Witotoan languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Witotoan (also Bora-Witotoan, Bora-Witótoan, Huitotoan, Bora-Huitoto, Bóra-Witóto, Bora-Uitoto, Huitotoano, Huitotoana) is a language family of northeastern Peru (Loreto Department), southwestern Colombia (Amazonas Department), and western Brazil (Amazonas State).

1 Family division
2 Genetic relations
3 Bibliography
4 External links

[edit] Family division

Witotoan consists of 6 languages in 2 branches:

I. Boran (a.k.a. Bora-Muiname, Bóran, Miranyan, Miranya, Bórano)

1. Bora (a.k.a. Bora-Miranya, Boro, Meamuyna)

2. Muinane (a.k.a. Bora Muinane, Muinane Bora, Muinani, Muename)

II. Huitoto-Ocaina (a.k.a. Witotoan, Huitotoan, Huitotoano, Witóto, Huitoto, Uitoto, Huitótoano)

A. Ocaina

3. Ocaina (a.k.a. Okaina)

B. Early Huitoto (a.k.a. Witoto Proper)

4. Nipode (a.k.a. Nüpode, Nipode Huitoto, Nipode Witoto, Witoto Muinane, Muinane Huitoto, Muiname)

i. Mɨnɨca-Murai (a.k.a. Minica-Murai)

5. Mɨnɨca (a.k.a. Witoto Meneca, Meneca, Meneka, Noaiko-Muína, Southern Witoto, Minica Huitoto, Minica)

6. Murui (a.k.a. Witoto Murui, Murai, Búe, Murai Huitoto, Bue, Huitoto, Central Witoto proper, Komɨne)

The classification above is based on Campbell (1997) who follows Richard Aschmann's 1993 classification and reconstruction of proto-Witotoan.

Kaufman (1994) lists Bóran and Witótoan (Huitoto-Ocaina) as separate families (they are grouped together with Andoque as Bora-Witótoan). He does not show internal branching. Nipode and Mɨnɨca are listed as dialects of a single Meneka language (whereas Aschmann and Campbell treat these as separate languages at different branch nodes). Kaufman also includes within his Witótoan (Huitoto-Ocaina) the following languages:

Andoquero (a.k.a. Andokero, Miranya-Karapana-Tapuyo, Miraña, Carapana) Amazonas, Colombia (†)
Coeruna (a.k.a. Koeruna) Amazonas, Brazil (†)
Nonuya (a.k.a. Nyonuhu, Nonuña, Achote, Achiote) Loreto, Peru
Koihoma (a.k.a. Coto, Koto, Orejón, Coixoma) Loreto, Peru (†)

Andoquero, Coeruna, and Koihoma are all extinct. Nonuya may be extinct as well. All four of these languages are not listed in Gordon (2005).

Synonymy note:

The name Muiname has been used to refer to the Muinane language (Bora Muinane) of the Boran sub-group and also to the Nipode language (Witoto Muinane) of the Huitoto-Ocaina sub-group.
The names Koto, Coto, and Orejón have been used to refer to the Koihoma language (Coixoma) and also to the unrelated Orejón language (also known as Koto or Coto) of the Tucanoan language family.

[edit] Genetic relations

Kaufman's (1994) Bora-Witótoan stock includes the Bóran and Witótoan (Huitoto-Ocaina) sub-families and also the endangered language isolate Andoque (Andoke). Richard Aschmann considers Andoque an isolate.

Joseph Greenberg includes Bora-Uitoto within his Macro-Carib phylum.

[edit] Bibliography

Aschmann, Richard P. (1993). Proto Witotoan. Publications in linguistics (No. 114). Arlington, TX: SIL & the University of Texas at Arlington.
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).
Greenberg, Joseph H. (1987). Language in the Americas. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). Language history in South America: What we know and how to know more. In D. L. Payne (Ed.), Amazonian linguistics: Studies in lowland South American languages (pp. 13-67). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70414-3.
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.