Sechura
Sec
Native to	Peru
Region	Department of Piura
Extinct	late 19th century?[1]
Language family	Sechura–Catacao? Sechura
Dialects	Sek ?Olmos
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Linguist List	qfi
Glottolog	sech1236
Sechura

TheSechura language, also known asSec, is an extinct language spoken in theDepartment of Piura ofPeru, near the port ofSechura. It appears to have become extinct by the beginning of the 20th century.^[1] The only documentation is that of an 1863 word list byRichard Spruce,^[2] as well as a word list by BishopMartínez Compañón (1782–1790).^[3]

Sechura is typically considered alanguage isolate.^[4] However, it shows similarities with neighboringTallán. This was recognized as early in 1924 byPaul Rivet,^[5] and also considered by others such asČestmír Loukotka^[6] andTerrence Kaufman.^[7] In comparing word lists from Sechura and Tallán,Torero finds six likely cognates between the two:^[8]

However,Glottolog says the data is not compelling.

Sechura is primarily known from a 43-word list in a document referred to as the "plan" collected by Martínez Compañón between 1782 and 1785. The "plan" is part of a larger work, known as theCodex Martínez Compañón, detailing life in colonial Peru.^[3] Notably, the work also contains a number of watercolors, which were captioned by Martínez Compañón's personal secretaryPedro Agustín de Echevarri, who presumably also wrote down the "plan".

There are two copies of the "plan", one held inBogotá and the other inMadrid. Both copies include 43-word lists for theQuechua,Mochica (Yunga), Sechura,Colán,Catacaos,Culli,Hibito andCholón languages, as well as Spanish. The Colán and Catacaos languages are generally subsumed under the nameTallán, and they are closely related, probably dialects of a single language. The two versions of the "plan" have certain differences from each other, particularly in the spelling of the transcriptions.

A number of diacritics are employed in the vocabularies. Their meaning is not elaborated upon in the "plan", although certain diacritics are employed in only some of the languages, and are apparently not merely decorative in purpose.^[9]

(M) indicates a reading of the Madrid list, and (B) indicates the Bogotá list.

British botanistRichard Spruce collected a wordlist of Sechura in 1863. It was identified as Sechura from comparison with the "plan" of Martínez Compañón.^[9][10]

Below is Spruce's 1863 word list as transcribed by Matthias Urban (2015).^[11] Some transcriptions are uncertain, with alternative transcriptions following semicolons.^[12]

gloss	Sechura
‘man’	recla; reda
‘woman’	cucatama
‘son or daughter’	ñosma
‘dog’	tono
‘hawk’	kilkil
‘serpent’	kon’mpar
‘lizard’	ludac; luctac
‘fish’	xuma
‘head’	teuma
‘stomach’	puesa
‘foot’	lava
‘eye’	uchi
‘nose’	chuna
‘mouth’	collo
‘hearing’	tapa; fapa
‘water’	xoto
‘light’	yura
‘maize’	llumash
‘sweet potato’	chapru
‘road’	yuvirma
‘come here!’	xoroc tima; xoroc tema
‘be quiet!’	neshi
‘come along’	uchan; uchau
‘no’	shushca
‘yes’	yé
‘turkey, buzzard’	roncho
‘beach’	coyu roro
‘cotton’	sono; suno
‘devil’	ñash
‘good day’	amatioo
‘how are you?’	ubrun Cuma
‘face’	re
‘sea’	taholma
‘pot’	pillacala
‘father in law’	ratichma; rutichma
‘mother in law’	naminma
‘where is your husband?’	xamanmi recla
‘here it is’	cha

Wiktionary has word lists atAppendix:Sechura word lists

• Languages of Peru
• Language isolates of South America

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• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
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