Lencan languages facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lencan |
|
|---|---|
| Ethnicity: | Lenca people |
| Geographic distribution: |
El Salvador, Honduras |
| Linguistic classification: | Macro-Chibchan ?
|
| Subdivisions: |
Honduran Lencan †
Salvadoran Lencan †
|
Lencan is a small family of nearly extinct indigenous Mesoamerican languages.
Languages
There are two attested Lencan languages, both extinct (Campbell 1997:167).
- Salvadoran Lencan was spoken in Chilanga and Potó (thus the alternative language name Potón). Lencans had arrived in El Salvador about 2,000 years B.P. and founded the site of Quelepa. One speaker remains.
- Honduran Lencan was spoken with minor dialect differences in Intibucá, Opatoro, Guajiquiro, Similatón (modern Cabañas), and Santa Elena. Some phrases survive; it is not known if the entire language still exists.
The languages are not closely related; Swadesh (1967) estimated 3,000 years since separation. Arguedas Cortés (1987) reconstructs Proto-Lencan with 12 consonants (including ejectives) and 5 vowels.
External relationships
The external relationships of the Lencan languages are disputed. Inclusion within Macro-Chibchan has often been proposed; Campbell (1987) reported that he found no solid evidence for such a connection, but Constenla-Umaña (2005) proposed regular correspondence between Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan.
Campbell (2012) acknowledges that these claims of connection between Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan have not yet been proved systematically, but he notes that Constenla-Umaña (2005) "presented evidence to support a relationship with two neighboring families [of languages]: Misumalpan and Lencan, which constitute the Lenmichí Micro-Phylum. According to [Constenla-Umaña's study (2005)], the Lenmichi Micro-Phylum first split into Proto-Chibchan and Proto-Misulencan, the common intermediate ancestor of the Lencan and the Misumalpan languages. This would have happened around 9,726 years before the present or 7,720 B.C. (the average of the time depths between the Chibchan languages and the Misulencan languages)...The respective subancestors of the Lencan and the Misumalpan languages would have separated around 7,705 before the present (5,069 B.C.), and Paya and the other intermediate ancestors of all the other Chibchan languages would have separated around 6,682 (4,676 B.C.)."
Another proposal by Lehmann (1920:727) links Lencan with the Xincan language family, though Campbell (1997:167) rejects most of Lehmann's twelve lexical comparisons as invalid. An automated computational analysis (ASJP 4) by Müller et al. (2013) also found lexical similarities between Lencan and Xincan. However, since the analysis was automatically generated, the grouping could be either due to mutual lexical borrowing or genetic inheritance.
History
The Proto-Lencan homeland was most likely in central Honduras (Campbell 1997:167).
At the time of the Spanish conquest of Central America in the early 16th century, the Lenca language was spoken by the Lenca people in a region that incorporated northwestern and southwestern Honduras, and neighboring eastern El Salvador, east of the Lempa river. While the Lenca people continue to live in the same region today, Lyle Campbell reported in the 1970s that he found only one speaker of the language in Chilanga, El Salvador, and none in Honduras. Campbell also concluded that Salvadoran Lenca was a distinct language from Honduran Lenca.
Indigenous movements in both countries are attempting to revive the language, and recent press reports from Honduras indicate that elementary school textbooks in Salvadoran Lenca have been distributed to public schools in the region.
A 2002 novel by Roberto Castillo, La guerra mortal de los sentidos, chronicles the adventures of the "Searcher for the Lenca Language."
Proto-language
Proto-Lenca reconstructions by Arguedas (1988):
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No. Spanish gloss
(original)English gloss
(translated)Proto-Lenca 1. abrir open (verb) *inkolo- 2. agua water *was 3. anciana old woman 4. araña spider *katu 5. ardilla squirrel *suri 6. bailar dance *uli- 7. bañar bathe *twa- 8. beber drink *tali- 9. blanco white *soko 10. boca mouth *in 11. bueno good *sam 12. cabello hair *asak 13. caites sandals *waktik 14. camarón shrimp *siksik 15. camino path *k’in 16. casa house *t’aw 17. cerrar close (verb) *inkap- 18. cinco five *ts’aj 19. comal comal *k’elkin 20. comprar buy *liwa- 21. cortar cut *tajk- 22. coyol coyol *juku 23. coyote coyote *sua 24. chupar suck 25. decir say *aj- 26. desear want *saj 27. diente tooth *nek 28. dos two *pe 29. él he *inani 30. enfermo, estar sick *ona- 31. espina thorn *ma 32. este this *na 33. estrella star *sirik 34. flor flower *sula 35. fuego fire *juk’a 36. grande big *pukV 37. guacal tub *k’akma 38. hermano brother *pelek 39. hígado liver *muts’u 40. hormiga ant *its’its’i 41. hueso bone *ts’ek 42. ir go *o- 43. jocote jocote *muraka 44. lavar wash *ts’ajk- 45. leña firewood *sak 46. lluvia rain *so 47. macho male *kew 48. maíz corn *ajma 49. mapachín raccoon *wala 50. milpa cornfield *ta 51. montaña mountain *kotan 52. mover move *lum- 53. nariz nose *nep 54. niño boy *we 55. nosotros we *apinani 56. nube cloud 57. oír hear *eni- 58. orinar urinate *wajsa- 59. pavo turkey *lok 60. peine comb *tenmaskin 61. pelo, pluma hair, feather 62. perro dog *su 63. pico peak *ints’ek 64. piedra stone *ke 65. piña pineapple *mats’ati 66. piojo louse *tem 67. puerco de monte wild pig *map’it, *nap’it 68. pulga flea *t’ut’u 69. quebracho quebracho tree *sili 70. quién who *k’ulan 71. reír laugh *jolo- 72. río river *wara 73. roble oak *mal 74. ropa clothes *lam- 75. rostro face *tik 76. saber know *ti- 77. seis six *wi 78. sembrar sow *isa- 79. tapesco, cama bed frame, bed *le- 80. tigre (jaguar), león (puma) tiger (jaguar), lion (puma) *lepa 81. tocar touch *jete- 82. trabajar work 83. tres three *lawa 84. tú you (sg.) *amanani 85. uña fingernail *kumam 86. venir come *po- 87. yo I *unani 88. zarigüeya opossum *ts’ewe 89. zopilote vulture *kus
See also
In Spanish: Lenguas lencas para niños
