Puquina (or Pukina) is a small, putative
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 ...
, often portrayed as a
language isolate
Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...
, which consists of the extinct Puquina language and
Kallawaya
The Kallawaya are an indigenous group living in the Andes of Bolivia. They live in the Bautista Saavedra Province and Muñecas Province of the La Paz Department but are best known for being an itinerant group of traditional healers that tra ...
, although it is assumed that the latter is just a remnant of the former mixed with
Quechuan
Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely ...
. The ''Qhapaq simi'', which was spoken by the Inca elite, in contrast to the
Quechuan
Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely ...
-speaking commoners, is thought to be related, as well as the
Leco isolate language. They are spoken by several native ethnic groups in the region surrounding
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, ...
(
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
and
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, 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 ...
) and in the north of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Puquina itself is often associated with the culture that built
Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku ( es, Tiahuanaco or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilo ...
.
Background
Remnants of the single, ancestral Puquina language can be found in the Quechuan and Spanish languages spoken in the south of Peru, mainly in
Arequipa
Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...
,
Moquegua
Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Pr ...
and
Tacna
Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...
, as well as in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, 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 ...
. There also seem to be remnants in the
Kallawaya language
Kallawaya, also Callahuaya or Callawalla, is an endangered, secret, mixed language in Bolivia; another name sometimes used for the language is Pohena. It is spoken by the Kallawaya people, a group of traditional itinerant healers in the Andes in ...
, which may be a
mixed language
A mixed language is a language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. It differs from a creole language, creole or pidgin, pidgin language in that ...
formed from
Quechuan languages
Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely ...
and Puquina. (
Terrence Kaufman
Terrence Kaufman (1937 – March 3, 2022) was an American linguist specializing in documentation of unwritten languages, lexicography, Mesoamerican historical linguistics and language contact phenomena. He was an emeritus professor of linguist ...
(1990) finds the proposal plausible.
)
Some theories claim that "Qhapaq Simi", the cryptic language of the nobility of the
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
, was closely related to Puquina, and that ''Runa Simi'' (Quechuan languages) were spoken by commoners. The
Leco language
LECO Corporation, founded in 1936 by Carl Schultz and George Krasl, operates its analytical instrumentation research and development, and manufacturing from its headquarters located in St. Joseph, Michigan. LECO develops and manufactures element ...
might also be related.
Moulian ''et al.'' (2015) argue that Puquina language influenced
Mapuche language
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
of
southern Chile
Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally cities ...
long before the rise of the
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
.
This
areal linguistic influence may have started with a migratory wave arising from the collapse of the
Tiwanaku empire around 1000 CE.
[
Sometimes the term ''Puquina'' is used for the ]Uru language
The Uru language, more specifically known as Iru-Itu, and Uchumataqu, is an extinct language formerly spoken by the Uru people. In 2004, it had 2 remaining native speakers out of an ethnic group of 140 people in the La Paz Department, Bolivia ne ...
, which is distinctly different.
Classification
Puquina has been considered an unclassified language family, since it has not been proven to be firmly related to any other languages in the Andean region. A relationship 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 ...
languages has long been suggested, based solely on the possessive paradigm (1st no-, 2nd pi-, 3rd ču-), which is similar to the proto-Arawakan subject forms (1st * nu-, 2nd * pi-, 3ª * tʰu-). Recently Jolkesky (2016: 310-317) has presented further possible lexical cognates between Puquina and the Arawakan languages, proposing that this language family belongs to the putative Macro-Arawakan
Macro-Arawakan is a proposed language family of South America and the Caribbean centered on the Arawakan languages
Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, ...
stock along with the Candoshi
Candoshi-Shapra (also known as Candoshi, Candoxi, Kandoshi, and Murato) is an indigenous American language isolate, spoken by several thousand people in western South America along the Chapuli, Huitoyacu, Pastaza, and Morona river valleys. Ther ...
and the Munichi languages. However, such a hypothesis still lacks conclusive scientific evidence.
In this regard, Adelaar and van de Kerke (2009: 126) have pointed out that if in fact the Puquina languages are, genetically, related to 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 ...
languages, its separation from this family must have occurred at a relatively early date; the authors further suggest that in such a case the location of the Puquina speakers should be taken into account in the debate over the geographic origin of the Arawakan family. Such consideration was taken up by Jolkesky (op. cit., 611-616) in his archaeo-ecolinguistic model of diversification of the Macro-Arawakan
Macro-Arawakan is a proposed language family of South America and the Caribbean centered on the Arawakan languages
Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, ...
languages. According to this author, the proto-Macro-Arawakan language would have been spoken in the Middle Ucayali River Basin during the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE and its speakers would have produced the Tutishcainyo pottery found in this region.
Jolkesky (2016) classifies Puquina as a Macro-Arawakan
Macro-Arawakan is a proposed language family of South America and the Caribbean centered on the Arawakan languages
Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, ...
language.[Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho De Valhery. 2016. ]
Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas
'. Doutorado em Linguística. Universidade de Brasília.
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Jaqi, Kawapana, Kechua, Pano, and Uru-Chipaya language families due to contact.
Vocabulary
Numerals in Puquina and other nearby languages:[Aguiló, Federico. 2000. ''El Idioma del Pueblo Puquina: Un enigma que va aclarándose''. Quito, Ecuador: Intercultural de las Nacionalidades Pueblos Indígenas/Fondo Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio. 116pp.]
:
Pronouns in Puquina and other nearby languages:
:
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Puquina and Kallawaya (which he calls Pohena).
:
References
Bibliography
* Adelaar, Willem and van de Kerke, Simon (2009). "Puquina." In: Mily Crevels and Pieter Muysken (eds.) ''Lenguas de Bolivia'', vol. I, 125-146. La Paz: Plural editores. (in Spanish)
*Aguiló, F. (1991). Diccionario kallawaya. La Paz: MUSEF
*Girault, L. (1989). Kallawaya: el idioma secreto de los incas. Diccionario. Bolivia: UNICEF/OPS/OMS.
*La Grasserie, R. de. (1894). Langues Américaines: langue Puquina; textes Puquina. Leipzig: Köhler.
* Jolkesky, Marcelo (2016). Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas. Brasilia: UnB. PhD Dissertation
Available here
{{South American languages
Language isolates of South America
Indigenous languages of the Andes
Extinct languages of South America
Languages extinct in the 18th century
Languages of Peru
Languages of Bolivia