Omurano is an
unclassified language from
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 ...
. It is also known as Humurana, Roamaina, Numurana, Umurano, and Mayna. The language was presumed to have become
extinct by 1958, but in 2011 a
rememberer was found who knew some 20 words in Omurano; he claimed that there were still people who could speak it.
It was spoken near the Urituyacu River (a tributary of the
Marañón River
, name_etymology =
, image = Maranon.jpg
, image_size = 270
, image_caption = Valley of the Marañón between Chachapoyas ( Leimebamba) and Celendín
, map = Maranonrivermap.png
, map_size ...
),
or on the Nucuray River according to Loukotka (1968).
Classification
Tovar (1961) linked Omurano to
Taushiro (and later Taushiro with
Kandoshi);
Kaufman
Kaufman or Kauffman may refer to:
People
* Kaufmann (surname) ''Includes Kaufman, Kauffman, Kauffmann''
Places
* Kaufman, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Madison Count
* Kaufman, Texas, a city in Kaufman County
* Kaufman County, Texa ...
(1994) finds the links reasonable, and in 2007 he classified Omurano and Taushiro (but not Kandoshi) as
Saparo–Yawan languages
Saparo–Yawan (Zaparo–Yaguan, Zaparo–Peba) is a language family proposal uniting two small language families of the western Amazon. It was first proposed by Swadesh (1954), and continues through Payne (1984) and Kaufman (1994).Kaufman, Terre ...
.
Maynas, once mistaken for a synonym, is a separate language.
Despite there being previous proposals linking Omurano with
Zaparoan, de Carvalho (2013) finds no evidence that Omurano is related to
Zaparoan.
[de Carvalho. 2013. On Záparoan as a valid genetic unity: Preliminary correspondences and the status of Omurano. ''Revista Brasileira de Linguística Antropológica'' 5: 91-116.]
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the
Urarina
The Urarina are an indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon Basin ( Loreto) who inhabit the valleys of the Chambira, Urituyacu, and Corrientes Rivers. According to both archaeological and historical sources, they have resided in the Chambira ...
,
Arawak
The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Great ...
,
Zaparo, and
Leko language families due to contact.
Vocabulary
A word list by Tessmann (1930) is the primary source for Omurano lexical data.
[Tessmann, Günter. 1930. ''Die Indianer Nordost-Perus: grundlegende Forschungen für eine systematische Kulturkunde''. Hamburg: Friederichsen, de Gruyter.]
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items.
:
See also
*
Maina Indians The Maina or Meena are a group of indigenous peoples living along the north bank of the Marañón River in South America. They spoke varieties of the Omurano language.
The Maina were among the first tribes of the upper Amazon region to have been e ...
*
Extinct languages of the Marañón River basin
*
Classification of indigenous languages of the Americas
Further reading
*O'Hagan, Zachary J. (2011). ''Omurano field notes''. (Manuscript).
References
{{South American languages
Indigenous languages of the Andes
Languages of Peru
Extinct languages of South America
Language isolates of South America