The Catacaoan languages are an extinct family of three languages spoken in the

Piura Region Piura () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru. The region's capital is Piura and its largest port cities, Paita and Talara, are also among the most important in Peru. The area is known for its tropical and dry beaches. It ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. The three languages in the family are: * Catacao or Katakao, once spoken around the city of

Catacaos Catacaos is a town in the Piura Province, Piura Region, Peru. It is known for its gastronomy and crafts (or souvenirs). The town was severely damaged by flash floods in March 2017 when the Piura River The Piura River is a river in northern Peru ...

* Colán or Kolán, once spoken between the

Piura River The Piura River is a river in northern Peru. The river flows westward from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean and is susceptible to major flooding. Piura is the largest city along the river's course. Course The Piura River has its source in eastern ...

and

Chira River Chira River or Rio Chira is the name of a river (as well as valley) in northern Peru whose mouth is 100 km north west of the provincial capital of Piura and 25 km north of the port of Paita. Its source is in the Ecuadorian Andes near th ...

*Chira or Lachira or Tangarará, once spoken along the

. It is unattested. In Glottolog, the two attested languages, Catacao and Colán, are subsumed into the extinct

Tallán language Tallán, or Atalán, is an extinct and poorly attested language of the Piura Region of Peru. It is too poorly known to be definitively classified. See Sek languages for a possible connection to neighboring Sechura. In ''Glottolog'' and in Jolk ...

as dialects.

Vocabulary comparison

Genetic relations

Loukota compares Catacaoan to the

Culle language Culle, also spelled Culli, Cullí, or Kulyi, is a poorly attested extinct language of the Andean highlands of northern Peru. It is the original language of the highlands of La Libertad Region, the south of the Cajamarca Region ( Cajabamba), and ...

and the

Sechura language The Sechura language, also known as Sek, is an extinct language spoken in the Piura Region of Peru, near the port of Sechura. It appears to have become extinct by the beginning of the 20th century. The only documentation is that of an 1863 wordl ...

but does not make any claims about genetic relatedness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catacaoan Languages Indigenous languages of South America Languages of Peru Language families