| Charruan | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Argentina (Entre Ríos Province) Brazil (formerly) Uruguay (formerly) |
| Ethnicity | Chaná people,Charrúa people,Guenoa people |
Native speakers | 1 rememberer (Chaná) (2024) |
| Linguistic classification | One of the world's primarylanguage families
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | char1238 |
 Pre-contact distribution of the Charruan languages | |
 Distribution of Charruan languages according to Loukotka (1968). | |
TheCharruan languages are alanguage family once spoken inUruguay and theArgentine province ofEntre Ríos. In 2005, asemi-speaker of the Chaná language,Blas Wilfredo Omar Jaime, was found inEntre Ríos Province,Argentina.[1]
Charruan may actually consist of two or three unrelated families according to Nikulin (2019).[2] Nikulin notes that many of the following languages share very few basic vocabulary items with each other.
Four languages are considered to definitively belong to the Charruan language family, basically Chañá (Lanték), Nbeuá, Charrúa and Guenoa.[5] Nbeuá is thought to be a dialect of Chaná. A fourth language,Balomar, is claimed to exist by Loukotka (1968), but there is no data on it.[5]
A number of unattested languages are also presumed to belong to the Charruan family:[5]
Jorge Suárez includes Charruan withGuaicuruan in a hypotheticalWaikuru-Charrúa stock.Morris Swadesh includes Charruan along withGuaicuruan,Matacoan, andMascoyan within hisMacro-Mapuche stock. Both proposals appear to be obsolete.
The Charruan languages are poorly attested. However, sufficient vocabulary has been gathered for the languages to be compared:[5][6]
| English | Charrua | Chaná | Güenoa |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | m' | mi-tí | hum |
| you | m' | mutí /em/ baté | m |
| we | rampti/ am-ptí | rambuí | |
| eye | i-hou | ocál | |
| ear | i-mau / i-man | timó | |
| mouth | ej | hek / obá | |
| hand | guar | nam | |
| foot / toe | atit | eté | |
| water | hué | atá | |
| sun | dioi | ||
| dog | lohán | agó | |
| white | huok | ||
| one | yú | u-gil / ngui | yut |
| two | sam | usan / amá | |
| three | detí / datit | detit / heít | detit |
| know | sepé | seker | |
| good / nice | bilú | oblí / oblé | |
| brother/sister | inchalá | nchalá | |
| friend | huamá | uamá | |
| why? / how? | retám | retanle* | |
| who? | ua-reté | ||
| past (suf.) | ndau / nden | edam |
Lexical comparison from Nikulin (2019):[2]
| gloss | Chana (Jaime) | Charrúa | Chana (Larranaga 1923) | Guenoa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| we | ampti / am-, rampti | rambui | ||
| give | ará | da.jú | ||
| sun | dioi | diói | ||
| go | nderé | bajiná 'to walk' | do | |
| thou | empti em- / m- | |||
| one | gilí / güi | yú ~ yu | gil: ugil 'único' | yut isa 'only one' |
| who | guareptí | guárete | ||
| sand | lgorí | han | ||
| mouth | uvá | ej | hek | |
| that | huati / huat- | |||
| white | noá | huóc | ||
| good | latár | |||
| hear | timotéc | montéc | ||
| come | nderé | na | ||
| not | reé | =mén | ||
| what | r'eca 'what', r'epti | retant 'how many?' | ||
| two | amá | sam ~ sán | san | |
| know | seker, sekér | |||
| see | solá 'mirar' | |||
| mountain | to e | |||
| woman | adá | ukái / kái 'female' | ||
| I | ytí / i- ~ y- | |||
| all | opá | |||
| sleep | utalá | ando diabun 'vamos a dormir' | ||
| foot | vedé verá | atit | ||
| kill | ña | aú | ||
| go | nderé | bajiná 'to walk' | do | |
| stand | reé utalá | basquadé 'levantarse' | ||
| mouth | uvá | ej | hek | |
| hand | nam | guar | ||
| moon | aratá | guidai | ||
| water | atá | hué | ||
| nose | utí | ibar | ||
| eye | ocál | ijou | ||
| ear | timó | imau | ||
| head | ta ~ ta ug vedé | is | ||
| hair | moni | itaj | ||
| fire | yogüín | it | ||
| dog | agó | samayoí | ||
| two | amá | sam ~ sán | san | |
| one | gilí / güi | yú ~ yu | gil: ugil 'único' | yut isa 'only one' |
| person | ëewuit edam | |||
| who | guareptí | guárete | ||
| die | ña | hallen | ||
| name | hapatam 'his name' | |||
| we | ampti / am-, rampti | rambui | ||
| what | r'eca 'what', r'epti | retant 'how many?' | ||
| one | gilí / güi | yú ~ yu | gil: ugil 'único' | yut isa 'only one' |