Reyesano, or Chirigua (Chiriba), is a nearly extinct
Tacanan language that was spoken by only a few speakers, including children, in 1961 in
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
. It is spoken by the
Maropa people who number 4,505 in 2012.
There still are adult speakers in the largely indigenous community of El Cozar in Reyes. However, it is doubtful that this language will survive much into the 21st century. Such is the margination of the indigenous people in the Beni that very little Reyesano words have entered the popular criollo Spanish, very unlike the situation in Quechua and Aymara influenced areas. There are many indigenous terms in "
camba
Camba is a word historically used in Bolivia to refer to the indigenous population in the eastern tropical region of the country, or to those born in the area of Santa Cruz, Beni, and Pando. Nowadays, the term "Camba" is used predominantly t ...
" (Spanish of the
Beni) but they are mostly of Guaraní origin carried to the Beni by the original settlers from Santa Cruz.
Evidently the name ''Reyesano'' comes from the name of the town of
Reyes, of the
José Ballivián Province
José Ballivián is a province of the Beni Department in northern Bolivia. It is named for José Ballivián, a general and former president of Bolivia who lived from 1805 until 1852. The province has a north-south extent. To the west the province ...
in the
Department of the Beni in the plains adjacent to the Bolivian Amazon. The language is also known as Sapiboca (Sapibocona), Maropa, Chumana, and perhaps Warisa (Guariza); these may have corresponded to different dialects.
Phonology
Consonants
Voiced sounds /b, dʐ/ are heard as prenasal
b, ᶯdʐin word-initial positions.
/w/ may also be heard as a fricative
when before front vowels /i, e/.
Vowels
Sounds /i, ʊ/ may also be heard as semivowels
, w
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. Some typefaces render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight, but inclined from the vertical; others give it the appearance of a miniature fille ...
when in the position of consonants.
References
External links
Lenguas de Bolivia (online edition)
Languages of Bolivia
Endangered Indigenous languages of the Americas
{{indigenousAmerican-lang-stub