Shiwiar language (original) (raw)

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Chicham language spoken in Peru and Ecuador

Achuar
Shiwiar
Native to Peru, Ecuador
Ethnicity Achuar people, Shiwiar
Native speakers 4,420 in Peru (2012)[1]3,520 in Ecuador (2007)[1]
Language family Chicham Achuar
Language codes
ISO 639-3 acu
Glottolog achu1248
ELP Achuar
Shiwiar is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Shiwiar, also known as Achuar, Jivaro and Maina, is a Chicham language spoken along the Pastaza and Bobonaza rivers in Ecuador. Shiwiar is one of the thirteen indigenous languages of Ecuador.[2] All of these indigenous languages are endangered.[2]

Shiwiar is a language spoken by the Achuar people of the Amazonian region of Ecuador.[3] The Achuar people also speak Spanish, Shuar, and Kichwa along with their native language, Shiwiar.[3] Shuar belongs to the same language family as Shiwiar – Jivaroan.[3]

Although the Achuar live in the Amazon Basin, the extracting of oil and raw materials from Ecuador through mining has displaced the Achuar communities and endangered their homes.[4]

While Ecuador's official language is Spanish, the Achuar people along with other indigenous groups have the right to use their own languages in education through the official language policies of Ecuador legalized in Decree No. 000529, Article 27, and the Dirección Nacional de Educación Indígena Intercultural Bilingüe (DINEIIB).[5]

Consonant phonemes[6]

| | Bilabial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | Nasal | m | n | | | ŋ | | | Stop | p | t | | | k | ʔ | | Affricate | | ts | tʃ | | | | | Fricative | | s | ʃ | | x | | | Approximant | | | | j | w | | | Tap | | ɾ | | | | |

Vowel phonemes[6]

| | Front | Central | Back | | | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Close | i ĩ iː | | u ũ uː | | Close-mid | | ɘ ɘ̃ ɘː[7] | | | Open | | a ã aː | |

  1. ^ a b Achuar at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b Moseley, C., ed. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-104095-5. OCLC 610522460.
  3. ^ a b c Crevels, M. (2012). "Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking". In Campbell, L.; Grondona, V. (eds.). The Indigenous Languages of South America. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 167–234. doi:10.1515/9783110258035.167. ISBN 978-3-11-025803-5.
  4. ^ "Achuar and the Amazon Basin". Indigenous Religious Traditions. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  5. ^ King, K. A.; Haboud, M. (2002). "Language Planning and Policy in Ecuador". Current Issues in Language Planning. 3 (4): 359–424. doi:10.1080/14664200208668046.
  6. ^ a b Fast Mowitz (1975), p. 10.
  7. ^ Lev, Stark & Chang (2012), citing the same source, give these instead as [ɨ], [ɨ̃] and [ɨː].
  8. ^ a b c Fast Mowitz (1975), p. 2.