| Chimane | |
|---|---|
| Tsimané | |
| Spoken in | Bolivia |
| Region | western Amazon |
| Native speakers | 5,320 (2000) |
| Language family |
Moseten–Chonan ?
|
| Dialects |
Tsimané (90%)
Santa Ana Mosetén
Covendo Mosetén
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | cas |
Chimané (Tsimané), also known as Mosetén, is a language of the western Bolivian lowlands spoken by the Moseten and Tsimane peoples along the Beni River. Sometimes classified as two languages, they reportedly have no trouble communicating (Ethnologue 16), and were evidently a single language separated recently through cultural contact (Campbell 2000).
Tsimane has no obvious relatives among the languages of South America. There is some lexicon shared with Puquina and the Uru–Chipaya languages, but these appear to be borrowings. Morris Swadesh suggested a Moseten–Chon relationship, which Suárez provided evidence for in the 1970s, and with which Kaufman (1990) is sympathetic.