The Uru–Chipaya family is an indigenous

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 h ...

of Bolivia. The speakers were originally fishermen on the shores of

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, i ...

, Lake Poopó, and the Desaguadero River. Chipaya has over a thousand speakers and sees vigorous use in the native community, but all other Uru languages or dialects are extinct. Loukotka (1968) also lists the Chango language, once spoken on the coast of Chile from Huasco to Cobija in Antofagasta Province. The population has since been Araucanized.

Proposed external relationships

Stark (1972) proposed a Maya–Yunga–Chipayan macrofamily linking Mayan with Uru–Chipaya and Yunga (Mochica).

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Kunza, Pukina, Pano, Jaqi, Kechua, Mapudungun, and Moseten-Tsimane language families due to contact.

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Uro (Uru) and Chipaya. :

Bibliography

*Aguiló, F. (1986). El idioma de los Urus. Editora Centro Portales. *Cerrón-Palomino, R. (2011). Chipaya. Léxico y etnotaxonomía. Lima: PUCP. *Espinoza Soriano (1991). Proto-Takanan and Uru-Chipaya: genetic relationship or ancient loans? Comunicação apresentada em: Conferencia Internacional sobre Lenguaje, Política Oficial sobre el Lenguaje y Política Educativa en los Andes, 28–30 October 1991. Newark: University of Delaware. *Hannẞ, K. (2008). Uchumataqu: The lost language of the Urus of Bolivia. A grammatical description of the language as documented between 1894 and 1952 (ILLA, 7). Leiden: CNWS Publications. *Nimuendajú, K. (1928-1929). Wortliste der Šipáya-Indianer. Anthropos, 23:821-850, 24:863-896. *Snethlage, E. (1932). Chipaya- und Curuaya-Wörter. Anthropos, 27:65-93. *Vellard, J. A. (1949-1951). Contribution à l'étude des Indiens Uru ou Kot'suñs. Travaux de l'Institut Français d'études Andines, 1:145-209, 2:51-89, 3:3-39.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uru-Chipaya languages Language families Uru Indigenous languages of the Andes Languages of Bolivia