Aymaran languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aymaran (also Jaqi, Aru, Jaqui, Aimara, Haki) is one of the two dominant language families of the central Andes, along with Quechuan.

[edit] Family division

Aymaran consists of 2 languages:

1. Aymara (a.k.a. Aimara, Southern Aymara, Collavino Aymara, Altiplano Aymara), usually classified into two or three subdivisions.
2. Jaqaru-Kawki (a.k.a. Central Aymara, Tupino Aymara, Tupe Aymara, Cauqui, Hakaru-Kauki)
a. Jaqaru (a.k.a. Hakaru, Haqearu, Haqaru, Haqʼaru)
b. Kawki (a.k.a. Cauqui, Kauki, Jaqaru of Cachuy)

Aymara 'proper' has approximately 2.2 million speakers; 1.7 million in Bolivia, 350,000 in Peru, and the rest in Chile and Argentina.

Jaqaru has approximately 725 speakers in central Peru, while Cauqui had 9 surviving speakers as of 2005. Cauqui is little documented, though its relationship with Jaqaru is extremely close. Initially they were considered by Dr Martha Hardman (on very limited data at the time) to be different languages, but all subsequent fieldwork and research has contradicted this and demonstrated that they are very similar and mutually intelligible varieties of a single language - even to consider them different dialects would be something of an exaggeration.

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • Adelaar, Willem F. H.; & Muysken, Pieter C. (2004). The languages of the Andes. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge University Press.
  • Campbell, Lyle. (1997). American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509427-1.
  • Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (Ed.). (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. (Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com).
  • 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.