Zamucoan is a small language family

Language family

A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...

 of Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 (northeast Chaco

Chaco Department

The Paraguayan Chaco or Región Occidental is a semi-arid region in Paraguay, with a very low population density.The Chaco is a large geographic area that is sparsely populated. Many of those living in the region are native peoples...

) and Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 (Santa Cruz Department

Santa Cruz Department

Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The state is one of the wealthiest states in Bolivia with huge reserves of...

).

The family has hardly been studied by linguists (as of Adelaar & Muysken 2004), although several studies have recently appeared (see: Bertinetto 2009, 2010; Ciucci 2007/08, 2009, 2010a, 2010b).

Extant languages

Zamucoan consists of two living languages:

• Ayoreo
  Ayoreo language
  Ayoreo is a Zamucoan language spoken in both Paraguay and Bolivia. It is also known as Morotoco , Moro, Ayoweo, Ayoré, and Pyeta Yovai. However, the name "Ayoreo" is more common in Bolivia, and "Morotoco" in Paraguay...
  
  ( Zamuco, Ayoré, Moro, Ayoréo, Ayoweo, Samuko, Morotoco, Pyeta, Yovai)
• Chamacoco
  Chamacoco language
  Chamacoco is a Zamucoan language spoken in Paraguay and maybe Brazil. It is also known as Xamicoco or Xamacoco, although the tribe itself prefers the name Ishír, which is also spelled Ishiro or Jewyo. It is spoken by a traditionally hunter-gatherer society that has now turned to agriculture...
  
  ( Bahía Negra, Ebidoso, Tumarahá, Chamakoko, Ebitoso, Ishiro, Jeywo)

Genetic relations

From the historical record of the Zamucoan peoples, the living Zamucoan languages appear to have had several relatives, now extinct. It's not clear if these were necessarily distinct languages, or even that they were Zamucoan, but Mason (1950) listed them as follows:

• Northern
  • Zamuco (Ayoreo)
  • Morotoco (Coroino)
  • Guarañoca
  • Ugaraño
  • Tapii (Tapio)
  • Poturero (Ninaquiguilá)
• Southern
  • Chamacoco
  • Imono
  • Tunacho (Tunaca)
  • Caipotorade

External links

• Ethnologue: Zamucoan
• Proel: Familia Zamucoana
• Sorosoro: Zamucoan languages
• Arte de la lengua zamuca, written by father Ignace Chomé (1696).