Shuar, which literally means "people", also known by such (now derogatory) terms as Chiwaro, Jibaro, Jivaro, or Xivaro, is an indigenous language spoken by the

Shuar people The Shuar are an Indigenous people of Ecuador and Peru. They are members of the Jivaroan peoples, who are Amazonian tribes living at the headwaters of the Marañón River. Name Shuar, in the Shuar language, means "people". The people who spea ...

of Morona Santiago Province and

Pastaza Province Pastaza () is a province in the Oriente of Ecuador located in the eastern jungle. The capital is Puyo, founded on May 12, 1899 and which has 36,700 inhabitants. The city is now accessible by paved roads, a recent development; the main road from ...

in the

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

ian

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

History

Twelve Indigenous languages of

are spoken today, one of which is Shuar. For the past four decades, the Shuar language has been noted for its link with several political groups. The name “Shuar” shared among the people and their language was first revealed to the Spaniards in the 17th century. The Shuar language, as it stands today, is considered part of the Jivaroan language tree, and embodies one of the most well-known tribal groups in the Amazonian jungle region.

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Radio schools

The geographical remoteness within the Ecuadorian rainforest isolates the Shuar and has widely scattered the people from one another. As a result, in the late 1960s, radio schools were formed to promote communication and education in both Spanish and Shuar. This inadvertently transformed into a

language revitalization Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, o ...

initiative for the

. Radio schools were shut down in 2001 and replaced with formal bilingual in-class teaching.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels/Nasals

Literature

The Constitution of Ecuador has been translated in its entirety into the Shuar language. Its official name in Shuar is .

Sample text

The following text is an official translation of part of Article 2 of the Constitution of Ecuador which stipulates the language policy of the State. : Translation in English: ''"Article 2.- ... Spanish is Ecuador's official language; Spanish, Kichwa and Shuar are official languages for intercultural ties. The other ancestral languages are in official use by indigenous peoples in the areas where they live and in accordance with the terms set forth by law. The State shall respect and encourage their preservation and use."''

References

* Turner, Glen D. (1958): "Alternative phonemicizing in Jivaro", in ''International Journal of American Linguistics'' 24, 2, pp. 87–94.

External links

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Shuar Language Guide

The Bible in Shuar
Chicham languages Languages of Ecuador {{indigenousAmerican-lang-stub