan (also Samúkoan) is a small language family of Paraguay (northeast Chaco Department, Chaco) and Bolivia (Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz Department).
The family has hardly been studied by linguists (as of Adelaar & Muysken 2 ...
,
[Kaufman, Terrence. 2007. South America. In: R. E. Asher and Christopher Moseley (eds.), ''Atlas of the World’s Languages (2nd edition)'', 59–94. London: Routledge.] while
Morris Swadesh
Morris Swadesh (; January 22, 1909 – July 20, 1967) was an American linguist who specialized in comparative and historical linguistics.
Swadesh was born in Massachusetts to Bessarabian Jewish immigrant parents. He completed bachelor's and mas ...
proposed a ''Macro-Mapuche'' stock that included Matacoan, Guaicuruan, Charruan, and Mascoyan. Campbell (1997) has argued that those hypotheses should be further investigated, though he no longer intends to evaluate it.
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the
Arawakan
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 ...
,
Tupian
The Tupi or Tupian language family comprises some 70 languages spoken in South America, of which the best known are Tupi proper and Guarani.
Homeland and ''urheimat''
Rodrigues (2007) considers the Proto-Tupian urheimat to be somewhere between ...
,
Trumai, and
Ofayé language families due to contact, pointing to an origin of Proto-Mataguayo-Guaicuruan in the Upper
Paraguay River
The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...
basin.
Classification
Internal classification by Jolkesky (2016):
(† = extinct)
;Macro-Mataguayo-Guaykuru
*''
Payagua'' †
*''
Guachi'' †
*
Guaykuru
**''
Kadiweu''
**Qom-Abipon
***''
Abipon'' †
***Qom
****Qom, Southern: ''
Mokovi''
****Qom, Northern: ''
Pilaga''; ''
Toba Toba may refer to:
Languages
* Toba Sur language, spoken in South America
* Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia
People
* Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America
* Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from ...
''
*
Mataguayo
**Mataguayo, Western
***Chorote: ''
Chorote Iyojwa'ja''; ''
Chorote Iyo'wujwa''
***Wichi: ''
Wichi Guisnay''; ''
Wichi Nokten''; ''
Wichi Vejoz''
**Mataguayo, Eastern
***''
Maka''
***''
Nivakle''
Chaco linguistic area
Campbell and Grondona (2012) consider the languages to be part of a ''
Chaco'' linguistic area. Common Chaco areal features include
SVO word order SVO may refer to:
* Saturn Valley Online, an EarthBound MMORPG
* Sheremetyevo International Airport, one three major airports serving Moscow, Russia, IATA Airport Code
* Social value orientations, a psychological construct
* Sparse voxel octree, a ...
and
active-stative verb
alignment
Alignment may refer to:
Archaeology
* Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks
* Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones
Biology
* Structu ...
.
See also
*
Gran Chaco people
The indigenous Gran Chaco people consist of approximately thirty-five tribal groups in the Gran Chaco of South America. Because, like the Great Plains of North America, the terrain lent itself to a nomadic lifestyle, there is little to no archa ...
References
* Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). ''Language in the Americas''. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
* Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), ''Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages'' (pp. 13–67). Austin: University of Texas Press. .
* Kaufman, Terrence. (1994). The native languages of South America. In C. Mosley & R. E. Asher (Eds.), ''Atlas of the world's languages'' (pp. 46–76). London: Routledge.
Proposed language families
Chaco linguistic area
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