Misumalpan languages

Last updated
Misumalpan
Misuluan
Geographic
distribution
Nicaragua
Linguistic classification Macro-Chibchan  ?
  • Misumalpan
Subdivisions
Glottolog misu1242
Misumalpan languages.svg
Historical (dotted) and current (colored) distribution of the Misumalpan languages

The Misumalpan languages (also Misumalpa or Misuluan) are a small family of languages spoken by indigenous peoples on the east coast of Nicaragua and nearby areas. The name "Misumalpan" was devised by John Alden Mason and is composed of syllables from the names of the family's three members Miskito, Sumo languages and Matagalpan. [1] It was first recognized by Walter Lehmann in 1920. While all the languages of the Matagalpan branch are now extinct, the Miskito and Sumu languages are alive and well: Miskito has almost 200,000 speakers and serves as a second language for speakers of other indigenous languages in the Mosquito Coast. According to Hale, [2] most speakers of Sumu also speak Miskito.

Contents

External relations

Kaufman (1990) finds a connection with Macro-Chibchan to be "convincing", but Misumalpan specialist Ken Hale considered a possible connection between Chibchan and Misumalpan to be "too distant to establish". [2]

Classification

Miskito became the dominant language of the Mosquito Coast from the late 17th century on, as a result of the people's alliance with the British Empire, which colonized the area. In northeastern Nicaragua, it continues to be adopted by former speakers of Sumo. Its sociolinguistic status is lower than that of the English-based creole of the southeast, and in that region, Miskito seems to be losing ground. Sumo is endangered in most areas where it is found, although some evidence suggests that it was dominant in the region before the ascendancy of Miskito. The Matagalpan languages are long since extinct, and not very well documented.

All Misumalpan languages share the same phonology, apart from phonotactics. The consonants are p, b, t, d, k, s, h, w, y, and voiced and voiceless versions of m, n, ng, l, r; the vowels are short and long versions of a, i, u.

Loukotka (1968)

Below is a full list of Misumalpan language varieties listed by Loukotka (1968), including names of unattested varieties. [3]

Mosquito group
Matagalpa group

Proto-language

Proto-Misumalpan
Reconstruction ofMisumalpan languages

Below are Proto-Misumalpan reconstructions by Adolfo Constenla Umaña (1987): [4]

No.Spanish gloss (original)English gloss (translated)Proto-Misumalpan
1abuelagrandmothertitiŋ
2abuelograndfather*nini
3acostarselie down*udaŋ
4aguawater*li
5amarilloyellow*lalalh
6árboltree*ban
7arenasand*kawh
8atartie*widi
9ayotepumpkin
10beberdrink (v.)*di
11bocamouth*ta
12buenogood*jam-
13búhoowl*iskidi
14cantárida Spanish fly *mada
15caracolsnail*suni
16carambainterjection*anaj
17casahouse*u
18cocercook (tr.)*bja
19cocersecook (intr.)*wad
20colibríhummingbird*sud
21cuarta personafourth person*-ni
22chica de maízcorn girl*sili
23chilechile*kuma
24dargive*a
25dineromoney*lihwan
26dormirsleep*jabu
27dostwo*bu
28esposawife*maja
29estarto be*da
30exhortativo-imperativo pluralplural exhortative-imperative verb*-naw
31flechaarrow
32formativo de verbo intransitivoformative intransitive verb*-wa
33gallinácea silvestre wild fowl
34garrapatatick*mata
35garzaheron*udu
36guardarwatch (v.)*ubak
37guatusa Dasyprocta punctata *kjaki
38gusanoworm*bid
39hierroiron*jasama
40humosmoke
41interrogativointerrogative*ma
42interrogativointerrogative*ja
43irgo*wa
44 jocote Spondias purpurea *wudak
45lejosfar*naj
46lenguatongue*tu
47lunamoon*wajku
48llamarsebe called, named*ajaŋ
49maízcorn*aja
50maduromature*ahawa
51matapalo strangler fig *laka
52mentirlie*ajlas
53mujerwoman*jwada
54murciélagobat*umis
55nariznose*nam
56negativo (sufijo verbal)negative (verbal suffix)*-san
57nubecloud*amu
58 ocote Pinus spp.*kuh
59oírhear*wada
60oler (intr.)smell (intr.)*walab
61orejaear*tupal
62orinaurine*usu
63perezosolazy*saja
64pesadoheavy*wida
65piedrastone*walpa
66pielskin*kutak
67piojolouse
68pléyades Pleiades *kadu
69podridorotten
70meterplace, put*kan
71pozol pozol *sawa
72presente (sufijo verbal)present (verbal suffix)*ta
73primera persona (sufijo)first person (suffix)*-i
74primera persona (sufijo)first person (suffix)*-ki
75rednet*wali
76rodillaknee*kadasmak
77rojored*paw
78sangreblood*a
79segunda persona (sufijo)second person (suffix)*-ma
80tacaní (tipo de abeja)tacaní (type of bee)*walaŋ
81 tepezcuintle (paca) Cuniculus paca *uja
82tercer persona (sufijo)third person (suffix)*-ka
83tetanipple*tja
84tetanipple*su
85tigrejaguar
86toscough*anaŋ
87you (sg.)*man
88verdegreen*saŋ
89vientowind*win
90yernoson-in-law*u
91yoI*jam
92zacategrass*tun
93zopilotevulture*kusma
94zorro hediondoskunk*wasala

Notes

  1. Hale & Salamanca 2001, p. 33
  2. 1 2 Hale & Salamanca 2001, p. 35
  3. Loukotka, Čestmír (1968). Classification of South American Indian languages . Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.
  4. Constenla Umaña, Adolfo (1987). "Elementos de Fonología Comparada de las Lenguas Misumalpas," Revista de Filología y Lingüística de la Universidad de Costa Rica 13 (1), 129-161.

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