Chimuan (also Chimúan) or Yuncan (Yunga–Puruhá, Yunca–Puruhán) is a hypothetical small extinct

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in h ...

of northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

(inter-

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...

valley).

Family division

Chimuan consisted of three attested languages: * Mochica (a.k.a. Yunga, Chimú) * Cañar–Puruhá ** Cañari (a.k.a. Cañar, Kanyari) ** Puruhá (a.k.a. Puruwá, Puruguay) All languages are now extinct. Campbell (2012) classifies Mochica and Cañar–Puruhá each as separate language families. Mochica was one of the major languages of

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

South America. It was documented by Fernando de la Carrera and

Middendorff Alexander Theodor von Middendorff (russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ми́ддендорф; tr. ; 18 August 1815 – 24 January 1894) was a zoologist and explorer of Baltic German and Estonian extraction. He is known for his exp ...

in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries respectively. It became extinct ca. 1950, although some people remember a few words. Adelaar & Muysken (2004) consider Mochica a language isolate for now. Cañari and Puruhá are documented with only a few words. These two languages are usually connected with Mochica. However, as their documentation level is so low, it may not be possible to confirm this association. According to Adelaar & Muysken (2004), Jijón y Caamaño's evidence of their relationship is only a single word: Mochica ''nech'' "river", Cañari ''necha''; based on similarities with neighboring languages, he finds a Barbacoan connection more likely. Quingnam, possibly the same language as Lengua (Yunga) Pescadora, is sometimes taken to be a dialect of Mochica, but it is unattested, unless a list of numerals discovered in 2010 turns out to be Quingnam or Pescadora as expected. Those numerals are not, however, Mochica.

Mason (1950)

Yunca-Puruhán (Chimuan) internal classification by Mason (1950): ;Yunca–Puruhán *Yuncan **North group ( Puruhá-Cañari) ***Puruhá ***Canyari (Cañari) ***Manabila (Mantenya) **South group ( Yunca) ***Yunga ***Morropé ***Eten (?) ***Chimu ***Mochica (Chincha) ***Chanco * Atalán **Wancavilca (Huancavilca) ***Mania ***Tumbez ***Puna ***Carake: Apichiki, Cancebi Mason (1950) also included Atalán, which is no longer considered to be part of the Yunca-Puruhán (Chimuan) family.

Tovar (1961)

Tovar (1961), partly based on Schmidt (1926),Schmidt, Wilhelm (1926). ''Die Sprachfamilien und Sprachenkreise der Erde'', p. 214. Heidelberg. adds Tallán ( Sechura–Catacao) to Chimuan (which he calls ''Yunga-Puruhá''). Tovar's (1961) classification below is cited from Stark (1972). ;Yunga–Puruhá * Northern (Puruha-Cañari) ** Puruhá **

Cañari The Cañari (in Kichwa: Kañari) are an indigenous ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the territory of the modern provinces of Azuay and Cañar in Ecuador. They are descended from the independent pre-Columbian tribal confederation of the s ...

* Central ( Tallán) ** Sec **

Sechura Sechura is a city in northwestern Peru, south of Piura. It is the capital of Sechura Province in the Piura Region. The city lends its name to the Sechura Desert The Sechura Desert is a coastal desert located south of the Piura Region of Pe ...

** Colán ** Catacaos *Southern ** Yunga

Proposed external relationships

Stark (1972) proposed a Maya–Yunga–Chipayan macrofamily linking

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

with Uru–Chipaya and Yunga (Mochica).

Vocabulary

Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Chimuan languages. :

References

External links

* PROEL
Familia Chimúan
{{South American languages Proposed language families Extinct languages of South America